Ft. Lauderdale 5/20-5/27

[Spratman]

Greetings!

My family and I will be vacationing in Ft. Lauderdale the week before Memorial Day. Anything special going on down there during this time frame? Looking for dive buddies, since I've not dove down thar before. Also, recommendations for family stuff would be greatly appreciated!

thanks a bunch!

 

[trigfunctions]

There is a lot of great info on attractions and events on the Sun Sentinel website:
http://www.southflorida.com/

A good list of area dive operators is here:
http://www.fillexpress.com/boats.shtml

 

[Divingguy]

Another possible resource for you:

http://www.diveftlauderdale.com

If you run a search on this very forum, you will also see that there are a lot of dive operators which run out of Pompano Beach and other cities to the North of FLL. Depending upon where you are actually staying, those may work out for you. My son and I just did our AOW two weeks ago with South Florida Dive Headquarters out of Pompano.

 

[RNshark]

A bunch of us beach dive off Commericial beach and Dania pier. Dania's by far the best, but be ready for a LONG swim! But worth it!

 

[Spratman]

Thanks, folks! We are staying at the Marriott Beach Place Towers. I'd like to take my son and my wife snorkeling too. Are the reefs only accessible by boat.

I'll check out the links you recommended. Don't like cattle boats though...

Thank you!

 

[trigfunctions]

No, there is not much snorkeling near shore. There are charter boats (ProDive is one) that take snorkel trips out to the shallow reef and you can see a lot of fish.

If you're at the Marriott, you might try diving with American Dream:
http://www.scubafortlauderdale.com/
They are walking distance from your hotel. We have dove with them a few times and they are pretty good. The boat is ususally not too crowded. Their rental gear is OK, not great.

 

[Spratman]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm bringing my own stuff, so I just need a tank and nitrox.

 

[trigfunctions]

Unfortunately, American Dream doesn't do Nitrox. ProDive is in that same area and they probably do Nitrox. I haven't dove with them.

I think that the Mariott may have an arrangement with a dive operator. You might call them and ask.

If you look on the list I posted, all of the operations in Pompano Beach are only about a 40 minute drive from your hotel. We have had good luck with South Florida Diving Headquarters. they do Nitrox. Their website is good and shows exactly which dives they are doing each day. Their boats are big, though, and can be crowded.

I would check the marine forecast before you go out. You can find it on the Sun Sentinel weather page. It can change day to day. Last Saturday was perfect - 0-2 ft waves. This weekend is supposed to be 4-6 plus - that's pretty unpleasant.

There are some cool artificial reef wrecks near Ft. Lauderdale. Check the websites. The Sea Emperor, the Copenhagen, and Hog Heven/Jungle Gym are all nice.

You could also take the family out to Holiday Everglades Park for an airboat ride to see some 'gators. It's fun, but go in the morning before it gets too hot.

 

[Spratman]

Thanks, Trig! Hopefully, the weather will be good and the seas calm.

I've sent a couple of shops emails asking for rates and such and haven't received any responses. I check with the hotel.

I'd like to do that trip to the Everglades! Sounds cool!

One last thing. The hotel we are staying at charges $12 a day for parking. Any ideas?? I know space is a premium but that is ridiculous, since we are already paying for the hotel.

 

[trigfunctions]

Jack - unfortunatley, $12 a day for parking is pretty standard. There's no place around there where you could park cheaper.

The website for the everglades park is:
http://www.evergladesholidaypark.com/

Wear bug spray!