Cheap Florida Diving?

[willow12233]

Hi, my name is Katie, I go to a local college in St. Petersburg but grew up in New Jersey so I am new to Florida diving. This Spring Break my mom, a nondiver, is coming down and she has planned a few dives for me. Because I'm on a tight college budget and I am already spending a good chunk of money for the dives, I am wondering if anyone knows about any cheap motels near Sarasota, Ft. Lauderdale and the Keys. Me and my mom would just need a bed, not much more. Up near us in Penn. there are these hotels called Microtels, there just a cheap place to stay for the night. Also, if anyone here knows of any really cool dives, I would appreciate it. Thanks alot!

-Katie

 

[El Orans]

Hello Katie,
welcome (Scub)aBoard! :balloon
Laurens

 

[radinator]

Welcome!! Any question you have, you can probably find a post about it in the archives, or just ask away and someone will steer you to an answer.


I can't help you about FL, but I'm sure your answers are here somewhere.

 

[Divesherpa]

There is some great diving in Boynton Beach. See: www.splashdowndivers.com for a great class A operation.

Lodging is not going to be inexpensive anywhere. There are some diver specials on the Interstate. The archives on this site are packed with good information. Also, check out the Florida Conch Divers page on this site.

Cheers and safe diving,
Jamie

 

[Matt the Aquaman]

Hey there Katie, welcome to Scuba Board! and Safe Diving :butnhome:

Click here to greet a new member! :happywave
No experience needed and it feels great!​

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy!

And welcome to SB - the biggest, the best, the fastest growing, and the friendliest! If you'll click ScubaBoard.com above, you'll be taken to our long list of forums, a wealth of information and resources. At the bottom, be sure to notice the Local & Singles Dive Club forums.

I always stay at the Hungry Pelican or Sunset Cove in Key Largo - adjacent properties with a common office. Economical, but fun. We used it for the Singles Group trip in November, and everyone enjoyed it.

PM me if I can help you learn your way around; that is - click my username to the upper left, then follow the prompts to send me a "Personal Message."

don

 

[nite_diver]

hey katie,
i'm from the boston area and was going to do some diving in florida. i got a lot of info from the florida konch section of scuba board. great dives and good but inexpensive places to stay. shore and boat dives. who to charter and who to stay away from. check it out and see if they do the same for you. good luck and welcome to scubaboard.

nite_diver

 

[simbrooks]

Welcome Katie, i put your post in the FCD forum for better viewing, if you want to post another intro on who you are etc feel free

 

[CBulla]

Hey Katie! Welcome to FL, and more importantly welcome to ScubaBoard! There are a LOT of us here on the board who are "cheap" divers... i.e., we do many shore dives.

Your pretty close to some fun shore diving being up in St. Petersburg.. Venice Beach and fossil shark tooth hunting. Beyond that, there is lots of other options all around the state, it mostly depends on where you want to drive.

Drop a line if your interested and I'll tell you more about the different dives available.

 

[Scubaguy62]

Hi Katie, welcome to Scubaboard and to Florida.

Colin hit the nail on the head...here in the Fort Lauderdale area, we're not only blessed with lots of wrecks and nice drift dives, we have the best shore diving in the State, and probably the nation. The most famous shore diving site is Lauderdale by the Sea, and there's also shore diving from Pompano Beach, and Hollywood Beach. It costs $1.00 per hour at the parking meters, and an air fill. As far as boat diving is concerned, my favorites are South Florida Diving Headquarters, Parrot Island Scuba (their boats are Fish Food and Fathoms O' Fun), and American Dream II. Check out www.fillexpress.com and click on dive boats for more info.

As far as the keys, in Key Largo my favorite diving operation is Island Ventures (www.islandventure.com) Lodging in Key Largo is very reasonable at the Neptune's Hideaway (www.neptuneshidaway.com)

Good luck and once again, welcome to Scubaboard and Florida.