Visiting Florida on second week of June

[timz]

If you have the option, flying into Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will get you a lot closer to the keys and the excellent diving there. Flying into Orlando and driving to the keys will mean that you spend more than 10 hours round trip to get to Key Largo and back. One way on the turnpike is 4 hours and 45 minutes. As mentioned elsewhere, Florida is much bigger than people often realize, and traffic around Miami and in/out of the Keys can add extra time and frustration.

Thanks. Will put that on note.

I was going to suggest we do a dive while you are here--I would say MOST of the people who are the most fervid divers here are also rock climbers. (Someone should check into the psychological association between the sports.) I am not one of them, though.

Unfortunately, I will be out of the country while you are here.

I'll be at florida from 11-17 June. So, lets see if we can make it.

 

[DavidFL]

I live in Orlando; nearly all the advice you have received looks sound to me. If you fly to Orlando and end up driving, I live about 4 miles from the airport so these times would be close for you with a rental car from Orlando International, here are my experiences:

1. You can be in Jupiter / West Palm Beach area in 2h30min; lots of operators to choose from; I like drift dives from Riviera Beach on Narcosis; if you want a good shore dive before jumping into the other things, the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach is great [but tide dependent; photo below from Blue Heron Bridge last Sunday]

2. You can be in the upper/mid Keys in 4 hours....but this is highly variable depending on the traffic coming out of and into South Florida; in that part of the Keys I most often go with Conch Republic Divers
3. The time to Key West from Orlando is even more variable and traffic dependent; when I go to Key West to dive I go for a 3 day Dry Tortugas trip aboard M/V Spree.
4. I've done the Disney Quest dive, in my personal opinion I wouldn't repeat it...for me it's a "been there done that".

Good luck and enjoy Florida

 

[timz]

I live in Orlando; nearly all the advice you have received looks sound to me. If you fly to Orlando and end up driving, I live about 4 miles from the airport so these times would be close for you with a rental car from Orlando International, here are my experiences:

1. You can be in Jupiter / West Palm Beach area in 2h30min; lots of operators to choose from; I like drift dives from Riviera Beach on Narcosis; if you want a good shore dive before jumping into the other things, the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach is great [but tide dependent; photo below from Blue Heron Bridge last Sunday]

2. You can be in the upper/mid Keys in 4 hours....but this is highly variable depending on the traffic coming out of and into South Florida; in that part of the Keys I most often go with Conch Republic Divers
3. The time to Key West from Orlando is even more variable and traffic dependent; when I go to Key West to dive I go for a 3 day Dry Tortugas trip aboard M/V Spree.
4. I've done the Disney Quest dive, in my personal opinion I wouldn't repeat it...for me it's a "been there done that".

Good luck and enjoy Florida

Thanks DavidFL.

Just wanna know, if I'm there for a 3 days 2 nights, with 2-3dives daily. How much would it roughly cost inclusive of accomodation and gear rental and possibly a dive guide.

 

[DavidFL]

Hi Timz,

I started to try to answer your question about costs, but there are too many variables for me to get anything like a good single rough number for you; the biggest ones being the location(s) and operators you choose, gear rental and dive guides-- it depends on which operator you choose and how comprehensive the gear rental. I have all my own gear including tanks and I don't hire dive guides so I don't have any personal rules-of-thumb. Force E has a few store locations, and importantly they have a shop in Riviera Beach, so here's the gear rental pricing for them as a reference:
Gear rental: https://www.force-e.com/equipment-services/gear-rentals/

A half-day trip on Narcosis dive charters in Riviera Beach is $65-95 depending on tanks and whether you dive air or nitrox
Scuba Diving West Palm Beach Florida with Narcosis Dive Charters
You can find descriptions of the West Palm Beach drift dives on Scubaboard and on the operator web sites
Narcosis ... and the other West Palm Beach drift dive operators in my experience ... will put a diver in the water to guide the dive and carry the line-and-float, and that's included in the basic cost of the dive charter. The drift dives in West Palm Beach are relatively deep (70 - 90 feet).

Accomodation in the Riviera Beach area can be had for ~~$100/night

If your friend from Orlando is supplying the car, you can expect to need gas on the order of $100 for the down-and-back plus whatever running around gas you need.

To make the trip less expensive, there are beach dives in Florida, but most of the diving in south Florida and the Keys, it seems to me, is from boats.

If you travel further (from your Orlando starting point) to the Key Largo area, you will pay more for gas and it will obviously take longer, but you will have more choices for diving. A half-day 2-location trip with Conch Republic will be $85; Conch Republic has a "boat package" gear rental at $35/day.
Conch Republic Divers

Most of the Keys operators do not put a dive guide in the water unless you arrange and pay separately for the guide. But the Keys trips will have lots of choices for great shallow reefs, but you need to check the trip descriptions carefully as there are a lot of Keys trips to wrecks. Accommodation in Key Largo will likely be more than the least expensive you can find in the West Palm Beach area, but there are lots of choices you can find on the internet to explore.

 

[timz]

Hi Timz,

I started to try to answer your question about costs, but there are too many variables for me to get anything like a good single rough number for you; the biggest ones being the location(s) and operators you choose, gear rental and dive guides-- it depends on which operator you choose and how comprehensive the gear rental. I have all my own gear including tanks and I don't hire dive guides so I don't have any personal rules-of-thumb. Force E has a few store locations, and importantly they have a shop in Riviera Beach, so here's the gear rental pricing for them as a reference:
Gear rental: https://www.force-e.com/equipment-services/gear-rentals/

A half-day trip on Narcosis dive charters in Riviera Beach is $65-95 depending on tanks and whether you dive air or nitrox
Scuba Diving West Palm Beach Florida with Narcosis Dive Charters
You can find descriptions of the West Palm Beach drift dives on Scubaboard and on the operator web sites
Narcosis ... and the other West Palm Beach drift dive operators in my experience ... will put a diver in the water to guide the dive and carry the line-and-float, and that's included in the basic cost of the dive charter. The drift dives in West Palm Beach are relatively deep (70 - 90 feet).

Accomodation in the Riviera Beach area can be had for ~~$100/night

If your friend from Orlando is supplying the car, you can expect to need gas on the order of $100 for the down-and-back plus whatever running around gas you need.

To make the trip less expensive, there are beach dives in Florida, but most of the diving in south Florida and the Keys, it seems to me, is from boats.

If you travel further (from your Orlando starting point) to the Key Largo area, you will pay more for gas and it will obviously take longer, but you will have more choices for diving. A half-day 2-location trip with Conch Republic will be $85; Conch Republic has a "boat package" gear rental at $35/day.
Conch Republic Divers

Most of the Keys operators do not put a dive guide in the water unless you arrange and pay separately for the guide. But the Keys trips will have lots of choices for great shallow reefs, but you need to check the trip descriptions carefully as there are a lot of Keys trips to wrecks. Accommodation in Key Largo will likely be more than the least expensive you can find in the West Palm Beach area, but there are lots of choices you can find on the internet to explore.

Thanks you so much DavidFL. Appreciate your input.

Will try to get some quote from them by email. ^.^

 

[gr8jab]

Rainbow Reef's web page is very complete, and has everything needed to calculate your costs. They even have some discounted hotel rates.

 

[mselenaous]

Here are a few answers.
Travel times from Orlando to Key Largo about 5 hours maybe more with traffic. Add 2 more hours to Key West.

Costs
Hotels $150 +/- 50 depending on quality (economy vs midrange), weekday vs weekend, and more if you overlap any major events/holidays: memorial day, labor day, 4th of july, lobster mini season (last week of july)

Diving $85 +/- 5 per 2 tank trip or 1 tank night dive. Includes air & weights. Gear rentals about $30/trip. Nitrox +$10 or so.

Dive sites are 20-40 minutes ride out so all shops run morning trip @ 8-830 departures and afternoon trips departing @ 1-130. It's usually a quick turn between trips, if doing am & pm I recommend bring some lunch with you so you don't feel stressed to eat then rush back.

Some shops include an inwater guide every 6-8 divers to follow, like Rainbow Reef. All offer semi-private guides, prices vary based on #, and truly private guides for a bit more, essentially a person mentor & dive buddy.


As for dive shops, boulder john us correct. There are many many & many choices. There are 60 in the Keys, 30 in Upper Keys (Key Largo/Tavernier). Yes more dive ops than gas stations.

There are plenty of SB favorites to read about, just peruse a few of the many threads on the Keys here in the FL forum.

If I can be of assistance, feel free to contact me.

 

[Capt Gary]

Hey Timz

Just wanted to check in with you to see how your plans were coming together for diving/lodging in June. If there anything we can answer any questions about the area, even if you don't dive with us, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We're happy to help just to ensure you have a great time while in the Florida Keys.

Also if you'd like to see our online calendar which shows our as it happens dive schedule you can do so by clicking Conch Republic Divers Dive Calendar. You can also book online here and save $$$$ on your dives. Or if you want to pre-purchase a dive package you can buy one from our online web-store at Conch Republic Divers Web-Store.

Hope you have a great time in June and the weather is perfect.

Good Diving,

 

[timz]

Hey Timz

Just wanted to check in with you to see how your plans were coming together for diving/lodging in June. If there anything we can answer any questions about the area, even if you don't dive with us, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We're happy to help just to ensure you have a great time while in the Florida Keys.

Also if you'd like to see our online calendar which shows our as it happens dive schedule you can do so by clicking Conch Republic Divers Dive Calendar. You can also book online here and save $$$$ on your dives. Or if you want to pre-purchase a dive package you can buy one from our online web-store at Conch Republic Divers Web-Store.

Hope you have a great time in June and the weather is perfect.

Good Diving,

Thanks Capt Gary,

Appreciate. Will look into your site.

 

[timz]

Any divers wanna join me on 06/12/2015-06/142015?? I haven't decide where to go yet. But i'll be at florida for diving on that date.

I'm an OW.