Ft. Lauderdale Diving? Enough To See?

[Basheirt]

My son and I are looking for a FL dive trip at the end of July. We've done Key Largo several times, and are looking for something new for us. I see there are a number of dive shops/boats in the Laurderdale area. Has anyone used them? Recommendations?

What about other areas like West Palm Beach? Ft. Myers?

Planning on 5-6 days. Really want to get the most bang for our buck.

Thanks.

 

[diversteve]

there's always this:

When it comes to shore diving, muck diving or just plain diving, the Blue Heron Bridge is often hailed as the best in the Americas.

Blue Heron Bridge Scuba - The Best Shore Diving in the Americas

Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

 

[The Chairman]

While you're in that area, find a boat in Boyton Beach area that does the Castor. That's the most Jewfish year round I have ever seen in one place.

 

[Rilelen]

Check out Gold Coast Scuba - I ran into a couple of their members on a boat when I was there in March, and they were just fantastic. Their club is really active and does a lot of shore dives, too. Super friendly and welcoming - I'll definitely be giving them a call when I'm down in the area again.

 

[Aschloe]

I used Sea Experience last August and they were awesome. We dove a wreck and did a reef drift dive and it was a blast. I highly recommend them!

 

[DiverDownD3]

I did a trip to FL in March. Dove with Stuart Dive Shop (boat is in Jupiter) and Pompano Dive Center. Both operations were great.

 

[sheeper]

Do not miss some Jupiter diving. The Jupiter area is known as THE place for big sealife. Sharks, turtles, and even whale sharks and manta rays are part of the Jupiter dive experience.

Even better, come dive with me at Stuart Scuba (www.stuartscuba.com). call the shop and tell them Paul S told you so!

 

[sportxlh]

I think there's enough to see. The only thing to be mindful of if you want to do four dives a day, many of the Broward and Palm Beach County dive shops only run boats in the morning Mon-Thursday. Many will do morning and afternoon trips on Friday during the summer and will run Sat and Sun AM and PM dive trips year round. As afternoon alternatives, you can beach dive Lauderdale by the Sea in the afternoon or Blue Heron Bride if you're in Palm Beach County and the tides are right.

If you're coming for a week, try diving Jupiter, WPB, Boynton and Pompano/Ft Lauderdale. Lauderdale and Jupiter are only 60-70 miles apart so you can work your way down (or up) the coast.

My favorite shop is Jupiter Dive Ctr in northern Palm Beach county but have also had a good experience or two on Scuba Works boat. In WPB there are many boats, Narcossis, Sandy's Sunday, Jim Abernathy are a few. In Boynton there are also a number of boats, Underwater Explorers, Splash Down and others. In the Broward County area, I like Pompano Dive Center, South Florida Dive HQ and Scubatyme. Most of the diving is deeper than the shallow reefs in the Keys, though Pompano and Lauderdale by the Sea have a lovely shallow reef line that is enjoyable to dive. I especially like the shallow Coppenhagen wreck and surrounding reef. Gold Coast Scuba and Force-E are two good shops that don't operate their own boats but will get you on other operators boats: just describe the sort of dive you want and they'll find a boat for you. Gold Coast also has a dive club that does a lot of beach diving. You can join it and meet other divers. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Also be aware on the dates you select. The last Wednesday/thursday of the month is mini lobster season. The boats fill up fast, as do the hotels.

 

[scubadada]

I'm with sportxlh. In my opinion, Boynton Beach has the best reef in the area and the Castor is a great wreck. You'll be early for Goliath Grouper aggregation on the Castor but there is also a good sized resident population. Bait fish and hunters are very common in the summer. I use Underwater Explorers, Loggerhead, and Starfish. West Palm is very nice and the easiest to get out of in bigger seas, I use Narcosis. The Blue Heron Bridge is fantastic for the unusual and macro stuff and a great fall back when you can't get out on the ocean. Jupiter has the most reliable sighting of sharks, turtles and Goliath Grouper on the reefs. I also use Jupiter Dive Center.

Plenty to do to make a great week vacation. You say you want something new, the fabulous drift diving in SE Florida may be exactly what you are looking for. The water will be warm and there's a good chance the seas will be calm.

Good diving, Craig