Crystal / Rainbow River ?

[rob.mwpropane]

Planning to take the family (6 divers, 1 daughter in law and her baby) to either of the 2. I just want something a little adventurous, nice leisurely dive. I see there are water taxis and there are guided "tours". Are the guided tours really needed, or would a water taxi be fine?

Also.. I see a lot of videos where they're wearing board shorts... that looks cold to me in 72f for 2 hours? I only own a drysuit, all the kids have wetsuits. We have all our own gear. I have dive flags and reels and everything.

Also contemplating Devils Den. I've been, it's small, but I think the kids would find it exciting. Will be nice to explore it with better gear then I had last time.

Open to any suggestions. I have an Aunt that live in Crystal River that we'll be staying with for a few days.

Thanks all!! Happy Holidays!!!!!

 

[Smache]

I did Rainbow river for the first time a few months ago. It's a fun dive, and pretty easy. You don't need a guide, except to give some more confidence that you haven't gone too far downriver. Our guide did point out life that I probably would have missed on my own.

As for temperature, I would want at least a 5mm for next time. I was wearing a 3mm and was very cold by the end of the dive. I guess some people are more warm blooded than me...

Here's a video I shot:

 

[patoots]

I did Rainbow river for the first time a few months ago. It's a fun dive, and pretty easy. You don't need a guide, except to give some more confidence that you haven't gone too far downriver. Our guide did point out life that I probably would have missed on my own.

As for temperature, I would want at least a 5mm for next time. I was wearing a 3mm and was very cold by the end of the dive. I guess some people are more warm blooded than me...

Dove Rainbow River for the first time with a guide last week and echo the above exactly. I'd go unguided and take the water taxi next time, keeping an eye out for features marking the exit point. It's a beautiful, relaxed drift.

I also got really cold by the hour mark even in a 5mm, I'd expect kids may fare even worse unless they stay active or you avoid dallying like we did (our guide estimated it's typically a 45min dive).

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Thanks guys. All my kids and wife have 7mm, I am spoiled and dive dry. If they dove more they would too.

If you take your time what is the length ofthe dive?

I "think" you have to carry a dive flag?

I'll take the taxi and just study a few videos and maps and see what people pointed out.

 

[SubseaSports]

I did it with my newly certified son in law a couple of weeks ago...as stated by others no need for a guide. The water taxi guy will tell you what and where to look for things on the way up. It's $10 a head now, going up to $15 new year...cash only.
Plan on calling him once you get close to the dive to check his trip times. He ran 0800-1200 the day we went.
Yes, dive flag is required. I believe we did it in 1.25 hrs. Its not something I would do often.. time prior was 3 yrs ago but it is a great experience nonetheless. ( I live pretty close too )
Devils Den would be a good choice for the kids..something very unique.
Have fun.

 

[Rob9876]

We went in June, and felt fine in our 3mm wetsuits. I had heard about the boat taxi, but for some reason I can't recall their schedule didn't work for us. So, we went with American Pro Diving, and did a snorkel with manatees tour with them in the morning (in Crystal River) and then did a guided scuba dive tour in Rainbow River in the afternoon (just enough time for lunch in between). BTW, if you decide to do a manatee tour there are usually some good Groupons available.

It was a nice dive, and I'm glad we did it, but it may be a "1 and done" dive for me. We did it on our way back from Riviera Beach, so it was a nice freshwater rinse for our gear.

 

[MrChen]

I just did it two weeks ago with a dive guide from Crystal River Watersports. Yes, it can be done unguided, but you might miss some of the navigation required to find a few things. For me and my cousin, it was worth paying for a guide the first time. If you don't care about hitting all the notable spots, then skip the guide. Also, if unfamiliar with navigating the site, you could easily miss your exit point.

Edit:
The guide took care of scheduling the taxi, taxi fee, park entry fee, and a rental tank was included.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Interesting thread. I hadn't realized there was anything to see/do in Crystal River other than the manatee snorkeling (which I haven't done either).

 

[Rilelen]

I live locally and am out at Rainbow River at least once a month; echoing what everyone else has said. I wear a 7mm in the springs (including Rainbow River), you don't need a guide, call the water taxi ahead of time to be sure he can take you. If he can't, ask any of the local Crystal River dive shops (Bird's, Crystal River Watersports, American Pro, etc) about setting up a guided dive/boat ride. You do need to tow a flag.

The dive itself is about 45 minutes if you swim the whole way and don't stop. That's said, it's a drift dive. Don't swim the whole way, and DO stop. You can stretch the dive out easily to two hours if you stop in the various springs along the way, and take your time and just float with the current. Max depths about 20-25 feet; much of the dive is extremely shallow (like....as in 2 or 3 feet of water, shallow!). I like to add two pounds of weight on the drift; if you're neutrally buoyant at 15' you're going to be positively buoyant on the long 3-4' stretches of water and that's not comfortable trying to fight to stay down.

To your other questions: my hot take is that there's nothing in Crystal River itself worth diving. Visibility in the bay has deteriorated badly, and there's not land access into Three Sisters, so you'd have to take a boat (assuming it's even open to swimmers, which it won't be if it's cold enough for manatees to be present in any quanttity). If you want to see manatees, take the 6am Bird's Underwater snorkeling (not scuba) tour. They will almost certainly take you to King's Spring. Manatees are scared of bubbles and avoid divers; they will swim right up and interact with snorkelers.

Here's a good map of all the local freshwater diving options, with some notes about each of the dive sites.

Personally, I think Devil's Den is great, and bet the kids would really enjoy it; they are also easy - rentals, tank fills all on site, hot showers for afterwards, pavilions and an easy entrance. And the cavern itself is VERY cool; even if you're just snorkeling. All the springs are small if you're used to the ocean. One trick is to vary your depth and your direction. I.e., first dive go clockwise at the bottom 50', and each circle move up 10'. Second dive reverse direction and go counter-clockwise. Same dive, totally different feel. The fossils at Devil's Den are cool, and the swim-throughs are a lot of fun (although probably not a great choice for kids).

Happy to answer other questions, I'm usually out diving the springs 2-3 times a week!

 

[MrChen]

It is very shallow with a LOT of depth change. Here's my dive profile: