Mini trip report -- FL Keys

[large_diver]

Great to hear that the trip lived up to your excitement level Chris! I trust Mike enjoyed himself as well?

Eileen

Yeah, it was a great trip. It was definitely a lot of diving in a few days including some pretty deep dives, but with the long intervals at lunch, it worked. I was glad I had been swimming and hitting the gym hard before this trip -- it DEFINITELY helped....as did Nitrox.

I was also diving Key Largo a few weeks ago with Divers City USA. Bob and Barbara run a great business there. I was with 7 other people so we chartered the boat for 4 days doing 3 tank dives every day to the Speigel, Duane, Bibb, Benwood and the Eagle, as well as reef dives. Fantastic weather,great food everynight, new friends and lasting memories. Does it get any better?

I thought Bob and Barb did a great job -- really well run boat/operation. I would definitely use them again. PG Dive has run a few trips through them now, and seems to like what they see.

-Chris

 

[aquageek]

When did you fly back? I've always wondered about doing a weekend dive trip and flying back and being able to fulfill the the 18 hours after multiple dives recommendation.

 

[large_diver]

We flew down Thursday night.

Diving Friday x 4, Saturday x 4 and Sunday x 2 (AM only).

Our flight back took off Monday at about 12 noon. I definitely wanted 24 hours between diving/flying on this trip given how much diving we were doing (including a few deeper than 100 feet).

Chris

 

[aquageek]

Any recommendations as to where to stay?

 

[large_diver]

We stayed in a place called the Tavernier Hotel. It was a 3 minute drive from Divers City. Clean, but small rooms. No on site food or amenities (e.g., no pool)....that said, there are plenty of food choices around. It was somewhat of a dive....but we didn't care since we were diving so much. If you are looking for more R&R, sit by the pool time...there might be better choices. I've only been down there this one time.....you might get more informed opinions if you ask over in the FL section of the board.

http://www.tavernierhotel.com/

Here are some ideas from Tripadvisor.com:http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34682-Tavernier_Florida-Vacations.html

You can also try looking at lodging in Key Largo or Islamorada.

-C

 

[minigirl]

I recently stayed at the Sheraton Key Largo resort. Two pools, hot-tub, beach, tennis, gym..etc etc. A lovely place to stay but at $200/night it's a wee bit pricey.

 

[localdivah]

You guys are kidding me. I'm planning a 4 day surprise trip for my wife to the Keys this weekend and was going to ask the guys at PG for advice... if I had known there was a trip this past weekend, I would have signed up. Guess that's what happens when I stay away from the shop for a couple weeks.

On the other hand, that means they should be chock full of info. Who organized the trip?

Also, would you recommend going all the way out to Key West with only 3 days, or is it a better idea to just crash in Key Largo and do day trips out and about?

 

[pgdive]

Yea we did try and keep it a secret, it's not like it's been on a big board on the wall in the store for the last 3 monthes

I like Divers City a lot as well, this is was the fourth "Southern Wreck Trek" that we have run and we used them the last few times. I actually found them on the Florida section of scubaboard.


Paul

 

[large_diver]

I've only been there this one time....so take my opinion with a grain of salt...

There is certainly diving throughout the Keys.....and dive shops/boats appear to be a dime a dozen down there. You can hardly drive more than a mile in any direction without seeing a shop.

I guess it depends on what you want. There is enough diving in the Upper Keys (Key Largo/Tavernier/Islamorada) to fill a week, without a doubt. The combination of wrecks and reefs is hard to beat. If you prefer to stay in one place and use one op for the time you are there, you can certainly do that. One nice thing about Divers City is that they have a place to rinse your gear beind the shop (adjacent to the boat)...and you can leave your gear there overnight on their hanging rack (complete with wetsuit/gear hangers) if you are there for multiple days.

If there are other spots you want to hit, the driving distances from the Upper Keys down to Key West are short enough (~100 miles from the mainland to Key West) to make this doable as well.

My buddy and I drove down to Key West and enjoyed the topside sightseeing -- 7 mile bridge, Key West touristy areas, etc. I think there is diving down in Key West, but the impression I have is that it does not have the wreck/reef variety that the upper keys have. That said, if the wife is looking for more topside diversions, shopping, sightseeing.....Key West might have some value, even if you just drive down there.

You might get some more informed opinions over on the FL section of board as well.

There has been some discussion of the upper keys over on scubadiving.com during the past week. Take a look at these threads for some more info:

http://dive.scubadiving.com/talk/read.php?1,101822,101822#msg-101822

http://dive.scubadiving.com/talk/read.php?1,100415,100415#msg-100415


-Chris