Where to dive in July? West Palm Beach or the Keys?

[robint]

Hello! I'm looking to go diving in Florida the last week in July '08 and was looking for suggestions on which has better diving conditions (visibility, water temp) and more to see under the surface- West Palm Beach or the Keys. I've never been diving in Florida. I don't want to drive more than an hour from the airport though if possible. I've heard of Lantana & Islamorada but know nothing of these areas. Please help as I have to make a decision soon. Any info or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

having done both(in 2004 and 2005), I would agree that you can't go wrong with either place --- but the diving is different.

I really enjoyed all the wrecks in Ft. Lauderdale area-Boca Raton. Several dive shops to choose from. The reefs are not very pretty but the wrecks are nice. Reefs are nicer up at Boynton and WPB. Dives on the wrecks are not drift, but all reef dives are.

In the Keys, reefs are shallow, once again they aren't going to be as nice as the Caymans, but lots of fishlife. The wrecks like Spiegel Grove and Duane are fabulous but may be above your skill level for now. If you want to do those, be sure to get your AOW first. You can do that down there if you want. We used 2 dive ops in Keys and can't really recommend either (both out of business, one was great and one wasn't). Conch Republic divers gets high recs here on SB but there are lots of other ops down there to choose from.

Either way, fly into WPB or FLL and rent a car. Drive to destination and stay at hotel recommended by the dive shop you choose to use.

robin

 

[dreamtime]

You can go dive in the Keys and see a lot of other divers. There are fish there, but why deal with the headfache of all the other divers. Diving Boynton?delray Beaches area is heaps better. This is the forgotten jewel of Florida! Great marine life and the coral is doing well. If you want to dive whilst in Florida, stay away from the Keys. If you want to do shallow reefs that you have to navigate then go to the Keys. Boynton Beach is great drift diving.