I may be new to posting on the FL forum as I normally dive and post on the Northeast and Caribbean forums. This was my first trip to Key Largo since 1990 and only third time diving in FL (FLL '10, Key West '11) .
Our repeat warm water trips have been to GC, T&C, BON and CUR and all put on hold or rescheduled due to Covid. Wanted to get back in warm waters but not willing yet to travel outside the US where we would have to test to come back in. FL made it to the top of the list. Reviews on SB for Key Largo and Rainbow Reef were pretty good so gave it a try. I was also traveling with my wife, a diver, but not boat diver unless the boat trip is short and calm water so she chose not to dive this trip.
Planned a 4 night trip to Key Largo. JetBlue nonstop HPN to FLL. Budget car rental. Marriott Courtyard stay and diving with Rainbow Reef. HPN is a small airport about an 1 hr away and worked out well. Airport and flight was full. Wearing a mask in the airport and on the flight was not an issue. Picking up a rental car and getting out of FLL was a breeze. Easy ride down to Key Largo. Arrived Sat evening with first day of diving Sun.
I booked the room and diving with Rainbow Reef and they were excellent on getting the plans put together. Their prices for rooms at the Courtyard Marriott was far cheaper than I could find anywhere else. Check in for the room and diving was also a breeze. RR is quite an impressive operation with 8 dive boats, 7 of them large 42' and 46' Newtons. Day one was two shallow dives on Molasses Reef. Weather was becoming a factor with the winds blowing out of the east from a high pressure system off the east coast. Seas were '3-'4 feet and vis varied as the dive went on with some areas more stirred up than others and some areas fairly clear. RR crew got divers in and out of the water quickly and efficiently and I appreciated the larger boats with the choppy conditions. You could dive on your own or chose a free guide. I dove with the guide and paired with another diver on the boat. All worked out well.
I was presently surprised to see how fishy the reef was and the amount of healthy looking sea fans and soft corals. A first for me was seeing schools of midnight parrot fish feeding in swarms on the reef. I have only seen midnight parrot fish as a solitary fish on the reef and usually shy or elusive. I have never seen them in numbers which I would guess were 30-50. I was also happy to see many of the fish that I would see in the locations in the Caribbean that I typically dive. Schools of snappers, grunts, brown chromis, creole wrasses. Southern Stingrays on each dive. One nurse shark. One lobster. I enjoyed Day One.
Day Two was scheduled to be two deep drift dives but with the weather getting worse my boat and location was shifted to another day of shallow Molasses Reef dives. The dives were much like Day One and I enjoyed the diving. I could tell that the crew was getting concerned with the worsening weather conditions and there was a question on whether they would go out on my Day Three. The next morning my Day Three all dives were cancelled due to high seas. My wife and I spent Day Three relaxing, hanging out and doing some shopping. We left on Wednesday and I think RR cancelled all dives Wed and maybe today Thur which has to be tough for them and all the divers who came down to dive.
I enjoyed the diving and we enjoyed the trip to Key Largo. Would recommed RR. Besides diving we also were looking forward to being in a warm weather environment and eating some good fresh seafood. We ate at a number of local nearby restaurants: Skippers, Sharkeys, Conch House and Sals Ballyhoos. The lobster and conch cerviche at the Conch House and the cracked conch in a house made sauce of garlic butter, key lime and worcestershire sauce were outstanding.
Not sure where we will dive travel next. We have a Bon trip that has been postponed and rescheduled a number of times. Would definitely consider KL again for a short trip. Some pics attached.
Our repeat warm water trips have been to GC, T&C, BON and CUR and all put on hold or rescheduled due to Covid. Wanted to get back in warm waters but not willing yet to travel outside the US where we would have to test to come back in. FL made it to the top of the list. Reviews on SB for Key Largo and Rainbow Reef were pretty good so gave it a try. I was also traveling with my wife, a diver, but not boat diver unless the boat trip is short and calm water so she chose not to dive this trip.
Planned a 4 night trip to Key Largo. JetBlue nonstop HPN to FLL. Budget car rental. Marriott Courtyard stay and diving with Rainbow Reef. HPN is a small airport about an 1 hr away and worked out well. Airport and flight was full. Wearing a mask in the airport and on the flight was not an issue. Picking up a rental car and getting out of FLL was a breeze. Easy ride down to Key Largo. Arrived Sat evening with first day of diving Sun.
I booked the room and diving with Rainbow Reef and they were excellent on getting the plans put together. Their prices for rooms at the Courtyard Marriott was far cheaper than I could find anywhere else. Check in for the room and diving was also a breeze. RR is quite an impressive operation with 8 dive boats, 7 of them large 42' and 46' Newtons. Day one was two shallow dives on Molasses Reef. Weather was becoming a factor with the winds blowing out of the east from a high pressure system off the east coast. Seas were '3-'4 feet and vis varied as the dive went on with some areas more stirred up than others and some areas fairly clear. RR crew got divers in and out of the water quickly and efficiently and I appreciated the larger boats with the choppy conditions. You could dive on your own or chose a free guide. I dove with the guide and paired with another diver on the boat. All worked out well.
I was presently surprised to see how fishy the reef was and the amount of healthy looking sea fans and soft corals. A first for me was seeing schools of midnight parrot fish feeding in swarms on the reef. I have only seen midnight parrot fish as a solitary fish on the reef and usually shy or elusive. I have never seen them in numbers which I would guess were 30-50. I was also happy to see many of the fish that I would see in the locations in the Caribbean that I typically dive. Schools of snappers, grunts, brown chromis, creole wrasses. Southern Stingrays on each dive. One nurse shark. One lobster. I enjoyed Day One.
Day Two was scheduled to be two deep drift dives but with the weather getting worse my boat and location was shifted to another day of shallow Molasses Reef dives. The dives were much like Day One and I enjoyed the diving. I could tell that the crew was getting concerned with the worsening weather conditions and there was a question on whether they would go out on my Day Three. The next morning my Day Three all dives were cancelled due to high seas. My wife and I spent Day Three relaxing, hanging out and doing some shopping. We left on Wednesday and I think RR cancelled all dives Wed and maybe today Thur which has to be tough for them and all the divers who came down to dive.
I enjoyed the diving and we enjoyed the trip to Key Largo. Would recommed RR. Besides diving we also were looking forward to being in a warm weather environment and eating some good fresh seafood. We ate at a number of local nearby restaurants: Skippers, Sharkeys, Conch House and Sals Ballyhoos. The lobster and conch cerviche at the Conch House and the cracked conch in a house made sauce of garlic butter, key lime and worcestershire sauce were outstanding.
Not sure where we will dive travel next. We have a Bon trip that has been postponed and rescheduled a number of times. Would definitely consider KL again for a short trip. Some pics attached.
