2airishuman
Contributor
I'm recently returned from a week-long trip to Key Largo with my wife and two of my children, ages 14 and 19. My wife does not dive but has recently experimented with snorkeling. My children finished their OWD certification two years ago in Minnesota but had never seen the ocean before this trip.
I chose Rainbow Reef for our dive charters for three reasons:
Rainbow Reef did not try to assess skill or experience when dividing divers into groups. Groups were small. One one trip, the three of us had a DM to ourselves. More typically, we were part of a group of five, sometimes seven. On the shallow reef trips, most of the clientele were using rental gear and had buoyancy and general diving skills typical of those relatively new to diving. As might be expected, we observed a higher overall level of skill among clients participating in the night dive and the deeper dives,
The boats were typically near their practical capacity limit, with around 20-30 diving customers plus crew.
I brought my wife on one trip since she very much wanted to snorkel the Christ of the Abyss site. I encouraged my children to scuba dive on this trip but left my own gear back on shore so that I could snorkel with my wife. The site was crowded with dive boats and we ended up on a mooring ball quite some distance from the statute, and there was a strong cross current. Nonetheless, we were able to swim out to the statue and back and had a great dive. The crew was willing to accommodate my wife's mobility difficulties as she entered and exited the water. I think we ended up seeing at least as much as the scuba divers as this is a shallow site.
We dove the popular upper keys sites -- Molasses Reef, French Reef, the statue and surrounding area, the wrecks of the Benwood and the Spiegel Grove -- which did not disappoint. Viz was typically 60+ feet. Water was 82 F and though we started out diving with wetsuits we were all diving in rashers by the last day.
We used Sundivers for our first snorkel-only (no scuba) "get to know the ocean" trip. We visited a couple of shallow sites and snorkeled. When snorkeling, there are minor advantages to a snorkel-only boat as the schedule, site selection, and space on the boat can be adjusted to suit snorkeling rather than diving. We would recommend them also for anyone who prefers a snorkeling-oriented day.
I chose Rainbow Reef for our dive charters for three reasons:
- Favorable reputation on SB
- Location
- Reasonable rates that include an in-water guide. We paid $65 per diver, per two-tank trip, plus tax and tip.
Rainbow Reef did not try to assess skill or experience when dividing divers into groups. Groups were small. One one trip, the three of us had a DM to ourselves. More typically, we were part of a group of five, sometimes seven. On the shallow reef trips, most of the clientele were using rental gear and had buoyancy and general diving skills typical of those relatively new to diving. As might be expected, we observed a higher overall level of skill among clients participating in the night dive and the deeper dives,
The boats were typically near their practical capacity limit, with around 20-30 diving customers plus crew.
I brought my wife on one trip since she very much wanted to snorkel the Christ of the Abyss site. I encouraged my children to scuba dive on this trip but left my own gear back on shore so that I could snorkel with my wife. The site was crowded with dive boats and we ended up on a mooring ball quite some distance from the statute, and there was a strong cross current. Nonetheless, we were able to swim out to the statue and back and had a great dive. The crew was willing to accommodate my wife's mobility difficulties as she entered and exited the water. I think we ended up seeing at least as much as the scuba divers as this is a shallow site.
We dove the popular upper keys sites -- Molasses Reef, French Reef, the statue and surrounding area, the wrecks of the Benwood and the Spiegel Grove -- which did not disappoint. Viz was typically 60+ feet. Water was 82 F and though we started out diving with wetsuits we were all diving in rashers by the last day.
We used Sundivers for our first snorkel-only (no scuba) "get to know the ocean" trip. We visited a couple of shallow sites and snorkeled. When snorkeling, there are minor advantages to a snorkel-only boat as the schedule, site selection, and space on the boat can be adjusted to suit snorkeling rather than diving. We would recommend them also for anyone who prefers a snorkeling-oriented day.
