1st time to Florida Keys - stay in Largo or hit whole area?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

PStrangerX

Registered
Messages
51
Reaction score
9
Location
United States
We plan on doing a trip in early June. Thinking of diving 3 days. Everyone in the group prefers reef dives over wreck drives. From what I've read then, Key Largo has the better of the reef dives vs Key West.

Would you recommend that we stay and dive out of Key Largo all 3 days or should we make our way out to Key West to be able to see it all?

Thank you for any advice!
 
For Key's reef dives with a three day time frame I would go with Key Largo. Much more real estate to cover than other areas. You may want to consider a day trip to Looe Key. Small but one of the best preserved reefs in the Florida Keys.

I have added relevant links below. Both of the Dive Operators are excellent.

Scuba Diving Prices | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, Florida Keys

Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area

Home | Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center | Ramrod Key, FL

Enjoy your time!
 
Key Largo for sure. Keep in mind, the keys themselves are small. An operator based in Key Largo will likely take you to sites offshore from more than just Largo. They generally don't go all the way down to west though. Key west's main diving attraction is a deep(ish) wreck. I've never heard of any reef dives in West. There may be some, but it's not famous for reef dives.
 
For Key's reef dives with a three day time frame I would go with Key Largo. Much more real estate to cover than other areas. You may want to consider a day trip to Looe Key. Small but one of the best preserved reefs in the Florida Keys.

I have added relevant links below. Both of the Dive Operators are excellent.

Scuba Diving Prices | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, Florida Keys

Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area

Home | Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center | Ramrod Key, FL

Enjoy your time!


I would even skip Looe Key. If you do go, I do NOT recommend Looe Key Reef Resort.
 
Honestly, the better reefs are in Key largo. The lower keys reefs have been suffering for quite some time.
 
June is a great time to dive in the keys. If I were you I'd spend all 3 days in Key Largo. There are plenty of reef sites to entertain you. You could honestly spend a week on Molasses reef alone. As others have, Key West leaves a lot to be desired in terms of reef diving. Looe Key is really nice and worth the day trip if you're itching to see it.
 
Of the Keys, I've only dove in Key Largo, so take this with a grain of salt though my logic is broader.

When you dive a place briefly, say, a 2-tank trip on a cruise ship stop, your experience may be driven by random chance - the fish were out more than usual or stayed away, the viz. is better/worse than usual, some particularly desirable animal shows up, etc... And your view of that destination can be overly influenced by that.

And that's (dive) life. Many of us can't hit the same destination multiple trips spaced over varied times of year to get the perspective locals or some dive professionals leading groups can.

But Key Largo has good diving. It's worth 3 days to get a better sense of what it's like, maybe hit more different sites. Get a better feel for it, and whether you'd like to come back and spend a week later, etc...
 
Another vote for staying in one area - Key Largo or Islamorada. By using one operator, you can get a 3 or 5 trip discount. Enjoy your trip!
 
Especially because you mention you are more interested in reefs, but also for many other reasons, Key Largo would be your best bet. There's so much to do in Key Largo and it's a really great place to hang out. Key Largo seems to present a more "homey" atmosphere to me, and it's very easy to do multiple dives from the marina area.

I second @Blues Runner's suggestion to dive with Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo. They provide guides to lead each dive if you wish. If you'd prefer to go on your own that's also an option. Really safe, (both dive safe and Covid conscious safe) really fun, really great dive operation.
 
I have no dive advice. But if you’ve never visited Key West, consider a day trip if you can have a fourth day. Get there before sunset and join the sunset watchers-in Mallory Square Walk around before you sleep over in a B&B. After breakfast rent a motorbike the morning to get around, it’s fun, and find a lunch spot. Mid afternoon, turn in the bike and head north back to “mainland Florida”.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

Back
Top Bottom