Question Recommendations for Keys diving, father-daughter trip

[scubadada]

Thanks for all the great advice folks. Rethinking the trip and looking at the Jupiter area.

I have been diving year-round in SE Florida since 2009, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and West Palm. Sea conditions in later fall, winter, and earlier spring can result in significant loss of diving days. The water temp can be lower than many would expect. Most all the diving is drift. Most operators in Jupiter and West Palm put a guide in the water, not in Boynton Beach. There are no all-in-one dive resorts .

That being said, the diving in SE Florida is very good and can be amazing. I have nearly 1300 dives there and never tire of the variety and diversity. There are many reviews here in the Florida Forum. If you click on one of the Trip Report icons, only the trip reports in the forum will be displayed.

Being very familiar with the area and the operators, I can easily hustle and find an operator when conditions are not perfect, a casual visitor does not have that advantage.

Best of luck for your dive trip with your daughter, nothing like diving with your family.

 

[PatW]

Jupiter is pretty deep 80‘ or so. It has quite a bit of large stuff - sharks, turtles and Goliath grouper. It is often rather rough. And it is usually drift diving. So it is not “easy”. It does have West Palm nearby which is about 55’. And it has the Blue Heron Bridge for great macro. You see things at the Bridge that you rarely see elsewhere. But it can only be dived at high tide and is usually shore diving. It is generally low vis - 10’-40” but being macro that is not so bad. Also, you don’t get corals that far north.

Key Largo has nice corals. It has a bunch of fish. It goes from 25’ to really deep depending on the site. The deep wrecks have large stuff. But the shallow sites are often really nice diving.

What you choose depends on what you are looking for and what kind of diving you are comfortable with.

 

[FreqFlier]

If you want to stay within OW depths (and potentially get deeper if that's the case) Key Largo or Islamorada is probably the best option with Pompano/Boynton beach being distant second. Pompano through Jupiter is mostly drift dives, may or may not work for your daughter. I remember my wife being ***** about that back in day.

 

[homerdoc]

I second the Blue Heron Bridge - it's really fun - we (my daughter wife and I) take a trip down there about every year. We time it on the way to Key Largo. Stay up north before you head south to do this. It splits up the drive for us.

It's almost like a spectator sport. You see all kinds of divers and you get to see random stuff (we saw a wedding party last time we were there)

For Key Largo - we did Rainbow reef and stayed in a Courtyard - easy walk to the boats. Its easy shallow diving with the random deep wreck thrown in if you want to do it.

Be warned the as earlier folks posted it can be rough going out - and in 30 to 40 feet of water it can feel like a washing machine. I never get sick on a boat but I have been sick at depth and chummed the fish.

We also do a dive with Tony at forever young every time we go there - this is a dive where they take care of everything - my daughter loves it. Pricy but in my mind worth it every trip down there - we like to hunt a little and it's fun to zap the lionfish.

You just got me to start planning a dive trip after Christmas - this is my daughters first year in college and she has to play in a bowl game (band), so we can't do our normal stuff. She will be in Miami - but wants to do all the college stuff vs hanging with us.

Homerdoc

 

[MrChen]

I would start off your diving trip at BHB so you can work any gear issues prior to jumping off a boat. If you're looking to see sharks swimming in their natural habitat, do drift dives. If you're looking for chummed or feeding dives, they aren't necessarily going to be OW friendly and the charters might not allow you to book. Keep monitoring ocean conditions, it can get pretty sporty during the winter and charters will start canceling if there are safety concerns. If you go out in 3+, consider something for seasickness. The highest I ever went out was in 4-6ft and I was miserable and will never do it again. I'm a 1-2ft seas guy. At 3, I need to take something to prevent being seasick.

Visit a local dive shop for info about BHB or hire a guide to get the most out of it. Most of all, have fun!

 

[Catito]

Thanks for all the great advice folks. Rethinking the trip and looking at the Jupiter area.

I live in Fla. I often drive 1.5 hours South to Key Largo. I enjoy Quiescence and Rainbow Reef. Lately it is a down and back trip because hotels down there are crazy priced… $400/ night for a mediocre room.

Up here, North of the Keys, I prefer dives off West Palm over the Jupiter area. Cannot go wrong with Pura Vida Divers. See if you can find an AirBnB.
Drift diving up here which can be a blast or harrowing, depending on the current.

 

[tekkydiver]

Not really, not in the Keys nor anywhere in Florida. That type of resort is pretty unique to a few Caribbean destinations. They don't really exist in Florida.



A better location for OW depth wrecks is Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach. There are many wrecks (artificial reefs) in the 40-60' depth range.



Nope.



To be brutally honest, based upon your questions, you may not be happy with the Keys or really anywhere in Florida. The diving here can be fantastic BUT it isn't set up in the way you are seeking. Many independent dive shops, independent charter boats, shore diving in various locations, but none of that is all together in one location managed by one operator. There is more planning and logistics involved to make a dive trip to Florida function properly.

The closest Florida options to what you want may be Rainbow Reef in Key Largo and stay at one of their affiliated hotels. Another would be Sea Experience in Fort Lauderdale and stay right there at the Bahia Mar Doubletree Hilton which is on the same property.

S. Florida is the perfect dive destination if you live here and have your own boat!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

S. Florida is the perfect dive destination if you live here and have your own boat!

You're a broken record.

 

[scubadada]

If you want to stay within OW depths (and potentially get deeper if that's the case) Key Largo or Islamorada is probably the best option with Pompano/Boynton beach being distant second. Pompano through Jupiter is mostly drift dives, may or may not work for your daughter. I remember my wife being ***** about that back in day.

The inside, west facing reef in Boynton Beach is mostly between about 50 and 65 feet

 

[Jake 10]

check Key Dives and Islamorada Dive Center, both in Islamorada Key. They cater to OW divers.