Dive shop in Key West who goes to Middle Keys for diving?

[scubaaim]

Hola,

My husband and I are going to Key West with friends. After tons of research (here and elsewhere) we realized that most of the good diving is in Key Largo and the middle Keys. Bummer since we already have plans and reservations organized in Key West.

Does anyone know of good dive shops in Key West that will drive (by boat or car) to the fabulous diving further north?

Any suggestions for us?

Cheers mates!

 

[<*)))><]

How many days do you have dedicated for diving? How long are you going to be in Key West? How close are you to your friends. If they're not really good friends just blow them off and dive the entire time your in KW

See if you can get the mods to move this to the Florida Conch divers forum. They've got a greater knowledge of the area, and they're always ready to help visitors. My only thought if you're already in Key West, the Vandenberg is a great Key West wreck dive I thought was worth doing.

 

[HiQPen]

Check with Bonsai Diving, they are pretty flexible and a first class operation.

 

[CT Sean]

Pete at Bonsai is a great guy but I'd be shocked if anyone is willing to take you 30 miles (Looe Key is about 30 miles away) or more up the keys by boat. And if you do you're gonna be paying a tidy sum to do it.

The only realistic suggestion is rent a car and drive to a dive op further up the keys. Again, Looe Key is about 30 miles up Rt 1. Supposed to be very nice, unfortunately I didn't get to find out - was blown out the entire week my wife and I were in KW in November

 

[scubaaim]

Thanks y'all. I'll definitely check out the Vandenberg and Bonsai divers. Cheers!

 

[moneysavr]

Key West do it once I guess but not my cup of tea,mid Key's ROCK! KW too crowded,too busy,too expensive way too many 2's!
Looe Key RR will get you out on a easy wreck=pile of rocks & reef
Florida Keys scuba diving dive training charter boats,Looe Keys Dive Center Florida scuba,scuba diving dive training Florida Keys,dives boat charters scuba diving Florida keys,Vandenberg Busch wrecks
great TIKI BAR!:beer:
Make sure to get north well worth the drive:goingdown: hit it early and do a full day of diving with Conch Republic
CONCH REPUBLIC DIVERS " COME SEE WHY WE'RE NOT JUST ANOTHER DIVE SHOP"
I hate cattle boats but man that 46' Newton is FAST I first dove on that boat brand new across the street!
They may not be the cheapest in the Keys but crew,owners ,skipper get a 5 star rate from me! and the boat has so much room!
Make sure to hit Robbies one day on the way up or down
Feeding Tarpons at Robbie's
:cool3:
OMG make sure to try a fish sandwich at
Florida Keys, Craigs Restaurant Islamorada in the Florida Keys Islamorada, FL Home
:fish:
have fun
Dive the Duane!
The Wreck of the Duane

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I don't see when you are going to KW, so I can't tell if this is too late or not. At any rate, I have dived Looe Key with Looe Key Dive Center, so I thought I would tell you a bit more about it.

First of all, Looe Key is really nice. It's a deep spur-and-groove reef and as nice as any I've dived in the Keys. (Not that I am an expert, but I've done a number of dives in the middle and upper keys.)

LKDC is a bit of a cattle boat (when we went it was mostly snorkelers, just us two divers). Upon check-in you get/become a number, during surface interval they are selling hot dogs and drinks, lots of hyping the Tiki Bar, jokes you can tell are a routine, etc.

However, that said, once you accept it (or maybe you like that; is not usually my cup of tea), it's pretty fun. They were friendly and seemed to run a tight operation. The dives were beautiful. It's a three-tank day, which I think is perfect. They just putter over to another mooring ball for dive two, and then again for dive three, so surface intervals are about ten minutes. It works out because the dives are shallow. So you leave at around 10 a.m., get back in around 3 p.m. and you get in three dives.

I would not choose this sort of dive for my "regular" dive op; but I would go out with them again in a heartbeat to do Looe Key.

I think their base is around mile 25, if I remember correctly. So it's quite a bit closer than Marathon, which is where a lot of middle keys dive ops are based. That's around mile 50 or so. I think there is a bus that runs the length of the keys if you don't rent a car.

Blue Sparkle

PS: When I dived with LKDC I had a lot of leaking O-rings and one bad valve. Luckily I found the valve at the dock so they could load another tank for me. So you might check things before you leave the dock, just to be sure.

 

[Rythmmaker]

I had a nice time diving with Tilden's out of Marathon, and my ATF in the keys is Conch Republic. If you decide to dive in Marathon, Sombrero Reef and lighthouse is fun - lots of fish and pretty corals but all shallow dives - 25-35 ft. We also dove on Flagler's Barge with Tilden's and loved it. It is a shallow sand bottom with an old barge sitting on the bottom in 25 ft of water with huge clouds of fish in, on and under it. The barge was used to build the railway back around the turn of the century and a hurricane sank it. If you want a wider variety of diving conditions including deep wrecks and great reefs, Conch Republic in Tavernier is my fav. I have been diving with them numerous times and recommend them without hesitation, great people, great boats, well-run and terrific dive sites. They are just south of Key Largo, so a bit of a haul from KW.

I haven't yet dived on the Vandenberg, but I have heard great things about it - If I was going to KW I would not miss the chance to dive on a huge missle cruiser like that one.

Have fun!

-R