Ginnie Springs--did we miss something?

[Scuba_Jenny]

Forget pinching butts.. turn your octo up and hit the purge button.

 

[DebbyDiver]

A former spouse and I dove Ginnie a little more than a decade ago as part of a "camp and dive the springs of Florida" trip. We dove it mid-week in November and had the place to ourselves. Even though we did not penetrate (not trained to), we still enjoyed the dive.

So much so that we returned a year later as part of another trip (returning from NC or something like that and stopped on the way). We camped and it was the campground from hell. Right next to us was some big huge drug abuse party complete with loud "music", it was horrid, the campground wouldn't do anything about it and we got no sleep. The next day we demanded a refund for the rest of the weekend and left in a huff. They gave us vouchers for a free return trip, which we tossed in the garbage.

Now, I understand that going up with SB and having a group is different, but I will never, ever, ever go up there again any other way.

Oh wait, we're talking about diving...again, we made our own fun on the first trip but petting the wet rocks doesn't float my boat. I'm a saltwater gal.

 

[ktomlinson]

Ginnie is what it is...I personally like Devils Ear better than Ginnie or Devils Eye...but freediving there is just as fun as SCUBA in my opinion. If you have never dove Ginnie, pay the $40 and see how clear the water can be (if it isn’t packed with other people), I have heard that Jacques Cousteau called it the clearest water he ever dove in, but I haven’t seen that in writing. If you have been there before and end up coming back for some reason, you may just want to freedive and save some $$. There have been a few comments about people being boorish/loud/drug abusers and I have to say that I found that to be true. It doesn’t really bother me, I just ignore them, but if it bothers you I would not go during the summer. A cave diver actually got to me more than the drunk locals, I was standing in the run between Devils Ear and Eye (off to one side) and he ran into me with his scooter...I’m pretty sure it was on purpose, unless he was just learning how to run the thing. I won’t be diving there again until I take a cavern class unless I go with someone who has never been and want to dive with them.
Someone asked about Troy springs....if you think that Ginnie is boring you may not like Troy. I think the best part about Troy is the large "run" area...the viz isn’t as good as in the actual spring, but there are tons of turtles, carp, mullet, and I have even seen an alligator gar there, which was awesome.
If I were driving down from so far away I would make sure to go to Devils Den and Blue Grotto too, they are fun.
Ultimately I think that you can make any dive "fun"....but I am still new so it’s all fun to me. My wife and I usually go spring diving to get more experience. We usually do a dive, grill out during the surface interval, then do another dive after that....to me two dives and a picnic is a good day!

 

[Lorenzoid]

So, my question is this: did you post on SB your intention of going to Ginnie Springs and what there is to do for the OW diver? Perhaps if you asked first, this could have been avoided. I know for me, if I am driving 5 1/2 hours to dive, I want to make sure it's worth my while and have a good idea of what to expect.

Ya know, I considered it. Actually, I considered mentioning, just as I said in my original post, that I recalled having had a good experience at Blue Grotto and Devil's Den some years ago, and asking if Ginnie was similar, better, or worse. But I decided to just go ahead and give diving there a try, since the Scuba Diving mag article seemed to give Ginnie some credibility. Moreover, I have never gotten a clear concensus answer to ANY question I have posted on SB or seen others post. That's hardly unexpected, as everyone has an opinion. I figured that some people would say something along the lines of, "yes, it's a 5-1/2 hour drive for you, plus hotel, food, etc., but why not try it once and judge for yourself?" And people would have been very right to have said that. Driving distance, time and expense just has to be weighed against the potential for getting enjoyment out of it. We dive the Keys every once in a while and love it down there, but even with a good airfare deal and economical lodging a Keys trip is generally a few hundred more bucks than what we spent on the Ginnie weekend and really needs a 3-day weekend.

I don't feel too bad at all. We got to get wet and play with our gear (I have a new BC I wanted to test out) and feel ready for our big Indonesia trip next month.

 

[carrielsal]

I took Cavern/Intro to Cave in January at Ginnie. The water was really clear and the majority of the people at the park were divers, but I wouldn't take a trip out of my way to dive Ginnie as an OW diver.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

The other big complaint about Ginnie is the cost for diving. Some think it's outrageous to spend $30 to dive there for a day (24 hrs, midnight to midnight). Heck, I would love to find a dive boat for $35 for unlimited diving for a day. Going rates are $55 and up. Then add in the cost of a tip, meal, blah blah blah, a 2 tank dive can easily cost $100!

 

[ktomlinson]

It's actually $40 now, plus tank fill (if needed). Cave divers get in for less than OW so maybe cave is $35 (don't know, not cave certified)

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

$40?? The website says $30.
http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com/admission.php

 

[ktomlinson]

Not sure about the website, but I was just down there a month ago....it was also $40 when I dove there about a year ago.

Kevin

 

[ktomlinson]

OK so I called and it is $30. I dont know where I got $40, I appologize.

Kevin