Visiting Parents Near Ocala, Where to Dive?

[dhampton82]

One place in the Ginny springs area that I have been to was Blue Grotto. I dont hear to many people talk about it, but it is definatly worth doing once. Dives down to 100' and a HUGE open cavern that is open to all OW divers. Plus there is this crazy looking turtle who does safety stops with you.

http://www.divebluegrotto.com/

 

[dhampton82]

I found a pic of the turtle. Does anyone know what kinda turtle this is?

Sorry if the size is too big. This is the first time I've tried u/l'ing a pic

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Its a softshell turtle, pretty common in the south.

I personally don't find Blue Grotto all that interesting... The cavern is just a big overhang and the walls are covered in graffiti from careless divers. Price is high and there really isn't much to see - IMO.

Devils Den down the street is a much more interesting location, again IMO.

 

[dhampton82]

Yea Devils den was a pretty neat place, alot of swim throughs and HUGE catfish everywere. I havent made a return trip there yet but I will be moving right down the road from there in Jan.

And its only about 5 minutes tops from Blue Grotto.

 

[eandiver]

The Grotto is nice to do once. If you get a weekday with few people/divers like cold or rain you can do both Blue Grotto and Devils Den in a day and still have decent visibility in both. DD is the best though.

 

[nvlorange]

You should pick up the "Ned Deloach's Diving Guide to Underwater Florida". All local dive shops sell them. Devil's Den is a cool dive and it's right next to Blue Grotto. Everyone dives that one once, so they can mark it off their list. Also check out CaveDiving.com....Be safe and enjoy....

 

[JasonH20]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up enrolling in a cavern course. The course will take 2 1/2 days of my 10 day vacation, so that's probably all the diving I'll be allowed this time down. Need to balance out keeping my wife and mom happy with my desire to dive the entire time.

Pending how the course goes, next time down in Florida I'll try to hook up with some of you and try all the other great spots in the area.

Thanks!
Jason