Diving Near Orlando

[PatW]

Well, Alexander Springs has a really small "cavern" with the emphasis on "small". It is a max of 28' deep and no special training is necessary. The spring is pretty small.

There are the ocean dive sites on the east coast: Jupiter, West Palm (with the Blue Heron Bridge), Pompano, and the Florida Keys. On the west coast, you can go to Venice Beach and dive for megladon teeth (large fossilized shark teeth). There is also Crystal River for gawking at Manatees. All of these is over an hour drive from Orlando.

 

[chrisayres]

To dive the caverns/caves would require the proper training so please only dive those if you have the training.

This is true. I listed the 1 cave since he said "i'm not really limited" and put (GinnieSprings) in there because that is also an open water dive. Figured if he has lots of experience, I'd mention a wide range Also, the Blue Grotto and Devil's Den, though caverns, are considered by the owners to be open water. Take it how you'd like, just be sure to dive within your training level!

 

[Dive-aholic]

Just because the owners consider it "open water" doesn't mean it is. Anything with a ceiling over your head is an overhead and requires proper training.

 

[chrisayres]

Just because the owners consider it "open water" doesn't mean it is. Anything with a ceiling over your head is an overhead and requires proper training.

correct

 

[RonFrank]

There is no good diving in Orlando unless you consider Disney good. If it were me I would drive to Boynton or Jupiter. Both offer good diving, Jupiter being a bit deeper. I would stay the night if possible and dive two days. It is a 2.5-3 hour drive to Jupiter depending on exactly where you start and how many stops you make.

Another option is to dive Crystal river and that is about 1hour 40 minutes away from Orlando. There are several Springs about 2 hours from Orlando. If you can not escape Orlando Disney is an option but expensive ($175) for one short dive. There are some Disney perks that you can use since your paying for them in that price tag.

Diving and Orlando don't quite go together, but the drive is not too bad.