Good places to dive in the Florida Keys

[sfhs40]

Howdy

I was certified by the boy scouts in the Keys and remember how great the diving was down there. My wife and I are looking to take a trip next November to the Keys and wondered if anyone could recommend some good sites for us. We have to play this far in advance because we now have a four month old son and have to wait until we are ready to travel with him. Grandma will be watching him while we dive. We are from Chicago so we are not that familiar with the Keys and want to make sure that we pick out a great area to dive. We do not get many chances to get out to the open and are not concerned about the price. We also novices so we are looking for dives in the 30-60 foot range. Any suggestions would be awesome.

Thanks

Dave

 

[perdidochas]

Howdy

I was certified by the boy scouts in the Keys and remember how great the diving was down there. My wife and I are looking to take a trip next November to the Keys and wondered if anyone could recommend some good sites for us. We have to play this far in advance because we now have a four month old son and have to wait until we are ready to travel with him. Grandma will be watching him while we dive. We are from Chicago so we are not that familiar with the Keys and want to make sure that we pick out a great area to dive. We do not get many chances to get out to the open and are not concerned about the price. We also novices so we are looking for dives in the 30-60 foot range. Any suggestions would be awesome.

Thanks

Dave

I like the Middle keys best--Islamorada to Marathon. Marathon is close enough to Key West for an afternoon trip, but is a bit more laid back (or was when I was last there, late '80s). I could dive Sombrero reef off of Marathon for a whole week.

 

[divekraz]

If you don't have to go to key west and want some great diving. Key Largo which is around the 100 mile marker has great shallow water diving. A very nice hotel is the Hilton which was formerly the Sheraton around mile marker 90, Located on the bay side. There are few beaches and this hotel has a nice one. I've gone on a half dozen dive operations in Key largo and like Garden cove divers 305 451 5844 the best. They are a six pack and if you are the first to make the reservation for that day, they will take you to the dive site of your choice. Some factors to consider are location of boat, bay or ocean side which can add an hour trip time in the case of bay side. Garden is on ocean side. Also the amount of divers. I've been on Capt Slate 3 times and feel it to be a true cattle boat. On their critter feed they had 5 boats of divers with over 100 divers in a line. the Diving in key west that I experienced was only wreck dives and deeper than you mentioned you wanted to go. We sometimes would stay in Key west to see the area and then drive up to key largo for diving.
I hope this helps you.

 

[vel525]

My favorite diving for beginners is Key largo and Islamorada. The sanctuary is great and all the shallow reef dives have plenty of things to look at.
Did my certification dives in Marathon and that was okay too.
I'm personally not a fan of Key West. IMO, the beaches aren't that nice and I'm not into the partying scene so I prefer the quieter middle and upper keys.

I used to live in Chicago for many years! I sure miss the city. Good luck planning. There is also a lot of FL people in the regional section you can ask there too.

 

[wjknobles]

the upper and middle keys are great for diving.

i spent last summer teaching scuba on big pine key ... and i was out at looe key almost every day. it is a great reef to dive and you always see something different

i also did dives on the speigal, duane, and north dry rocks ... i enjoyed them all

 

[chrispete]

I vote for Key Largo and the middle keys in general as well. Did that trip last year and we loved it. We dove with Silent World (305-451-3252, first rate shop & great capt's) on Key Largo and Innerspace (800-538-2896, six pax boat and the captain was great!) on Big Pine Key to dive Looe Key. Feel free to PM.

 

[Scubasteve1982]

Had a great time with Horizon divers when I was in Key largo. Did about 16 dives with them. Fun staff. Snapper cove and Eagle ray ally are great dives.

 

[Capt Gary]

Hey sfhs40,

First welcome to the board. There is a lot of good information to be had here, sometimes you just have to did for it. As to your questions about good dive sites here in the keys, quite simply there are hundreds. Most of the reefs fall within 20' to 40' foot range with some deeper one out at th 50' to 70'.

Sites such as Crocker Reef, Davis Reef, Conch Reef, Pickles Reef, and Molasses Reef are good ones to name a few. Theres reefs all offer diving in the 20' to30' range. There are a few dozen other patch reefs sprinkled around the ones I mentioned above and are right around the 20' range. These are not the only reefs in the upper keys as there are a lot north of Molasses as well as south of Crocker Reef.

Bottom line you'll have a good time diving here. The only question is with who and that's something you'll have to decide. Just ask a lot of questions, size of boats, how long does it take you to get to a site, how much advance notice do I need to cancel without getting charged, where are your boats in relation to your shop to name a few.

Have fun in your search and if we can answer any questions for you please don't hesitate to ask. We'd be more than happy to help, even if you don't dive with us. We just want you to have a good time on your vacation.

Good Diving,

 

[deeper thoughts]

I prefer the upper keys reefs and Molasses continues to impress(reef shark sightings on the last 5 dive days and not fleeting either).
You cannot go wrong with the following ops
Conch republic divers,Hms minnow and bluewater divers. Conch republic and bluewater are both regular posters on this forum.
Good Luck

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Hi Dave,

My suggestion for dives in the 30-60 range would be anywhere from Carysfort Reef at the North End of the sanctuary down to Molasses in the South. Any further down than that and the reef flattens out a bit. Key Largo is obviously the most popular, but you can still reach the excellent Northern sites from Biscayne Park. Carysfort, North North Dry Rocks, Horseshoe and Banana reef all have excellent coral growth. Molasses and French have some excellent spots but can get crowded due to their proximity to South Creek and Port Largo, which sees the most boat traffic.

Have fun in the Keys!