2 week trip advice

[TMHeimer]

My wife & I may look at 2 weeks in S. FL--either coast. Anyone have advice----?
--inexpensive but clean motels walking distance to shore.
--decent shore diving. Doesn't have to be deep. I know about Blue Heron Bridge.
--how far north from Miami on the East do you go where you get to a sand only bottom. Are we talking Juno Beach? I assume the further North the less expensive?
--I assume no cheap clean motels in the Keys, but maybe? I know shore diving would be very shallow there.

Appreciate any advice from those with personal experience. We are only familiar with the panhandle and usually snowbird there.
We would be looking at S. FL. in maybe early May.

We are also considering The Bahamas (Nassau? Freeport, other) and Puerto Rico, if anyone has similar info. on those places.
Thanks.

 

[sportxlh]

Look at Lauderdale by the Sea, there is good shore diving and if you want to boat dive you can go with dive shops in nearby Pompano. The Keys, to the south, and Jupiter, to the north, are not too far away and drives on weekend days aren't too bad. There is great boat diving in both locations.

The Windjammer hotel is right on Datura Avenue in Lauderdale by the Sea, which is one of the main entry points for shore dives. It's diver friendly.

Jupiter and Juno beach don't have any real shore diving, nor does the Keys. You can find a few places like Jules Lagoon or Penekamp cannon beach, but it's low vis and not nice by every account I've read. Those sites are only good back up plans if marine conditions cancel dive boat trips in my mind. There are a few places like MacArthur State Park that allow shore diving in northern Palm Beach County but there isn't a lot to see. I've gone snorkeling at MacArthur numerous times, which is fun enough, but wouldn't waste time dragging dive gear.

I've done Bahamas diving via Juliet Sailing and diving. The boat can be caught in Miami for the week long trip. It's a lot of fun, the diving is great and the price is reasonable when you consider food and lodging is included. I enjoyed it so much that I just booked another trip, this morning, for July

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

It sounds like you want shore diving primarily (or only). Lauderdale by the Sea is by far the best location. There are lots of good shore dives in Broward and maybe southern Palm Beach County. THE place to go is Gold Coast Scuba, in Lauderdale by the Sea. They are shore diving specialists and can get you to well over a dozen sites. Some are a long surface swim. they often have meet-up groups of divers so you can enjoy company if you wish.

That being said, it would be a long stretch to fill two weeks with shore diving, even in this area and even adding a couple dives to Blue Heron Bridge. But, if you wanted to mix in a few boat trips in Ft. Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, and West Palm/Jupiter (all an easy drive) then you have many more dive sites available and two weeks will get you a lot of great diving.

As for the Keys, not really any shore diving. Unless you are a nudibranch fanatic there is no really good shore diving in the Keys for scenery or larger marine life. The Keys are about the reefs, which are absolutely beautiful, but you need to pay for boat dives. Still a lot less than going to the Bahamas.

My recommendation would be 8-9 days at LBTS with mostly shore diving and a couple boat trips out of Palm Beach, then 3 days in the keys with one boat trip per day (lots of fun things to do in the Keys other than diving). This would keep cost down.

You mention early May. Generally a decent time to dive but it is still in the spring windy season, so you might get blown out on shore and boat dives. If you are flexible, much better to come in July and August when the weather is calm, the ocean is warm, and you can see more of the incredible marine life, especially in the Palm Beach area, such as turtles and goliath groupers.

Enjoy your diving!

 

[TMHeimer]

Thanks for all these tips. Sounds like shore diving will be fine. My wife doesn't dive, so there will be days we just go to a beach. She also likes Texas Holdem, and I see there is a casino nearby. We have been to the keys, so will bypass that. The main attraction seems to be that we may find something like a Motel 6, being that it would be 2 weeks. Cost is a big factor. We usually do 3 months on the panhandle in the winter where a condo costs per month what a week in Destin costs come April.
I'm not into really long surface swims and seek close in shallow places (30-40') where I could solo dive.

 

[sportxlh]

Nothing is that close to shore except Blue Heron Bridge: at that site you're steps from interesting macro life but can only dive at slack high tide. At the LBTS, there is some stuff to see about 2/3's of the way down the pier, but the really good reef is just beyond the end of the pier. We're talking about multiples of football field lengths not 40 or 50 feet. With that said, when marine conditions are good, it's an easy swim. Just take your time with an easy surface swim, your not limited to high tide like BHB so there is no need to rush.

Gold Coast Scuba is a good idea as Guy suggested. The shop rents tanks, dive flags and other gear but as important sponsors a meetip.com dive club. Search under Gold Coast Scuba on meetup.com

Depths at LBTS are 15-25 feet depending on the reef line you choose. BHB is ultra shallow, most of it is less than 15 feet deep

 

[tekkydiver]

As long as your are making the trip down, I would skip the beach diving and "splurge" by going on a dive boat. They all hit similar spots on the reefs and local wrecks and it is way better than going to all the trouble of a shore dive.

 

[iamrushman]

here is the windjammer beach cam in lauderdale by the sea....perhaps this will help.

Windjammer Web Cam - Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Beach Cam

 

[TMHeimer]

As long as your are making the trip down, I would skip the beach diving and "splurge" by going on a dive boat. They all hit similar spots on the reefs and local wrecks and it is way better than going to all the trouble of a shore dive.

Thanks. I'd probably do that, assuming I can find a boat that allows shell collecting.

 

[TMHeimer]

here is the windjammer beach cam in lauderdale by the sea....perhaps this will help.

Windjammer Web Cam - Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Beach Cam

Thanks. I've e mailed them to find out how to get this to play.....

 

[KathyV]

Thanks for all these tips. Sounds like shore diving will be fine. My wife doesn't dive, so there will be days we just go to a beach. She also likes Texas Holdem, and I see there is a casino nearby. We have been to the keys, so will bypass that. The main attraction seems to be that we may find something like a Motel 6, being that it would be 2 weeks. Cost is a big factor. We usually do 3 months on the panhandle in the winter where a condo costs per month what a week in Destin costs come April.
I'm not into really long surface swims and seek close in shallow places (30-40') where I could solo dive.

Since your wife doesn't dive will you be shore diving solo on vacation? I just ask because there are some parts of the world where the dive ops aren't willing (or allowed?) to rent tanks and weights to solo divers - so that should be factored into your destination decision. I don't know what the practice is regarding solo shore divers in Florida, but I am sure that others here on SB will know. If the "no buddy" issue is likely to be a problem then you would be better off looking for a boat diving package.

The Rainbow Reef dive center in Key Largo is frequently mentioned on SB as a good and reasonably priced dive op, see below:
Scuba Diving Florida Keys | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, FL

Check out this trip report from @drrich2. It is from 2013 and he did a lot of diving but he included specific pricing information so it might give you some ideas:
Diving Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center