Florida on Vacation

[Ronniemu]

My wife and I will be vacationing in Florida during the later part of January. I have recently been certified and want to go diving there. We will be traveling between Orlando and Ft Lauderdale. Can anyone recommend some places where I can dive? My wife doesn't dive. Are there any places where they go in groups or will a buddy be available for me to dive with? What would a guess be for the water temperature during my stay at some of the diving spots?


Thanks for any input that you could provide. I only made a few dives on Long Island and looking forward for some diving in Florida.


Ronnie

 

[Dive-aholic]

Buddyless diving won't be easy in January. I don't think the boats are running that often off the coast. Your best bet is to post something in the Florida Conch Divers forum and try to hook up with a buddy or two there. The springs are 72 deg year round. There's some shore diving in Ft. Lauderdale. I think the temps will be somewhere in the 60s at that time. Another option you have is to dive Disney's aquarium. For about $140 you get a class and gear and a short dive in the tank. They only allow you to bring your own mask. If you can't find a buddy, you can at least do that while your wife takes photos from the viewing area.

 

[aabond]

Down by the Fort Lauderdale area there are a bunch of dive operations, but like Dive-aholic said, they don't run trips quite as often.

However, I do a bunch beach diving off of Lauderdale by the Sea with a several members on this board. If you have trouble getting charters during that time and want to do some beach diving you can drop a thread in the Florida Conch Divers Forum and I'm sure they'll be several people including myself that will be willing to go out with you. This would probably work out better for you and your wife as she can relax on the beach while you're off a couple hundred feet off shore.

 

[moneysavr]

Hi Ron,Go to the Florida Conch site on this board
My choice would be like the WestPalm Beach area, This is as close as the Gulf steam comes to the USA,This said it means warm waters and life on reefs un like most areas and we have it off Florida!
No problem to find divers to dive with peak season~!

I use
Splashdown divers in Boynton Beach south of WPB,they have a dive shop on site and have parking,they can get you a dive bud or set you with a DM, put it this way you will dive and you will dive and dive with them,tons to see from wrecks,marine life! well worth it!
one thing they do not have many hotels in Boynton 2-only,this burb we love due to its so laid back,Miles of great beach,great fishing,several good dive opps,nice places to eat and drink,locals are all a bunch of great folks! and lots to do and see close by with out the nuts /rush/ rush like Ft.lauderdale
www.splashdowndivers.com

www.visitflorida.com
free maps and info

www.scubanews.com
dive opps list for Florida get 3 free copys of the mag! real nice!!!!!!
Oh yes and the wife can drop you off and hit the shops all close by and shop or hit the beach for a tan!
Dive safe and have fun,
Brad

 

[Padipro]

Sorry guys I don't mean to flame you but you are all soooo wrong.

The dive boats here run 365 days a year, weather permitting. If the water temp get into the 60's we're having a bad year, low 70's is about as bad as it gets. There is a dive shop on nearly every corner in this area and there are miles of beach to dive off of, although IMO the beach diving here isn't that great. Ft. Lauderdale is the place to dive in south Florida. With over 70 wrecks and miles and miles of reef, there's something for every diver here, deep, shallow, wrecks, reefs, photo, video you name it Ft. Lauderdale has it. Most the dive sites are within a mile of shore and boat rides are generally 30 to 40 minutes from dock to dive site. Further north in Palm Beach, as moneysavr said, the Gulf Stream comes very close to shore because of the shape of Florida. This means two things, there can be more large marine life there then other places but the current can also be VERY strong, in fact it's usually strong enough that most of the reef diving up there is drift diving. We can get some strong currents down here as well but there are days when there is absolutly no current and the diving is fantastic.

Definitely check out the Conch Divers Section here on the board as that's where you'll find most of the locals and check out this linkwww.dixiedivers.com/ for a list of some of the local dive sites. On the left side of the page is a link to some of the best.

Let us know when you plan on actually being in the area and maybe some of us can get together and do some diving with you.

 

[ReneeC]

Sorry Scott but you are up in smoke on this part of your statement...

... although IMO the beach diving here isn't that great.

There are beach divers and there are boat divers and then there are both divers. You just happen to be a boat diver! Don't like the beach and that is that. As a huge group of us will tell you, beach diving is the bomb! Extended bottom time, variety of habitats, great sealife from small tropicals to larger sharks, turtles, rays etc., and the ability to choose your own time in and out. Plus I love the surprise and the familiarity. I know the reef off LBTS like the back of my hand but am constantly surprised by unexpected visitors that appear. And off Hollywood Beach Jenny and I have stopped to enjoy a close up to a large ray minutes off shore, a big turtle, moray and grouper hiding under an unexpected ledge and have more than once found a species we had to spend a couple days puzzling over because we had never seen it before. I like the wrecks and the deeper reefs but they are fairly predictable and the 20 minutes you spend on a wreck doesn't beat the hour-and-a-half off the beach!.

 

[Li'l38]

Hi Ronnie! As you can see, many SBers can help with some excellent diving, anywhere in Florida. Another nice thing about beach diving is the low cost (vs. charter.) Depending on the length of your stay, I would recommend both ocean diving and spring diving. I really don't think it will be warm enough in January for tanning but we do have wonderful weather that time of year. :14: And it's very sunny on the beach. Let me just add to the list of options, the springs in Florida (there are many close to Orlando) are supposed to be excellent during the winter months. Some have playgrounds if you have kids. I'm looking forward to seeing the steam rise through the top of Devil's Den (hence, the name) when the temperature falls. Water temp is 72 degrees YR. I dive with 3mm full wetsuit and 2mm shorty over that. Renting is also an option. Be sure to let us know when/where you decide to dive. Guaranteed, there's more than one Florida Conch Diver just lookin' for a reason to get wet!

 

[Ronniemu]

Thanks everyone for helping me. When I have my Florida vacation plans together, I will post a thread on the Florida Conch Forum. Hopefully when I vacation in Florida I will get the opportunity to meet some of you in person and hopefully a dive. Just wondering how most of you feel diving with a newbie?

Regards Ronnie

 

[moneysavr]

Just wondering how most of you feel diving with a newbie?

Regards Ronnie

Just to let you know we were ALL NEW ONE TIME! And on my boat in Wisconsin I love to get new divers out as long as they are safe,have the equipment for the dive, and have FUN!
You will find a knob diver or two out there! Its a Macho male thing you can tell by their rig/Dive gear real quick!
First thing on a dive boat prior to the trip I told the opp I was new at this and looked for a reply=If they said dont worry we will set you up I would dive with them,
If not take a pass! the way you learn is to dive! we all do it and
I'm still learning each dive!
P.S. I have met some of the most Friend'ly dive pals in Florida and I'm sure you will too!
Dive safe!
Brad

 

[Dive-aholic]

Just to let you know we were ALL NEW ONE TIME! And on my boat in Wisconsin I love to get new divers out as long as they are safe,have the equipment for the dive, and have FUN!
You will find a knob diver or two out there! Its a Macho male thing you can tell by their rig/Dive gear real quick!
First thing on a dive boat prior to the trip I told the opp I was new at this and looked for a reply=If they said dont worry we will set you up I would dive with them,
If not take a pass! the way you learn is to dive! we all do it and
I'm still learning each dive!
P.S. I have met some of the most Friend'ly dive pals in Florida and I'm sure you will too!
Dive safe!
Brad

I'm with Brad. I like diving with all levels of divers. In fact, I've just started a monthly dive calendar to try to get divers out locally where I'm at. My wife and I met up with someone from the Board here recently with less than 10 dives. Unfortunately I had ripped my neck seal the night before, but my wife dove and I pulled shore support duty. I'm bringing my back up suit on our next trip.

On a side note, I may be opening up the proverbial can of worms here, but I'm just wondering what the rig of a Macho male looks like.