Looking to Dive in Central Florida

[Ronniemu]

My wife and I will be visiting Central Florida ( Tampa, Citrus County, Ocala, Orlando ) between Sept 28 and Oct 18. I am a new diver with about 15 dives, my wife does not Scuba Dive, but has recently practice snorkling in our pool. I am looking for a place to make a few dives during our visit to Florida, a place to go snorkling would also be nice. Can anyone offer any help with this? Thanks, Ronnie

 

[FL_DVLover]

Hi Ronnie,

I live about 20 miles northwest of Orlando. Just north of Ocala in Williston is Devil's Den. It is a nice cavern dive that you can dive with an OW certification and I think your wife can also snorkle there. They have air tank rentals, too. There is also Ginnie Springs which is an easy drive (a little over an hour?) from Ocala. Your wife will be able to snorkle there, too. From Orlando, you can try out Blue Springs in Deland which is a state park so it isn't that expensive. You have to have a buddy to dive in Blue Springs. I live just a few minutes away, so if you let me know when you are coming, I may be able to join you. If not, I am sure someone else here might be available. Unfortunately, Blue Springs doesn't have tank rental so you will need to find a shop in Orlando to rent some tanks if you need to. You can find all these places on the web with a search. Since these are spring dives, the water will be about 72 degrees so you and your wife will probably want a wetsuit.

Hope this helps,

Deana

 

[del_mo]

Crystal River. Great little drift dive in about 20 feet of water. Ultra clear water, so it would also be great for snorkeling. It's a state park, so they have facilities (not for renting scuba equipement) and little boats to rent to get up to the head water. About an hour long cruise.

 

[truck1]

Go to diversdirect.com.they have guided night tours of the reefs in FtLauderdale if you dont mind the drive.Its under the calendar of events.they offer them every weds night.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Rainbow River would be a fun drift snorkel/SCUBA too. Paradise Springs in Ocala would be fun for Scuba and snorkelers alike.

 

[scubafool]

Rainbow River would be a fun drift snorkel/SCUBA too. Paradise Springs in Ocala would be fun for Scuba and snorkelers alike.

Ummm, not to be disagreeable (I leave that task to Andy), but the entrance to Paradise is a small waterfilled hole in the ground about 10 feet by 15 feet. A snorkeler would have a hard time keeping themselves amused there. Perhaps you are talking about another site?

 

[del_mo]

Rainbow River would be a fun drift snorkel/SCUBA too. Paradise Springs in Ocala would be fun for Scuba and snorkelers alike.

That's what I meant (Rainbow River), not Crystal River. While not an intended correction, thanks. DOH!

 

[cleung]

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of great diving in central Florida as far as ocean dives goes. I dove off Clearwater and it was not nearly as nice as the Keys. I heard from other feedback that the Daytona area is not great either, at least compared to further south. During my last trip to the Orlando area, I went to do the Epcot dive at Disney and was actually quite impressed with it. Your wife could watch you dive with the marine life through the observation windows too and perhaps see what all the fuss is about. Who knows, maybe she'll turn into a future dive buddy for you once she sees this. I have an article about this dive at my website. Some folks in the Orlando area told me that there might be some okay diving down in the West Palm area but that's about 2 hours south.

 

[Ronniemu]

Hi Ronnie,

I live about 20 miles northwest of Orlando. Just north of Ocala in Williston is Devil's Den. It is a nice cavern dive that you can dive with an OW certification and I think your wife can also snorkle there. They have air tank rentals, too. There is also Ginnie Springs which is an easy drive (a little over an hour?) from Ocala. Your wife will be able to snorkle there, too. From Orlando, you can try out Blue Springs in Deland which is a state park so it isn't that expensive. You have to have a buddy to dive in Blue Springs. I live just a few minutes away, so if you let me know when you are coming, I may be able to join you. If not, I am sure someone else here might be available. Unfortunately, Blue Springs doesn't have tank rental so you will need to find a shop in Orlando to rent some tanks if you need to. You can find all these places on the web with a search. Since these are spring dives, the water will be about 72 degrees so you and your wife will probably want a wetsuit.

Hope this helps,

Deana

Hi Deana,

Is Devil's Den (cave dive) okay with only an OW certification and no cave experience? How far is Blue Springs from Orlando. Can you give me some info on the diving there?
Sorry for taken so long to get back to you. It's been busy here. I am starting my AOW.

Thanks, Ronnie

 

[Ronniemu]

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of great diving in central Florida as far as ocean dives goes. I dove off Clearwater and it was not nearly as nice as the Keys. I heard from other feedback that the Daytona area is not great either, at least compared to further south. During my last trip to the Orlando area, I went to do the Epcot dive at Disney and was actually quite impressed with it. Your wife could watch you dive with the marine life through the observation windows too and perhaps see what all the fuss is about. Who knows, maybe she'll turn into a future dive buddy for you once she sees this. I have an article about this dive at my website. Some folks in the Orlando area told me that there might be some okay diving down in the West Palm area but that's about 2 hours south.

I did the Epcot dive twice and loved it. I was hoping to try something else when I go to Florida. I'm still not sure, perhaps I will go again. Thanks for your time.

Regards, Ronnie