Free Hotel Room in Orlando, but lengthy drive to each dive site...

[Barnaby'sDad]

Yea I would, the drive is not a terrible drive, pretty wide open.

That's what I was wondering. Is it pretty much a guarantee that it's ~2.5 hours each way and not a bad drive...or are we talking about a drive like in my area, where GoogleMaps will tell you one hour, but there's no way in hell that you'll get to where you're going in less than 2.0+ hours.

The traffic in my area is insane. Dealing with that each day is why driving all over Florida this past January didn't seem like a big deal.

I think you're answering your own question.

I know what I want to do, but I will definitely have to think it over. I usually need a vacation after I get back from a vacation. I think that would be the case for this scenario, as well.

I really want another Florida trip now-ish, but I'm in the process of talking myself out of it as I type up these responses (I've been thinking about the logistics for this trip off and on for a couple months now).

i would do that in a heartbeat .here in Sask Canada we normally drive 1.5 hours to dive a "decent"nearby lake with very low visibility .but thats up here where its nothing to hop in a car and drive hours to get somewhere cause everything is so spreed out .cape Canaveral is only an hour from Orlando .no diving there?what about Daytona beach?never dove either but both are under 2 hours from Orlando. another thought why not dive the Disney aquarium all they will allow you is your mask they supply the rest .me thinks that one would be worth the extra dollars

From the research that I've done, it appears that Jupiter is about the farthest north that is worth diving. I considered the Disney thing. I'm sure that it's cool, but I'm not paying $180 to dive in an aquarium.

If I were you I would either look at the tides or call Force E in Riveria Beach - ask them for the tides and dive Blue Heron Bridge. If you have not done this shore dive it will be well worth the 2.5hr ride each way - plus tolls... I have dove there several times - day and early night dives. Talk with Force E and they will set you up with all the paperwork needed - they may even have a "planned dive" that you can tag along on - if you have not dove the site before it makes it easier to find the hot spots.
Boat diving and such driving such a long distance may be more of a hassle than it is worth...
Have fun - save the money.

That is my rub with a lot of the diving that I'd be doing. I am not a fan of boat diving, in terms of the amount of time required to get a couple dives in.

I've never been to BHB and would be interested in diving there.

quick question .where are you finding 100 bucks a day hotel rooms only thing in that price range has chalk outlines around the place lol every time i been to Florida its a minimum 200 a night maybe in the off season i guess

Lol. Yeah...that was my experience when I was in the Keys in January. It was $240/night for a bare bones Marriott that would have been ~$120/night anywhere else. There were a few inexpensive options out there, but you have to book them well in advance.

Check out Tripadvisor and some of the other travel sites. There are viable options for ~$100/night up on that panhandle in June and July (that was the time frame that I was looking at).

 

[uncfnp]

If you can arrange at least 3 dives for your drive then yes. At WPB/Jupiter, could be a single three tank trip (occasionally an option), could be 2 morning dives then BHB (tides permitting), could be 2 afternoon dives and a bridge night dive. Or weekend 2 morning and 2 afternoon.

If you give your days we might be able to be more specific.

 

[KDAD]

The drive down the Florida turnpike from Orlando to SE Florida is not bad at all. Easy to cruise at speed the whole way down

Diving bhb is free and easy. Two good shops very close by for air fills and any other gear you might need. Very relaxing after a long drive..

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I did just that a few weeks ago. We were staying in Orlando for the week and I was not doing Disney all week and also miss out on diving while in Florida. I drove down to West Palm Beach. We were going to stay over and dive again the next day but found out that we had free tickets to the park again the next day so drove back.

I drove down again the next day and dove solo.

If you can stay over leaving early one morning, making a two tank boat trip and a diving at Blue Heron Bridge, tide permitting, staying the night and do the same thing the next day and drive back would be the best use of time.

I will have to consider this option. Driving around/wasting time was a big lesson learned from my last trip.

If you can arrange at least 3 dives for your drive then yes. At WPB/Jupiter, could be a single three tank trip (occasionally an option), could be 2 morning dives then BHB (tides permitting), could be 2 afternoon dives and a bridge night dive. Or weekend 2 morning and 2 afternoon.

If you give your days we might be able to be more specific.

I agree on at least three dives per day. I was content with two per day last time, as I had other things that I wanted to do. This trip though, I would want to maximize my time and spend the most amount possible in the water.

I’m looking at 6/19-6/23.

 

[uncfnp]

June 19 to 23. Are those strickly dive days or do they include travel days? Looks like JDC goes out at least twice a day on all those days plus the 3 tank trip on Fridays. A BHB night dive is out since slack high tide is late morning to very early afternoon all those days. You could drive down the 19th and dive the bridge then catch an afternoon trip with JDC. it would be tight but doable. Weekend day you could stick with JDC or go with one of the many WPB dive ops.

Do you have your own gear or renting?

 

[Manatee Diver]

Have you considering going to some of the springs? Paradise Springs is only about 90 minutes away.

 

[Caveeagle]

Also must factor in Tolls. Round trip from Orlando to W.Palm is somewhere around $30.

For two days of diving, I would try to drive down early on day one, stay overnight and drive back on day two. For the cost of the extra round trip, you can come close to offsetting a $125-150/ night room

 

[KDAD]

Have you considering going to some of the springs? Paradise Springs is only about 90 minutes away.

What stopped me from diving some of the springs and heading down to BHB instead was the need to have a dive buddy for the state parks. Granted I didn't try to arrange one but diving BHB or the boats in Jupiter one is not needed.

Actually, I did reach out to local Orlando dive shops last minute if any were doing spring dives but none were the days I was available or were not taking additional divers toa booked trip.

 

[Manatee Diver]

What stopped me from diving some of the springs and heading down to BHB instead was the need to have a dive buddy for the state parks. Granted I didn't try to arrange one but diving BHB or the boats in Jupiter one is not needed.

Actually, I did reach out to local Orlando dive shops last minute if any were doing spring dives but none were the days I was available or were not taking additional divers toa booked trip.

Post on here or on the Florida diving Facebook groups and you can probably find a buddy.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Have you considering going to some of the springs? Paradise Springs is only about 90 minutes away.

I have considered it, but where I do mostly freshwater diving up here...I would like to see some saltwater scenery for a change.

June 19 to 23. Are those strickly dive days or do they include travel days? Looks like JDC goes out at least twice a day on all those days plus the 3 tank trip on Fridays. A BHB night dive is out since slack high tide is late morning to very early afternoon all those days. You could drive down the 19th and dive the bridge then catch an afternoon trip with JDC. it would be tight but doable. Weekend day you could stick with JDC or go with one of the many WPB dive ops.

Do you have your own gear or renting?

I’m leaning towards having those include travel time so I don’t burn additional leave on this trip.

I have my own gear (to include tanks). Well...I should clarify that I have to large tanks, so if I opted to do a three tank dive trip...I would have to factor in rental for a third tank.