Key West Ops to Avoid?

[DiveShopBarbie]

Hi all,

I've read a lot about dive ops in Key West, and it seems like a mixed bag of reviews. I'm looking for some insights on dive ops to "avoid" (it seems like there are quite a few...) and those that are fantastic.

My dive buddy and I are giving Florida diving another go (posted about my previous poor experiences diving Key Largo and Riviera Beach) so we really want our trip at the end of the summer to be wonderful make Florida our go-to spot! (That would be so much easier than trying to find good deals to Curacao and Roatan every year...!)

We aren't fans of cattle boating (who is?) and love a good, fun dive crew. I know most ops in Florida only provide a guide upon request and for extra, so also interested on if this is recommended or not necessary. We aren't huge wreck people - we are very much into coral, fish and reef creature identification. We are obviously looking for safety as well. We aren't too picky or hard to please, as long as the crew has a good feel for currents / conditions, has a mind for safety, and helps divers have a great trip.

Any favorites? I've read good things about Finz and Lost Reef, but also some bad reviews on TripAdvisor and it isn't clear if they are real or fake...

Also, if any of you are big lovers of Key West diving, what are your favorite dive sites and places to grab a beer after a dive?!

Thanks for the opinions, all!!

 

[Wookie]

I am friendly with all of the dive operators here, now. If you don't care about the Vandy, I'd give Finz a try. I haven't seen a bad review on TA, although if you say it's there, I believe you. I don't put much stock in the folks who post on TA, it seems like a place to air sour grapes.

Anyway, Finz will take you anywhere you want to go, not like most of the others who will at least go to teh Vandy first. I will tell you, for reef diving, you want to go west past the ship channel. Sand Key is a little worn out by the thousands of cruise ship snorklers on it every day, but Western Dry Rocks is decent, and drift diving at Satan Shoal/Marquesas Rock is excellent.

Problem with the ship channel is that when the cruise ships come in at 7 am, they stir up the mud and blast it on the reef down current. It is usually cleared out by Western Sambo, but not always. Western Sambo has some very unique coral formations. But it's sometimes a silt-out.

With that said, I do dive with Lost Reef also. But they are not likely to take you west on any given day.

Edit: Looked up Finz bad TA reviews. As I said, someone airing their sour grapes. %0 excellent reviews, 1 good, 1 not so good, and the 3 terrible all from the same party. Not impressed. With the party from Ft. Myers, that is. So many come down here with grandiose plans to dive, then they stay out until 2 AM and miss the boat. I understand why Robert doesn't offer refunds for them missing the boat.

 

[kwinter]

I'm not a fan of Captain's Corner. But do yourself a favor and follow whatever recommendation Wookie makes.

 

[Wookie]

I'm not a fan of Captain's Corner. But do yourself a favor and follow whatever recommendation Wookie makes.

Captain's corner (Sea Eagle) is now a 6 pack. Biggest 6 pack in Key West. It takes a real waterman to run an aluminum boat and not have it eaten by electrolysis. I offered my help....

 

[Oldbear]

Maybe instead of asking who to avoid take the "high road" and ask who to go with?

I have not dove in Key West, but did my diving in Islamorada with a small but great op called Sea Monkeys. Read about them on SB a couple of years ago and was not disappointed. They are pretty much what you are asking for, just up the road a few islands.

As far as eating the Hogfish Grill in Key West was highly recommended and it was good.

 

[Wookie]

Most Key West ops dive a double vandy in the morning, and a wreck/shallow reef in the afternoon. Of course, it isn't always this way, and if they know you're coming, they may tailor their schedule to fit, but that's why we default to a double Vandy on the last day. The majority of our customers want it. Now, there are some awesome diving on the way back from Tortugas, but for the most part, folks want that double vandy the last day.

Finz is a 6 pack, now with 2 boats. They can more easily tailor their boats to what the customers want. They charge a flat rate plus fuel, so if you have one guy who wants to go spearing where no one else goes, they will handle it, if you can afford it. If you have a group of 4 who want a Vandy/CSM dive, they will handle it. It's all about how much you are willing to spend and where you want to go. I think that the OP was clear that she wanted to go to a shallow reef on a small boat. Finz is the only operator in KW that can set that up reliably, unless she wants a private charter. Finz can arrange that, too.

 

[DiveShopBarbie]

Thanks for the posts, all!! Sounds like Finz will be the way to go. Really appreciate the advice

Also, just to be clear - we like wrecks just fine but aren't as big of wreck fanatics as some! It sounds like we should try the Vandy while out there.

We are lovers of reef diving and would love to not hit anything TOO shallow. (We had some issues with a bad op in Key Largo taking us to a 12 ft reef in terrible current (which you can't avoid at only 12 ft) and they brought us there to accommodate a boat full of new divers kicking up silt.) So long story short - we're trying to do plenty of research to make this trip fantastic. get the most for our money, and dive dive dive. We also REALLY want to fall in love with Florida diving as it is so convenient and inexpensive!!

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

The only thing I would offer - I went with Captains Corner and it was fine - 6 pack for a big boat is good for me - we went to the Vandy and a reef. Vandy was great but the reef not so much. So we went up the road to Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center - the reef was much better - saw a Loggerhead turtle, Eagle Manta Ray and lots of sharks - but they limit you to an 1 hr dive time on each tank - it is a snorkel and dive cattle boat but the reef was so much better than what I saw in Key West.

So if you are looking for reefs go further out with Finz or go up the keys to get a better reef - IMO.

 

[AdivingBel]

I haven't had the greatest luck with Key West reef dives, probably due to the issues mentioned by Wookie. Not bad, just not the best viz and a bit chewed up. If you want to hit the nicest spots you could go out with Wookie on the Spree all the way to the end of the road. The Vandy is a nice dive as well as the Cayman Salvager. In the past I've gone out with Captain's Corner and they were fine. Don't care for the tank rack setup, but I do appreciate them letting you dive your own plan if you look like you know what you're doing. If you like reef topography, it might be worth a run up the road (25/30 miles) to Looe Key. There is usually some nice wildlife since it's a protected area and the west end of the reef has IMO some of the best spur & groove topography in the Keys. Looe Key dive shop on Ramrod is who I use. They can have a bit of a crowd on the weekend (they take out snorkelers too, during the week is MUCH better), but they are a friendly, laid back crew. They'll grill you a hot dog between dives and mix you a marg on the way back to the dock. Decent Tiki bar onsite for after the dive. Just a thought...have fun.

BRD beat me to it. Fast typer he is.

 

[DiveShopBarbie]

They'll mix margs for us after the dive?! I'm in!!

---------- Post added May 14th, 2015 at 08:29 AM ----------

Edit: Looked up Finz bad TA reviews. As I said, someone airing their sour grapes. %0 excellent reviews, 1 good, 1 not so good, and the 3 terrible all from the same party. Not impressed. With the party from Ft. Myers, that is. So many come down here with grandiose plans to dive, then they stay out until 2 AM and miss the boat. I understand why Robert doesn't offer refunds for them missing the boat.

Totally agree - the reviews seem to be from one group and don't seem very legit to me. A group that all decided to post because they were angry, sounds like!