I have shared my list with a lot of local experienced cave divers and gotten a lot of first hand descriptions about the caves on the list. If I hear that a cave is easily silted out or has restrictions or is closed to the public or has bad typical visibility or is too deep etc... I have removed it from the list. I've made it clear to those reviewing the list that I am looking for "recommended for new cave divers" not just "possible". If anyone has an opinion that something on my list is not recommendable for a new cave diving team then please let me know the details so I can remove it from the list. I am keeping track of all dive sites along with why they are not recommended. Thanks.
It might make sense to find an experienced guide for any place you haven’t yet been. Probably would be plenty of folks willing to meet you there for a dive.
A little off topic, but I've seen you've been compiling a list. It may sound boring, but the reality is at intro and even apprentice level, the real choices of caves to dive are Ginnie, Peacock, Little River, Madison, and the Mill Pond caves. Those 5-7 caves can easily get you 100 dives without getting bored and will advance your skill level. Alot of people get bored doing the same dives over and over, but with repeat dives you learn progressive cave penetration, gain the ability to recognize parts of the cave, and also become comfortable. The becoming comfortable part is important, because that's where skill progression comes from. If you dive Orange Grove 20 times, each dive you will get more comfortable and will go from being stressed about where the line is and where you're going, to focusing on having ideal trim and buoyancy, maintaining a good breathing rate (not the excited increased sac), and learning to read the curves of the cave and figuring out how to get out of flowy or silty areas.
When I started getting my certs, I wanted to hit every cave I could. To be honest we did. After finishing Cave 1 we went to France, Mexico, then back to France, all while diving the same 5-7 caves in Florida over and over again. I believe we had about 100 dives at cave 1 before moving to cave 2 and could pretty well know the "common" caves from memory, which made Cave 2 easier. It's great to want to know all the caves you "can" dive, but be realistic about which ones you're actually likely to dive and really learn from. Even if the first 800 feet of the Peanut line get boring (cause it will).
