Florida Keys Best-Of Dive Tour

[bL79]

I've got some time off before Christmas this year and would like to fly into Miami ~12/17. I'm thinking I could rent a car and do a dive tour of the keys. I may be going solo but either way, I'd be aiming to fit in 2-4 dives a day.

Any particular advice on locations I should definitely go to? I'll be there in December but from what I can gather it should be ~70F which isn't much different than where I'm at in CA. The diving is still good in the winter?

I found this site which was pretty helpful. Right now I'm thinking about just spending a day each in Key Largo / Islamorada / Marathon / Big Pine Key and Key West. If there's someplace I should add/remove or spend more time in please let me know.

Some diving attractions I've seen mentioned for each location:

• KEY LARGO
  • Spiogel Groves Wreck
  • Molasses reef
    • Fire Coral Caves
  • Benwood Wreck
  • The Elbow Reef
    • City of Washington Wreck
  • Christ of the Abyss - Kay Largo Dry Rocks

• ISLAMORADA
  • Eagle Wreck
  • Davis Reef
  • Conch Wall
  • Aquarius Research Habitat

• MARATHON
  • Thunderbolt Wreck
  • Coffin's Patch Reef
  • Sombrero Reef

• BIG PINE KEY / LOOE REEF
  • Looe Key Reef
  • Adolphus Busch

• KEY WEST
  • Carman Salvager
  • Nine Foot Stake

Any must dives or things you'd really recommend (diving or topside)? I'm looking to get a good taste of what Florida key diving is about and getting as wide a variety as possible. Dive shop recommendations would be appreciated as well.

Oh, since I'll be diving right around Christmas (probably 5/17- ~5/22) are there going to be boats going out and enough divers so I can buddy up if going solo? I'd rather not have to hire a DM just to go out

 

[LmTrain]

We just got back from the keys and I can give you my recommendation however know up front I have not dove all the places you have listed.

Key Largo- Sailfish Scuba, Molasses reef- shallow dive. Lots of fish, awesome reef.

Would recommend Looe Key reef also. Looe Key dive center was very good to us.

Marathon - Sombrero Reef is great too. Cannot give a recommendation to the dive shop we went with, they were terrible.

Good luck, look forward to reading about your trip.

 

[bL79]

Thanks for the insight! Everyone seems to mention Looe Key reef so I think that's on the agenda for sure. Might try to swing 1.5 days there or something.

I've been trying to think of some ways to combine 2 locations or just nix some areas altogether. I could probably do a morning and night dive on two separate keys if there's someplace where just a morning 2 tank is more appropriate. On that note if anyone has can't-miss night dive recommendations I'd appreciate it.

Also starting to consider nixing Key West. Other than the Vandenberg it sounds like the other keys may have better diving, at least nearby? That said I would like to see some big pelagics while i'm in the keys. I was just in Cozumel and the reef was amazing but I didn't see as much large life as I would've liked. Any place in particular for big fish and such? I guess Key West isn't that far from Big Pine anyway

 

[DMDavid]

Key Largo will give you access to reefs (Molasses and Christ statue) and wrecks (Duane and Spiegel) along with day and night dives, many dive operators will do a deep wreck dive then a shallow reef dive otherwise known as "Outside the reef, inside the reef".
Big Pine Key will give you the best access to Looe Key which is mainly just a large patch of reef that is not visited as much by divers and therefore is in much better condition, I'm not sure if there is a really good dive operation left on Big Pine so you may want to check with other nearby Keys to find a dive operation with a good reputation that goes out to Looe Key.
Key West has the deepest dives (Tech) and wrecks and will also give you the best opportunity for the large species that you seek (but not always a guarantee).

 

[HavanaDaydreamin]

For Marathon, I didn't think much of the Thunderbolt. A lot of hype imo. But the Sombrero Reef is the best night dive I've ever had. Go at dusk to get oriented then again when the sun is down. It's absolutely amazing.
In Key Largo, my fav spots are Fire Coral Cavern and Horseshoe Reef. You won't regret those.
I've never been to the Dry Rocks because I've heard there's nothing much to see other than the statue.
Getting a buddy has never been a problem for me. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Dan]

KEY LARGO

• Spiogel Groves Wreck
• Molasses reef
  • Fire Coral Caves

• Benwood Wreck
• The Elbow Reef
  • City of Washington Wreck

• Christ of the Abyss - Kay Largo Dry Rocks

I was there a couple weeks ago, diving in Benwood wreck, City of Washington Wreck & Christ of the Abyss. You can see some of the pictures I took, here: Dropbox - FL 2016

I recommend Quiescence & Horizon Divers to take you there. If you don't get a buddy on the boat, Horizon Divers would get you a guide for $40 / 2 boat dives, which what I did then.

If you like muck diving, next time go to Blue Heron Bridge (BHB) in Jupiter, Florida, (~ 1 hour drive from North Miami), rent tanks & dive flag from Force-E (2 minute drive from the bridge) then go for night dive / morning dive during schedule high tide time.

If you want to see big fish, you can also see some Goliath groupers not too far from BHB (30-minute boat ride to the wrecks). Around August to September, you can even see more of them spawning & making booming sounds when they are mating, a spectacle event to experience in 90' underwater.

Good luck & have fun!

 

[Johnoly]

....Any must dives or things you'd really recommend (diving or topside)....

You must stop roadside in Islamorada at Rain Barrel (just down the road from Conch Republic Divers ) to hop out and get a selfie pict infront of the 30 foot high, 40 foot long giant lobster. You just ain't a tourist without standing infront of it for a selfie picture.

 

[luscioman]

There are great dives in the keys do you prefer deeper wrecks or reefs? I checked my logs and on Dec 9, 2015 the water temp was 79 degrees.

 

[sportxlh]

luscioman: That's warm water temps for Dec. I've experienced low 70's that time of year.

To the OP, I like your idea. Just be aware that winter weather and marine conditions can be 'iffy', so stay flexible and plan some top side activities in case you get blow out for a day or two. Aside from taverns and bars, Key West has a number of interesting museums and tourist attractions. You can also visit the Divers Hall of Fame in Islamorada if the waves kick up.

I like Key Largo and Islamorada the best: there are many good operators in the upper Keys. Aside from Horizon and Quiescence which were mentioned, Rainbow Reef is good if you want a guide thrown in for no cost (usually a 6:1 or 8:1 ratio between divers and guide) and my favorite is Conch Republic Divers. CRD does go to some sites that others don't visit as often, such as Conch Wall: one of the deeper reefs in the upper Keys. Most of the shallow reefs and mid depth reefs are pretty nice in the upper Keys: I really don't prefer one above the rest though I like the City of Washington and Bentwood wrecks, which are shallow. Christ of the Abyss is one of the dives that is a 'been there, done that' site. The reef is pretty beat up and I'll never go back again. Too many divers and snorkelers hit that spot every day. You need to hit the deep wrecks like the Spiegle Grove, Eagle, Duane and Bibb too.

I've been blown out of Looe Key every time I've tried to dive it. I hear that it is beautiful. I've dove reefs off of Marathon and enjoyed them enough, but prefer the upper Keys. What Marathon was good for was lobstering. Dive Duck Key on the east side of Marathon took their boat to sites outside of any protected areas and we had a good day of lobstering last time I dove in the area.

I've dove the Vandenberg in Key West a dozen times but haven't seen any other sites. Locals tend to indicate that the reefs are beat up and not worth diving (as compared to Key Largo Reefs). Wookie has recommended Fins a number of times it sounds like they'll take you to sites other dive boats don't visit. I've been out with Captain's Corner for most of my dives on the big wreck.

Enjoy your trip

 

[PhatD1ver]

Soooo, let me ask and hopefully some that have answered will add more... and any natives, your advice is obviously welcome.

We are planning to go sooner, as in Oct 1-7 (dive Oct 2-6), we would fly into Ft Lauderdale (UA) and then grab a car and drive down to the keys. Is there any reason NOT to do that? (I mean, I assume it's like a 2 hour drive?)

Then, if you are going to spend 4 full days diving with a woman who will dive one or two wrecks, but who wants to see 'stuff', and if we are lucky BIG stuff (me, I like wrecks, but she can only do light zone penetration dives).

So, what are the for sure points? And can you bounce around enough? Are accomodations easy enough to find that we don't need a base of operations? and can just find a place? Any places that count as MUST stays? (note that we are pretty comfie is pretty spartan digs).

I realize that trying the trip Oct 1-7 is the easiest way to guarantee a hurricane might drop by, but the Chinese only free the slaves twice a year!!

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc would be helpful.

TIA