Is it worth all the taxes to take a 2 or 3 day trip to the Bahamas or just dive Florida ?? My wife just got her OW cert & I'd like to do a couple of dives before planning a weeklong vacation. I can fly to Fort Lauderdale for $96.00 RT out of DC & I've read that West Palm beach has some good diving. I'd like to try the Bahamas but the food & taxes seem too much for a 'quick trip'. Any comments ??
Florida or Bahamas
- Thread starter Tuckster
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I second the Keys, cheaper and less hassel. Fly into FLL and drive to Key Largo, about an 1 3/4 hr drive- an easy drive except for the blasted toll boths. The diving in WP is mostly drift and while not hard, it adds one more thing to the stress level. Some easy, shallow reefs near Largo are perfect. The boat rides are short, the dives are shallow (if you ask to go to shallow reefs), lots of fish life ,you can get more bottom time and there are lots of operators to choose from.
Yep. I've been to both, and I love diving them both. With your requirements, the Keys are the place to go.
peterjmaerz
Guest
Hi Tuckster,
Living in South Florida, I've done well over a hundred dives in the area. Key Largo and other Keys sites are wonderful, but you could do almost as well in Pompano Beach or Palm Beach. I dive regularly on the Scubatyme out of Pompano with Captain Gary or Captain Oliver.
http://scubatyme.com/
There's a great variety of wrecks and reefs, rivaling some of the best I've done in the Caribbean, though there are no walls and the vis. can be hit or miss. The boat carries a max of twenty divers or so and, in the cooler months, considerably less. The American Dream boat out of Ft. Lauderdale is spacious and captained by a great husband and wife team, but the reefs are much less impressive off Ft. Lauderdale.
http://www.scubafortlauderdale.com/diving.htm
I've dived (dove? Diven?) better reefs in the Bahamas but, for a quick trip, you'll find Florida fills the bill just fine, IMHO.
Best Regards,
Living in South Florida, I've done well over a hundred dives in the area. Key Largo and other Keys sites are wonderful, but you could do almost as well in Pompano Beach or Palm Beach. I dive regularly on the Scubatyme out of Pompano with Captain Gary or Captain Oliver.
http://scubatyme.com/
There's a great variety of wrecks and reefs, rivaling some of the best I've done in the Caribbean, though there are no walls and the vis. can be hit or miss. The boat carries a max of twenty divers or so and, in the cooler months, considerably less. The American Dream boat out of Ft. Lauderdale is spacious and captained by a great husband and wife team, but the reefs are much less impressive off Ft. Lauderdale.
http://www.scubafortlauderdale.com/diving.htm
I've dived (dove? Diven?) better reefs in the Bahamas but, for a quick trip, you'll find Florida fills the bill just fine, IMHO.
Best Regards,
tangfish
Contributor
Bahamas was probably the most disappointing place I've ever been diving. I only dove out of Nassau, but the reefs were very decimated from too many people standing on them, and there was not much to see (clear water though). Never dove FL but I heard the Keys are worth going to. Take her there, and plan the next trip to Cozumel!
Key Largo was great for our first dive trip. We used Paradise Charters and they were excellent. They sent a dive master down on each dive as part of the base price. That was a big plus for us, they pointed out all the good stuff, we did not waist our underwater time figuring out where to go.
Eleuthera stinks. Bimini is still pretty darn good diving.
For Florida, I still enjoy good 'ol Looe Key. And the Dry Tortugas are reportedly super nice.
For Florida, I still enjoy good 'ol Looe Key. And the Dry Tortugas are reportedly super nice.
archman:
Yes, Tortugas and Marquesas. However, you need a private boat and local knowlegde to do them right. There are some absolutley stunning spots to dive in the Bahamas, but IMO you don't just do that in a couple of days either. Sounds to me like you would be happier in Florida maybe on the reefs between Delray and West Palm. That's where I picked anyway, sure is convienient for me.
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