Ft Lauderdale vs Key Largo

[Txsdvr]

Hey all, just looking for opinions of Ft Lauderdale vs Key Largo for diving. I've dove Key Largo and am thinking about Ft.Lauderdale this time but don't want to waste a trip if Ft Lauderdale is not comparable. Thanks!

 

[macado]

I just dove Fort Lauderdale (well technically Deerfield Beach, FL) two weeks ago. Just went down for a short weekend trip and dove with Dixie Divers. I dove a few wrecks, the Captain Dan, the Qualmann Tugs and the Sea Emperor.

The diving was decent although to be honest I liked diving in Key Largo much better. I thought the visibility was much better in Key Largo although to be fair I only did two days of diving in Fort Lauderdale so I can't really make a great comparison. Lots of interesting stuff to see. The wrecks were nice and the weather was great.

It really depends how much time you have; I didn't feel like waking up at 5am every morning to drive down to the Keys because I was staying in Fort Lauderdale.

Always good to dive some place new. I don't know if I would make a Ft Lauderdale a dive vacation but I definitely wouldn't mind going back and doing another 2-3 days of diving there.

 

[Brendon]

I'm leaving key largo 2mrw, been here for a week. I normally do most of my diving between WPB & Ft lauderdale. Diving is great down here, so is the food. Not much to do on this island, besides eat dive sleep eat dive sleep drink pool eat dive sleep fish pool sleep dive eat..... If that's not for U then lauderdale would be a much better choice.

 

[allistoy]

Done them both and liked them both.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I have dove up and down southeastern Florida and the Keys. I think if I had to pick one over the other it would be southeastern Florida. Some of my reasoning is that it seems (and I know there are exceptions) the dive sites are deeper and the reefs are larger. I don't think the Keys get near as much of the Gulf stream (at the dive sites) as southern Florida does. Drift diving is one of my favorites and the southeast Florida reefs get a good dose of the Gulf stream. The Gulf stream brings warm water, food, and critters. The other item I like is not having to deal with an anchor line.

Yet another item that out-of-towners do not realize, is, the restaurants and hotels are MUCH more plentiful and LOWER priced in southeast Florida.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Key Largo all the way man. Lauderdale sucks the big one. Now If you dont mind a little more travel then I would recommend Jupiter boat dive (the best in Florida)

IMHO:chairfight:

 

[scubadobadoo]

Hey all, just looking for opinions of Ft Lauderdale vs Key Largo for diving. I've dove Key Largo and am thinking about Ft.Lauderdale this time but don't want to waste a trip if Ft Lauderdale is not comparable. Thanks!

I have done both many times. They can both be really good and I disagree that "Lauderdale sucks the big one." Now that said, I would personally avoid Ft. Lauderdale proper unless you are looking for more night life options. I don't want it so I go for WPB or Lauderdale by the Sea or some slower option in between Key Largo and Ft. Lauderdale IF I don't go to Key Largo. Here are a few random things to consider about each that may be a positive or a negative depending on what you are looking for...

Key Largo:
Longer drive after you get off the plane generally
not much to do top side although we always find a way to stay busy there
food costs more and so do hotels
generally more famous wrecks and sites
more boats going out daily so more options to choose from
generally better viz but not always
longer boat rides to sites generally
no shore diving
relaxed key largo vibe


Lauderdale Area:
more crowded city feel so harder to feel like yer on vacation and "away"
not so famous dive sites
shore diving options (lauderdale by the sea) and others are great/cheap
sites are all close to shore generally
fewer dive ops going out so less choice
more drift diving generally
popular hotels can be costly right on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale specifically
food and hotels cost less, are larger and way more options
WPB and key largo become day trip options as you are in the middle
some really nice dive sites as well and frequently over looked
more turtles and sharks generally IMHO

A word on conditions...I have been blown out more times in Key Largo (just bad luck and also dive ops cancelling) than any where else I have been around the world. I have found that the best way to combat this is to make sure you pick an op that isn't afraid of a little work. IMHO some of the larger and more popular dive ops tend to cancel when the conditions are a little rough. Maybe when it is rough they have cancellations so they also cancel on the few left who still want to go out. I don't always know why they cancel when some still go out in perfectly safe conditions.

I find the smaller ops who also do some tech diving will generally go out when it's a little rough. In the ten or so trips I have taken to Key Largo, it has almost always been a "little rough." I have never personally had flat seas there so I mention all this out of my personal experience only.

Have fun!!!

 

[Garrobo]

Key Largo and Islamorada win big time over the Lauderdale area.

 

[Broct]

You might check out Jupiter, FL which is a hour to the north. Great drift dives

 

[Txsdvr]

Appreciate all the opinions and advice!! I think I'm going to stick w/ Key Largo. I dove Key Largo last year w/ my son and we really had a good time. This year I'm bringing my 18 and 13 year old daughters and I just worried they would want more of a beach, touristy (is that a word?) type of environment. It will be the first ocean dive for my youngest and I am concerned more w/ good visability than what activities might be available after the diving is over. I thought if the Ft. Lauderdale area had comparable vis that we might get the best of both worlds, but after the advice here, I think I'll stick w/ Key Largo. Thanks again!