Florida Trip Plan

[Bladebreaker65]

I have been reading a lot of the post on this subject and I know you guys get the same question again and again. That is because you have such a blessed life with diving in your back yard. So here it goes. Planning to drive down with my wife to Key West from Texas. Driving straight down and then taking our time back 4-5days back. Sight see when we get there do some shore diving mainly and maybe a couple of boat dives on the way back. The state parks sight shows a lot of parks with shore dives on the way. Staying on a nice budget what would be your ideal road dive trip? Where would you dive and eat ? What time of year ? Must have gear other than basics (towable diver down buoy, RIB )?

 

[sheeper]

on your way to/from Key West make a stop at Blue Heron Bridge. It is one of the best shore dive sites in the US. Google it and be sure to dive at high tide! There is a dive shop right there at the bridge. A dive flag is required!

then spend the night and dive the next day in Jupiter. Known for big sealife....sharks, turtles and goliath groupers make Jupiter diving AWESOME. My preference there is Capt Sl8r Charters (www.jupiterscubadiving.com). Top notch op will make you feel like you are a member of the family!

 

[PatW]

The Blue Heron Bridge is a great dive. You need to plan because it can only be done at high tide. There are decent showers at the park so you can dive, shower, change and go. Also, the dive is really about macro stuff. So if you do not like macro, you might want to do Jupiter for the big stuff instead.

 

[sportxlh]

Sounds like you're on a tight budget on your trip. Unfortunately, there's not much beach diving in the Keys: virtually all of the good sites are 5-6 miles from land. You might want to focus your boat diving on the Keys portion of your trip. If you want to beach dive, look at Hollywood/Dania Beach, Lauderdale by the Sea and Blue Heron Bridge in WPB on your way back north. Post #8 in this thread has some really good beach diving information: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...s-list-looking-opinion-whats-worth-going.html

If you still have some coin after boat diving in the Keys, Jupiter would be a great spot for another boat dive. I tend to use Jupiter Dive Center and, as Sheeper pointed out, there's Capt Sl8er.

On your way home, you can also dive in some of the springs like Devil's Den or Blue Grotto near Williston. You can also do a drift down the Rainbow River. The Destin area has jetties that can be beach dove. Here's a link to some additional beach diving info in Florida Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Florida, USA East This link has some info regarding diving in the gulf in addition to jetties Our Diving | Dive Locker - Panama City Beach Florida Dive Store

You'll need a flag and line for beach diving. Summer usually has good conditions at all the areas discussed in this thread: assuming there's no hurricane in area. Late spring and early fall can also be really nice. Winter is iffy, lots of cancelled dive trips because the seas usually kick up.