Looking for an affordable snorkel & dive vacation

[johnnyscience]

So I'm looking to go on vacation in the spring/summer with my 14 year old son. I want to get us both certified to dive prior to that, including open water cert and be ready to go.

I'd like to have the option of snorkeling, but diving would be the main event.

I'm hoping for something affordable, maybe $1500-$2000 (cheaper would always be nice without slumming it) for a week of hotel, good local food & diving packages.

Other than enjoying the beach and good food, with my son I don't have much else on the to do list. Maybe some cool museums or something a long the way. I'd love to see the Dali Museum if it's close enough to where I'd be.

Do I have realistic goals? What would my options be?

Anything like shark or jellyfish season I need to avoid? lol

I think I want the east coast right? And if I can remember correctly the Fort Lauderdale area don't I?

 

[HavanaDaydreamin]

The Dali Museum is in Tampa.
If you want a beach, diving is available anywhere you see a coastline in Florida.
And there's a lot of coastline.
You might get more responses if you decide on a location first.
We don't even know where you're coming in from.

 

[sportxlh]

Lauderdale by the Sea isn't too expensive and you can beach dive there. Marine conditions can be rough in the winter, but if the wind isn't whipping out of the north, you might get some diving in. Gold Coast Scuba can rent tanks and/or any other gear.

Blue Heron Bridge in WPB is a good back up plan since it is fairly protected from the rough marine conditions, if the occur.

You can also get boat dives in any of the communities south of Jupiter down to the Keys

Miami and WPB have good art museums. Lincoln Rd is a fun place to hang out on Miami Beach.... Same for Los Olas in Fort Lauderdale, Commercial in Delray and Clematis in WPB.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Is your budget for both people or per person? Are you open to flying and if so, does that include airfare? Where do you live? How much diving do you want to be doing? Every day or every other day, just a few days? Are you thinking 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 dives per day?

Sorry for the 20 questions. This will help us narrow down some options for you.

 

[johnnyscience]

I'd say that's the budget for both people. We would be flying from Cleveland, Ohio.

How much diving is an open-ended answer as this will be our first time, but as much as possible for the budget we're working with. But I'd say maybe 2-3 dives a day, which can include some snorkeling.

I think I'm leaning towards Fort Lauderdale or the Keys if somehow the budget would allow.

So Fort Lauderale is no good in the winter or late summer/fall with hurricanes. I'd say we would shoot for a spring/summer trip then?

Any shark or jellyfish season I should be aware of lol

 

[EireDiver606]

Sagres in Portugal is really good and cheap.

 

[sportxlh]

Summer and early fall are usually the best dive times in Florida. That's normally when winds settle down and the wind isn't coming out of the north. Winter can be bad since the wind out if the north meets the gulf stream out of the south and you get some spectacular wave action.

Hurricanes are not predictable and episodic. The best diving is normally 'hurricane season' and in the last decade, there haven't been all that many hurricanes that have stirred things up in the southeast of Florida. I lived in Florida for almost a decade and only had hurricanes that were offshore ruin diving a couple of times. Normal winter weather and marine conditions ruined diving very frequently.

Winter is also when the Portuguese Man a Wars show up, you want to avoid those. I got stung by one as a kid and still remember the pain. There are times moon jellyfish congregate but they aren't a threat.

Are you trying to avoid sharks or see them. Most divers want to see them

With all that said, people dive in FL in the winter all the time and get blown out in the summer by unusual weather patterns occasionally. Now that I don't live there and have to plan my diving as vacations....... to increase the probability of success, I focus on May through November and completely avoid the other months unless I'm in town for some other reason and can get a side dive or two in if the marine conditions happen to be nice.

 

[KathyV]

That budget seems a bit unrealistic for a tropical dive vacation for 2 people from the Midwest, including airfare. If you could stretch the budget to $3000 total, you could fly to Nassau and then spend a week living, eating, and doing a lot of diving on the Blackbeard's liveaboard dive cruise. You will both need passports but it would be a great adventure for a Father and Son.

 

[johnnyscience]

Ok sounds like the summer time in Fort Lauderdale is what I'm going to start really digging deep on.

I don't know if I want to see sharks lol, aren't great whites off the coast of Florida a certain time of year?

That blackbeard liveaboard sounds really cool. I'll have to see how good the next 6 months or so are before I make a final decision, but I'm trying to plan some things now.

Thanks for the help & info everyone.

 

[Pnd]

Ok sounds like the summer time in Fort Lauderdale is what I'm going to start really digging deep on.

I don't know if I want to see sharks lol, aren't great whites off the coast of Florida a certain time of year?

That blackbeard liveaboard sounds really cool. I'll have to see how good the next 6 months or so are before I make a final decision, but I'm trying to plan some things now.

Thanks for the help & info everyone.

Look up goliath grouper spawning in the Jupiter area, for late summer!