Bargain Florida diving

[loady]

I’m interested in traveling to dive the Florida keys last minute, in May 2021. The housing , lodging prices start at $300 per night and are higher then I want to spend. Where’s a pleasant Florida location with similar quality diving to the Keys, doesn’t require renting a car, has activities other then diving, and costs less then Key Largo or Key West? Thank you.

 

[CosbySweater]

Look at Palm Beach County. Specifically the areas around Boynton inlet, Lake Worth inlet, and Jupiter inlet - all three inlets have several good dive operators in the area and all three areas offer top notch South Florida diving. Lots of SB'ers have first hand experience with operators in these areas. Myself included. Reasonably priced lodging can be found in the summer. You may or may not still need a car depending on exactly where you are staying and what operator you choose to dive with.

As far as the Keys go - If you don't mind renting a car, there are some good and cheap lodging options in Florida City. It's about a 30 minute drive to Key Largo from Florida City but it will save you a bunch of money. Further, a car is almost required in the Keys if you really want to do activities other than diving. I've stayed in Florida City several times when I didn't want to pay the Keys premium. It's worked out well for me in the past.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

@loady As @CosbySweater said dive Palm Beach County or possibly Broward County ... Jupiter, Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Pompano Beach, Ft. Lauderdale. I actually prefer it to diving Key Largo.

LOTS of threads on here from those of us that dive this area regularly. You should be able to find alot of good information just reading the threads in this forum from the last 12 months regarding diving this area.

EDIT: Plenty of nice places to stay in this area currently for $125-$175 per night currently. I often times book early and get rooms for $85-$105 a night in Palm Beach Gardens or West Palm Beach.

 

[greeniguana]

Driving on US 1 is a nightmare.

You'll want to do as little of that as possible.

 

[loady]

Folks, what’s the best airport compromise between price and time to get to those areas? If I fly to the closest major airport is it more economical to rent a car there and drive to palm beach, or catch a bus to Palm beach county and then Uber / Lyft in the area? If I’m diving all day I don’t really need a rental car. Are there hotel / dive centers on the water like in Roatan and Cozumel? Thanks

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Folks, what’s the best airport compromise between price and time to get to those areas? If I fly to the closest major airport is it more economical to rent a car there and drive to palm beach, or catch a bus to Palm beach county and then Uber / Lyft in the area? If I’m diving all day I don’t really need a rental car. Are there hotel / dive centers on the water like in Roatan and Cozumel? Thanks

I don't fly to that area so others will have to chime in. The two main airports are Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. I drive over from SWFL so I always have my own vehicle.

Hotel/Dive Centers on the water like Roatan and Cozumel? NO! The charter boats, whether or not they are owned by a shop or not, are located in various marinas on the intracoastal in disparate locations. If you want to hit multiple locations you are booking with different boats for the different locations. It is virtually impossible to dive any area in Florida without a rental car and certainly SEFL. There are a very few exceptions but you are then locked into one hotel/nearby boat (SeaExperience/Bahia Mar come to mind in Ft. Lauderdale as an exception). I'm sure it is "literally" possible but I wouldn't want to try it. Everyone I know who flies in rents a car.

There are many detailed threads in the Florida forum from those who have flown into this area. They detail how they handled the logistics. I'd suggest you read those threads. Several out there from just the last few months.

Here are a few links:
Trip Report - Dive Report- Boynton Reefs 04/30/21
Trip Report - West Palm Beach- March 18-21, 2021
Trip Report - Florida Dive Trip June 27 to July 7, 2020

 

[Rob9876]

I’m interested in traveling to dive the Florida keys last minute, in May 2021. The housing , lodging prices start at $300 per night and are higher then I want to spend. Where’s a pleasant Florida location with similar quality diving to the Keys, doesn’t require renting a car, has activities other then diving, and costs less then Key Largo or Key West? Thank you.

Lots of good information from others above. I just wanted to mention that when I've looked into planning a similar trip before I found that the package deals with Rainbow Reef in Key Largo actually provide some huge savings on Key Largo hotels within walking distance of their boats: Key Largo Diving Package Specials | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, Florida Keys

So, though I assume you'd need a car to get from the airport to Key Largo and back (not sure if any shuttles), you might be fine not having a car while you were there.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @loady

I have a townhouse in Hypoluxo, 3 miles north of Boynton Beach, 15 miles south of West Palm, 30 miles south of Jupiter. The diving is very good. You could fly into Palm Beach, it is very close. I think you would want a rental car for flexibility of sites, restaurants... Here are my last two dive reports, the first one has a post about the 4 operators I use most of the time near the end of the thread. I think Narcosis in West Palm is out until at least May 24. Pura Vida is very good, @JimBlay uses it frequently. I have also used Walker's Charters, they were fine.
Trip Report - Finally, back in SE Florida
Trip Report - Finally, back in SE Florida, part 2

On the other hand, @Rob9876 has a very good suggestion. Fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale and drive down to the Keys. Rainbow Reef is well liked on SB, they have many boats and a lot of flexibility. I have stayed at the Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, and Marina Del Mar, all are fine. You might want to check out the Rainbow Reef Discount. Though this option has a longer drive, it might be simpler once you are there. Before I discovered SE Florida, I did quite a bit of diving out of Key Largo, same canal as Rainbow Reef, but an operator that they took over

Edit: Jupiter Dive Center, Narcosis, Pura Vida, Walkers, and Rainbow Reef all put a guide in the water you can use if you wish. Loggerhead and Starfish in Boynton Beach do not put in a guide, all divers/groups must take a flag.

Good luck, let us know about your trip

 

[CosbySweater]

Folks, what’s the best airport compromise between price and time to get to those areas? If I fly to the closest major airport is it more economical to rent a car there and drive to palm beach, or catch a bus to Palm beach county and then Uber / Lyft in the area? If I’m diving all day I don’t really need a rental car. Are there hotel / dive centers on the water like in Roatan and Cozumel? Thanks

I see now why you don’t want to rent a car. Prices are crazy expensive! Your best bet for a “resort style" accommodation with a dive op on site is going to be Key Largo. Rainbow Reef partners with the Holiday Inn and Courtyard on dive and stay packages. Another option is Amy Slate’s Dive Amoray in Key Largo. There is a shuttle that runs from FLL to Key Largo for a reasonable price.

Theoretically it COULD be possible to shuttle/Uber from PBI in to Jupiter, stay in Jupiter for a reasonable price (there’s an $86 express deal on Priceline right now) and dive with either Scuba Works, Kyalami, or Jupiter Dive Center and not need a car. You can Uber around or rent a bicycle. You could store your gear with the dive op for the week so that you don’t have to carry it in a Uber or on a bike. Jupiter is pretty bike friendly and so it could be a fun way to get around if you’re really on a budget. I bicycle just about everywhere in Jupiter.

Just keep in mind dive trips in this area are between $85 - $100 + tanks + tip.

 

[boulderjohn]

If you book a place near the Sands Harbor Marina off Atlantic Avenue and A1A in Pompano Beach, you would be within walking distance of two dive operations and lots of restaurants. The Sands Harbor resort itself is being renovated, and its website says it will be open June 4, which is too late for your plans. There are other places to stay nearby.

I stay 6 blocks from there every winter, and although I would prefer not to walk that far before and after diving with a pack of gear, I have done it when the driving situation has not worked out with my wife.