Panhandle Prices???

[AlmightyApkallu]

So I'm planning a trip to Florida some time between February to May. I'll probably spend a bit under two weeks there as I'll be driving out from Phoenix. I am also scouting for potential places that I might like to live (Phoenix is not so great for a passionate diver). I know the two most interesting areas to me are the Panhandle (for the slower laid back beach life and pretty reasonable housing prices) and the SE (Miami) area.

I figured I would do a bit of diving and vacationing in both spots, maybe 3 or so days in the Panhandle and 4 or so in the Miami area... But one thing quickly caught my attention. THE PRICES!!! Is it just me, or is the boat diving in the Panhandle at least twice as much as the Miami area (and most places for that matter)??? It seems like you can't do a two tank dive on most boats in the Panhandle for less than $100 or more per person. Am I just looking in the wrong places? What do the locals do, surely a couple doesn't have to pay $200 or more to go out on a boat and do a couple of dives if they live there do they? Are there clubs with their own boats or something?

Maybe I'm missing something here and maybe it's just... Expensive. Regardless, what are some boats/charters/shops you folks would recommend? There are so many wrecks and reefs, it seems very overwhelming trying to pick out where to go. We'd like to stay "around" 70 feet or less. I was also planning on trying a shore dive at the Navarre Beach/Pier area (heard it's great shore diving for the Panhandle) and doing at LEAST one spring (any recommendations? Thinking either Morrison Springs or Devil's Den).

Thanks for any help on this matter.

 

[sportxlh]

Alimighty: Most of my diving has been in SE Florida, but I recently moved and now the Panhandle is my main dive destination for weekend diving. Prices in the Panhandle are a bit more expensive than the SE, but not dramatically. For example, a 2 tank dive without tanks at Jupiter Dive Center is $75 and a 2 tank dive without tanks in the Panhandle with Panama City Diving is $89. Dives in the Keys without tanks are usually in the $70-80 range. What I've really noticed is that SE shops offer better pre-paid plans which may tie up $700 or $1300 to purchase a multi-trip 'ticket' but get the average price per trip to below $55. Jupiter Dive Center has a smoking good plan that gets dives down to $53. I've not found similar deals in the Panhandle.

Boats I've used in Panhandle

-Panama City Diving (PCB): good sized Newton (36', I think) that is stable, great staff
-Divers Den (PCB): great staff, boat has a small beam and is a bit bouncy
-Down Under (Gulf Shores): decent staff, great boat: a huge 46' Newton that is very stable. Viz is not quite as good as PCB given proximity to the river.

 

[AlmightyApkallu]

Thanks for the reply, sport. I thought I had seen some places in the Miami area charging $60-75 per two tank dive including tanks. I have seen a lot of $100-$125 per two tank dive not including tanks in the Panhandle. I will look into those places you named.

The $1200 or so up front seems like a good deal for locals, but are there clubs and such that have their own boats? For me and the Mrs. $200 or so everytime we wanted to do a boat dive seems a bit steep. I'm sure the springs break that up a bit nicely and I have heard there are some great Shore Dives in the Panhandle as well. As some one who came from Miami area and had all that so close by what are your honest thoughts on being a diver in the Panhandle?

 

[Marie13]

OP, if you consider $100/ person for a 2 tank dive expensive, what do you consider reasonable?

I'm just asking because here in the Midwest on the Great Lakes, $100-110 for the same seems to be the going rate.

 

[Skeptic14]

Most operators are around $90 for a two tank.

Our local club gets a $10-$12 discount if we bring enough people which is nice, but honestly I don't think that's an outrageous price.

Also, yes there are a few shore dives 1 very nice one (St. Andrew Jetty) and two decent ones (Destin Jetty, Navarre Reef) and there are some springs to throw in the mix to lower the price some while diving the area.

If you want to keep the depth less than 70 feet you are going to limit your boat diving in this area, especially what IMO are the best dives. There are only a handful of boat sites that are in the 60 range, most are 80-90 and while some have structure to allow you to vary your depth, most are pretty square profiles.

 

[sportxlh]

Most of the prices in the SE are quoted without tanks, though in the Keys some shops post prices with tanks and some without. I think the SE shops do that since half the divers are local and most locals own their own cylinders.

A couple of springs near PCB include Vortex and Morrison Springs. Morrison is a little more interesting, but Vortex has a full dive shop with tank rentals on site. They are only a few miles apart and you can rent tanks at Vortex to take to Morrison.

When you head to SE Florida for your diving, you'll find a ton of beach diving in Broward County.... Lauderdale by the Sea or Dania. Join a club like Gold Coast Scuba's Meetup.com group. Gold Coast is in Lauderdale by the Sea. They organize beach dives and boat dives. The beach diving is nice, not too far to swim and is affordable. You should also check on Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm Beach: it is the easiest beach dive in the world as long as you dive it during slack high tide time. Force-E, Stuart Scuba or Pura Vida can provide information and tank rentals.

Some of the shops in SE Florida have more limited dive trip cards than the ones I described above.... Say 5 trips at a 10 or 15% discount from the normal per trip price. If you're going to dive for several days with one shop.... it might make sense.

 

[DiverDownD3]

I've never dove the panhandle, so forgive my ignorance. How far out are the dive sites.
I'm used to diving in NC, where your deep dives are 20-30 miles offshore. 2 tank dives are $100+.
It was a pleasant surprise diving the treasure coast where a 2 tank dive was $70-80 and you started suiting up as soon as you left the dock

 

[Skeptic14]

Out of Destin and PCB most sites are 1 mile to 20 miles offshore. The usual sites you'll hit on a typical two tank trip are in the 5-8 mile range.

There are a few sites in the 1 mile range that are pretty nice but my favorites so far have been around 6 miles out and then it's nearly 90ft to the sand.

 

[TMHeimer]

I've dived with Niuhi of Pensacola at $90 I think. Same for Emerald Coast in Destin--They may be keeping the boat in the water over winter this time. Similar fee for Dive Locker in Panama City Beach. Shore (and boat really) diving on the panhandle in Jan. & Feb. is very weather dependent, and as well they of course need usually 4 divers to go out--the locals consider this winter and many wait 'til April. Then the boats start to go out a lot more (after we snowbirds leave....). Charters here out of Halifax area used to be $50 Canadian (3-4 years ago). That's incredibly reasonable.

 

[bamafan]

The boat ride out of Panama City Beach is around 9 miles or so to get to 100'. As you head west the continental shelf gets closer to shore. By the time you get to Tampa it is a really long ways out to get to 100' of water. It has been years but the Middlegrounds are about 90 miles off of Tampa and some of the best natural bottom diving in the Gulf. The East Coast of Florida is really close to deep water. Off of Jupiter you are close to the beach and easily in 100' or more of water. It only makes sense that the farther the boat has to run the more the trip will cost. The Gulf is generally not going to have the visibility of the Gulf Stream water off the East Coast but overall there is better fishing in the Gulf for bottom species such as Grouper and Snapper. There is some natural bottom out of Panama City Beach but most of the charters hit the artificial reefs. The East Coast definitely has better natural reef diving. The Middlegrounds are awesome for natural bottom but finding a ride out to them is tough. Now what North Florida has is the largest concentration of springs anywhere in the world. Basically from just North of Panama City Beach following along the Gulf Coast all the way to Tampa is what is commonly known as Cave Country. Not everyone likes diving in the springs but to me it is addictive.