Key Largo vs Jupiter/West Palm Beach area

[laevimanus]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board and also to diving, but am having fun planning future dive trips. In late Feb of next year, probably Feb 15-19, I want to go to Florida and am deciding between the above two places. I may do my AOW there, if I don't do it before. I want to experience drift and night diving. I'm interested in reefs and critters large and small; not so interested in wrecks. I don't care about non-dive activities, night life, blah blah, although nice swimming/snorkeling beaches are a plus.

My questions are:
-How do the two areas compare in terms of reef health, and in abundance and variety of marine life, large and small? This is probably my most important concern. Dead/bleached reefs are just depressing.
-Is drift diving common in both locales?
-I understand lemon sharks are around Jupiter Jan-Mar...are there a bunch of them around mid-Feb? Can that be predicted?

Thanks so much!

 

[Johnoly]

-Is drift diving common in both locales?

Key Largo has both drift diving and anchor diving.....JUP/WPB is ALL drift diving. No one anchors, not even at the wreck sites.

Beaches? ,, Key Largo-not so much,,,JUP/WPB - Ohh yea,,big wide & long.

-I understand lemon sharks are around Jupiter Jan-Mar...are there a bunch of them around mid-Feb? Can that be predicted?

Mid February still has plenty of Lemons, but the peak of mating season seems to be the 4th and 5th week of January. Some Lemons are now always in Jupiter year round.

 

[iamrushman]

first congratulation on your decision to do some underwater exploring...in generalthe keys have the best reefs...you could dive in both places if you have a car...the distance between the two is no more than 2 to 2.5 hrs apart......have a great trip.

 

[The Chairman]

Key Largo is mostly anchor diving. They really don't like drift dives much at all. I lived there for 6 years and did no more than a handful. The diving is easier in Key Largo, but I really do love the WPB area, especially Boynton Beach.

 

[Trailboss123]

What @The Chairman said.
And, based on your stated number of dives/dive experience and also your desire to do some drift diving on healthy reefs, I would steer you toward Boynton Beach. You'll have an outstanding time. I like staying in the Boynton or Delray Beach area. Great restaurants and beaches. Short drive up to West Palm for boat dives out of there and shore diving at Blue Heron Bridge also- if you want to mix it up.

Lemon Sharks will be pretty likely in February, but mostly out of Jupiter (in my experience). Keep in mind, diving up there is deeper and a tad more challenging. You get the sharks, but the diving is deeper and bottom times are reduced and the reefs are not as Caribbean lush as they are out of Boynton, IMHO.

You can also pretty much guarantee Goliath Grouper encounters any time of the year out of Boynton if you get to dive the MV Castor. They reside there year around. I have done 2 weeks of February's in different years and enjoyed them there.

Not an exhaustive list by any means, but just to get you started:

Here are a few Boynton based dive ops to consider:
Starfish Scuba | Scuba Diving Charters
Splashdown
Loggerhead Dive Charters of Boynton Beach, FL

West Palm Beach:
Narcosis Dive Company | SCUBA Diving in West Palm Beach Florida
Guide to Blue Heron Bridge - Blue Heron Bridge Scuba

Jupiter:
Jupiter Dive Center

 

[sportxlh]

For a newer diver, Key Largo is great. It has nice shallow reefs, a few deeper reefs and the four main deep wrecks. There are some shallower beat up wrecks too. I've seldom been disappointed by the quality of the reefs that I've dove in the upper keys. I like the deeper reefs (like Conch Wall) the best since they don't get a lot of traffic and are in pristine condition.

I used to live in the Jupiter area and dove every Saturday morning with Jupiter Dive Center and love the diving in the area. Its all drifting but you're also likely to see big marine creatures like sharks, turtles, goliath grouper, etc. When I return to Florida for dive weekends, I usually go to Key Largo or Islamorada because the diving is so good and the communities are so laid back and dive-centric.

I did dive twice in Jupiter in April and was amazed at the number of sharks. They were everywhere. Mostly reef sharks, but still very cool to see so many of them.

For a new diver, I give the nod to the keys. For a slightly more experienced diver that is nitrox certified and somewhat self sufficient, Jupiter is great as well

 

[tmassey]

Way OT: where in SE Michigan? Any interest in local diving?

 

[laevimanus]

Thanks everyone, for your replies. Lots of food for thought.

I plan to dive regularly between now and Feb, but I can't say for sure what shape I'll be in, so the easiness of Key Largo is a plus. On the other hand, I was looking at Boynton, which seems like middle ground, and it puts me closer to places where there's drift and deep diving if I'm up for it. Plus beaches. And I really want to see sharks and Goliaths. Thanks @Trailboss123 for the links!

@tmassey -- I'm in Ann Arbor, and plan to dive year round, so am definitely interested in local diving!

 

[The Chairman]

Thanks everyone, for your replies. Lots of food for thought.

Let me change "easier" to "shallower". Drift diving is the easiest kind of diving there is and except for a few wrecks, that's all you're going to get in the Boynton area. Key Largo is like diving in an aquarium, while Boynton is far more wild. They're only about 2.5 hours apart, so take a day and visit the other destination. And yeah, be sure to do the Blue Heron Bridge. Go stupid slow and stay 6 inches above the bottom and you'll be amazed at how much you can see.

 

[laevimanus]

Let me change "easier" to "shallower". Drift diving is the easiest kind of diving there is and except for a few wrecks, that's all you're going to get in the Boynton area. Key Largo is like diving in an aquarium, while Boynton is far more wild. They're only about 2.5 hours apart, so take a day and visit the other destination. And yeah, be sure to do the Blue Heron Bridge. Go stupid slow and stay 6 inches above the bottom and you'll be amazed at how much you can see.

True, I'll be renting a car, so may as well get the most out of the trip. I do want to try BHB. Maybe I'll my AOW around Boynton so I can be under someone's watchful eye, if the class is small. I want to learn to drift dive because I plan to go to Cozumel later the same year, and I'm kind of insane about being prepared for things.