Advice for a Newb, Traveling Alone to Ft. Lauderdale

[OliveDiver]

Hi Scubaboard!
I've been lurking about on the forum since I got OW certified in Jamaica in December but I'm now set to plan my next diving opportunity and I'd love some suggestions from the wise folks of this forum.

I am traveling there for work in May, and there is one day free for me to dive. I've never been to Ft. Lauderdale, I'll be traveling alone, and I've logged a mere 6 dives to my name. I'd love to do a 2 tank dive that day (no drift or wreck obviously). Ideally I am hoping to be able to hire somebody with experience diving and diving specifically in the area to be my buddy as well as guide me around. I also need to rent gear. Does anybody have suggestions for a dive op that might have a set up like that? To allow me to pay for the gear, the boat trip, a guide, and a buddy?

I am planning to get some more pool experience before I go to Florida, but as you might imaging it's pretty hard to get much more in the way of experience in the dead of winter here in Wisconsin. I found a bunch of sites online for places that will take you out to various places and rent gear, but I just don't think I have the experience to go buddy-less or have a random insta-buddy in a group.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[boulderjohn]

A lot of dive operators can help you out. I am currently just north of there in Pompano Beach, but I would think that most of the ones near there could accommodate you if you simply called up and asked. I would suggest you call the bigger ones that will have their own boats and their own rental gear. They will also have the additional staff to put a DM in the water with you.

Don't worry, either, about wrecks and drift diving. You can do both easily. You don't have to go into a wreck to enjoy it. The drift diving is usually pretty easy. If you hire a private dive guide, the guide will tow a flag, and you just follow and look around. At times the current is so mild you can barely tell which way it is going, or if it is going at all.

Some dive operations, like Pompano Dive Center, put a DM in the water on every dive, so you would not need to hire anyone. You can just stick close to the DM. Make sure the DM knows what you are doing ahead of time, and he or she will make sure to show you a good dive. (Remember that when it comes time to tip!)

 

[scubadada]

Hi @OliveDiver

I have a house in Boynton Beach and do most of my diving there. boudlerjohns advice is good, go out with Pompano Dive Center and then get ready of your next trip, you'll be hooked.

Good diving, Craig

 

[NYCNaiad]

I'll defer to others on where to dive. But I totally agree with you re: hiring someone. I did that for the longest time & still do it if I can't find a buddy that I think is solid enough to dive with. It'd generally safer to hire someone to dive with you than buddying with an random instabuddy...you wouldn't need a buddy plus someone else. Just the person you hire. But if you hire an instructor (or a really great DM), they can also help you improve your diving significantly. My buoyancy & air consumption improved tremendously because I had someone concentrating on how to help me improve. Totally worth it!

 

[thatmark]

Olive,

I'll put in another vote for Pompano Dive Center. I did 3 days on their boats last month finishing my Rec 2 cert with our group from Submerged here in MD. I'd suggest the Copenhagen and adjacent reef for OW dives.

Mark

 

[Texasguy]

There are no drift dives, per se. Depends on the current, some days you propel yourself, some days the current takes you. This is usually dive #2. Dive #1, most times, are wrecks.

From my experience, the easiest dive would be with Home - South Florida Diving Headquarters They have a very easy dive called "the nursery", it is a 2 tank dive, plus, they float a team of snorkelers, the dive is very shallow, about 20-25 feet. This is the easiest boat dive that I am aware of in ft. lauderdale. I checked, it seems they do it every day. You'd need to schedule with them ahead of time to guarantee a spot on the day you need. I doubt it is a quality dive, as not too deep, means less to see. But if you are not too spoiled with scuba, it might as well be of entertainment value.

Another easy dive (very cheap) is a shore dive, no boat. 2 hours on one tank possible. Parking could prove challenging, however.

Hit me up in May, if it is a weekend, I'll go. I think waters will be 78-80F. I might freeze something but willing to throw caution to the wind.

 

[Beau640]

I can second south florida diving headquarters for a newer diver/someone looking for easy dives. They have a lot of shallow reef dives and I've dove with them when traveling solo/got paired up with a buddy already on the boat. I used them a bit when I was first certified.

 

[Bison]

I will try and sneak in some dives whenever I'm allowed a short visit in Ft. Lauderdale area. Boulderjohn and others have given you great advice. One shop I have also dove with is Sea Experience, they have their own boats and rental gear, but they will have you pay for a DM to be placed in the water. Have fun and dive safe. Let us know how your diving went.

 

[OliveDiver]

Thanks so much to everybody who commented! My trip was this past weekend. I ended up going with the Pompano Dive Center. They were so great! I did the morning 2 dive outing, which was a wreck dive followed by a reef dive (both 65 feet-ish). Their rental gear was in great condition. They gave me a tutorial on how to use the dive computer since all my previous dives had been analog-style. I told them I am very new to diving and did not have a buddy with me. They were accommodating and reassuring. A DM was in the water both dives, and I stayed pretty close to them the whole time. They pointed out cool stuff and checked in regularly with how I was doing. I was definitely the greenest diver aboard, but lots of the other divers were very experienced and seemed to have a great time as well. I wish I could have done more dives with them on that trip, but had to tend to work stuff the rest of the week. If I go back to the area in the future I'll definitely dive with them again.

 

[CajunDiva]

Thanks for coming back to report