Review / trip report Rainbow Reef Dive Center, Key Largo FL

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I'll second the tight quarters feel. I'm an average sized person and felt cramped prepping and donning my gear. Other than that though (and really that was 5 minutes total of the trip), it was excellent.

Every single person working for RR nice and welcoming. The rental gear was newer than the stuff we've rented in the Pompano area and fit me much better. The price is fabulous and the shallow reefs were a blast. We're going back in October and might pop down again on a weekend when we have the chance because we bought one of their multi trip passes.

They are definitely stucklers for the time. We went up the first dive at about 40-45 minutes because of one of our group being low on air. The second time we went up closer to 39-40 minutes because of the time limit and our proximity to the boat (we were prob the second group on).

The other couple we were paired with ended up having a similar experience level which worked out alright. Once we are more confident we'd probably be willing to go alone versus with the guide but we actually ended up enjoying the guide and the stuff she pointed out. Overall we loved RR and will keep diving there for the foreseeable future because of the cost.
 
I have dived with them on these sites. It is my experience that they group divers with DMs more or less at random without regard to experience levels. They will conclude the dive when any diver reaches a predetermined turn pressure or when the one-hour "pool's open" window closes. Some of my dives with them have been over 50 minutes. On the other hand, my dive with them on the Spiegel Grove was 28 minutes because one of the divers was a tiny thin person who only had an AL63 but still breathed quite a lot. If you have a buddy they will let you dive without a DM and dive the earlier of your tank or NDL, but if that is what you have in mind, there are other operators that may be a better fit.

I've got around 325 dives (Rescue/Ean) and my dive buddy has around 100. Lots of drift diving around Coz and the rest are lake dives here in the NC mountains. You mentioned that "there are other operators that may be a better fit". Could you give a recommendation? We're diving 4 days and considering Conch Republic and Quiessence. We're staying in Tavernier ....
 
I have used and would recommend Conch Republic if you prefer to dive independently rather than with a guide. They have good boats and will take you to the dive site, provide a briefing, and give you an hour (plus maybe a minute or two) at each site. They have steel 100s and nitrox available. Their steel 100s are properly filled.

While they do offer in-water guides, they charge for that, and I think that RR is a better deal on the whole if that's the sort of dive trip you want.
 
+1 for Conch Republic. Capt. Gary and Admiral Brenda run a good op for the reasons listed above plus if you can give them advanced warning they are very accommodating when requesting specific sites when their schedule allows. Good folks.
 
I really like Conch Republic divers as well. They're my main go to shop when I'm in the Keys.

With that being said, I also use Rainbow Reef. Rainbow will let you dive without a guide if you don't want one (which is what I do), and they're also one of the shops that will allow solo certified divers to dive alone as long as they have redundant gear.

Another option, if you like six packs, is Quiessence
 
My experience with RR has been the same as already mentioned.
I show up by myself, non solo cert (matters in the keys). I have been lucky to have been paired with experienced divers or a DM.
One outfit that didn't get mentioned and that I use is Sea Dwellers. They run one boat out of the same canal RR uses (tied up in front of Holiday Inn).
No in-water DM (unless you pre arrange). Boat is a little crusty, but hey so am I, with plenty of room. You will not feel crowded on this boat as they do things a bit different. 2nd tank is stowed, so only one for you in the rack.
Fins on ladder (my preference) and crew will remove your tank upon re-entry on the fantail, and stow it.
In my experience, they make a concerted effort not to drop you where every other charter does.
 
Has anyone dove with Rainbow Reef and availed themselves of the package prices for the nearby hotels? How did that work out for you? Rainbow Reef tells me that they have no place for visiting divers to hang gear overnight between trips and I'm wondering how it has worked out taking your gear back to the hotel.
 
Has anyone dove with Rainbow Reef and availed themselves of the package prices for the nearby hotels? How did that work out for you? Rainbow Reef tells me that they have no place for visiting divers to hang gear overnight between trips and I'm wondering how it has worked out taking your gear back to the hotel.

I have stayed at both Key West Inn and the Marriot which are both next door to the shop. In each case, we did as divers do and hung our gear all around. The decks out back of the Key West Inn are actually more secure than many of the ones at the Marriot since the Marriot ones (or at least the ones I could see) span multiple rooms while the KW Inn ones are walled off on each side.
 
If you want to dive with the McDonalds's of Key Largo/Upper Keys dive operations, you will pick Rainbow Reef. That is how the local dive community refers to this operation.


I was a former intern that got trapped into the advertised offer of working for free for six months with housing provided and Rainbow would sponsor to get me to my Dive Instructor. Six months of free labor traditionally turns out to be 9 months of 60 hour plus weeks of free labor, with no guarentee they will actually pay or get you through all the classes and dives required (100 minimum dives) to become an instructor.


The reason they offer "free" guides is at the expensive of these interns who willing signed up for free labor (until they realize they can actually get paid and work at regular dive shops in the community and get free or highly discounted classes and still get their instructor rating but actually get paid doing it). The interns are awesome people that got wrapped up in the wrong dive shop and now need to see it through.


Some love it at Rainbow Reef and continue to stay on as an employee but others realize the treatment and quality they are missing out on at other professionally run dive shops in the area, and the best dive instructors in the Keys go elsewhere for employment.


Rainbow Reef is a revolving door of staff and interns (some of which should not be caring for divers safety) and the owner is laughing all the way to the bank at the expense of the interns that make up a majority of his workforce.


The clients are also missing out on much better dive experiences and dive operations in the Keys because they get lured in by great reviews, free guides, and the like.


Always expect crowed to the limit boats, rushed dives, being told to arrive at the dive shop at 7:45A.M., with the staff inside looking at 20 people locked out of the shop (while it is raining outside) and telling you to wait until they are ready to open the door (don't tell clients to come check in at 7:45 A.M. if you aren't ready for them at 7:45 A.M. and then make your clients feel stupid for getting there on time).


If you want to experience real diving in the Keys please head to Horizon Divers or Quiescence in Key Largo (they go to all the same locations that Rainbow Reef does and a much better and relaxing dive experience), Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier and Keys Dives in Islamorada. All of the listed shops are well liked, treat their staff well, focus on safety, give back to their communtiy, and help with reef clean up efforts and other volunteer activities.
 
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