Fort Lauderdale warmer than Key West ?

[squid-france]

Hello all

with my family, we plan to go diving to Florida end of next week and beginning of the other (from 27th of March to the 4th of April).
We will land at Fort Lauderdale and we want to drive to Key West, to visit at first.

The question is where to dive ? Then, I looked at the water temperature ; just by curiosity at first but also because I wanted to know which suit to take.
I found on a web site that the water temperature in Fort Lauderdale is currently warmer than Key West ; my first guess would have been the other way around !

Do you confirm this temperature difference ? Do you have any site and diving center to recommend in the areas ?

Thanks

 

[sportxlh]

In my experience, the Keys are normally slightly warmer than Ft Lauderdale and WPB. Check out several days of reports, because on any given day or two, marine conditions can vary significantly.

Both places are great for diving: in Ft Lauderdale/Pompano, I've dove with South Florida Dive HQ, Pompano Dive Ctr and Scubatyme. If you happen to stop in Key Largo (which has better diving than Key West in my opinion) you'll find Conch Republic Divers and Silent World. I've dove with Captain's Corner in Key West: low frills operator but a really nice group of people and very inexpensive: I loved my trip with them.

 

[squid-france]

Thanks sportxlh

have you dove recently in the area ? What is the temperature currently ? Do you think that a 3mm suit will be enough to dive around end of next week ?

 

[t4e]

keep Dry Tortugas in mind too

 

[sportxlh]

Thanks sportxlh

have you dove recently in the area ? What is the temperature currently ? Do you think that a 3mm suit will be enough to dive around end of next week ?

that's a hard thing to say since everyone's cold tolerance is different: My last trip to the Keys was October so have not been down in 2013.

I dove in Jupiter yesterday and temps were 72-73F degrees (22C) and I wore a 7mm and was comfortable: on our boat there were lots of divers in 3MM (one shorty), 5MM and a couple of drysuits. My bet is that Key West will probably be about 75 degrees (23C). I just looked at Conch Republic's website in key Largo and temps have been 74-75 degrees the last few days.... https://conch.scubaocity.com/index.cfm?go=DiveLog&dive_id=63925

 

[jimw]

NDBC - Station MLRF1

Here is the Molasses Tower sea conditions including current water temperature. Molasses Reef is off Key Largo.

 

[squid-france]

Thanks all

indeed, cold tolerance varies (my wife always tells me that I don't know what being cold means ! ;-) ).
I usually wear a dry suit for the Mediterranean Sea (water from 54 to 68F), except when air temperature is too hot (meaning for me, July and August mainly). This said, I dove with a shorty in Cozumel last Christmas with a water temperature of 82F and I was fine, despite my worry as I usually don't dive with a shorty only.
So, I thing I'll go for a 3mm with an additional shorty onto it if needed.

Thanks for the links, they will be very useful. Not to extend to much the post, but if you have any advise on lodging in the area from Fort Lauderdale to the keys, I take them. We look for something comfortable but no luxury and potentially, nearby a place where to practice snorkeling from the beach with our daughter.

Thanks all again.

 

[squid-france]

Finally, we dove in Key West with Captain Corner. I was very pleased by the service and the dive organization (strict safety rules but relying on certified divers to manage their dive). My wife and my daughter did snorkeling. Finding a spot for both snorkeling and diving led maybe to a choice of less spectacular locations. However, I enjoyed being under water and I saw lot of animals even if the landscape was a bit disappointing.
Coming back to the subject of the post, the water temperature was 75F. I wore a 3mm suit with a 1mm neoprene vest and a hood. I was comfortable but the water has not to be colder than that !
Thanks for your advises

 

[Sea Dwellers Rob]

ft Lauderdale is colder than Miami, however slightly! The Florida Keys are slightly warmer than both, but they are all similar temp wise unless a couple degrees matter to you!