Must Dives?

[swimmer_spe]

I am considering visiting Florida to do some diving. I am also considering visiting the Jules undersea lab.

So, If you could only do one dive in Florida, what would be the top of your list?

 

[Tug]

If I could only choose one dive in Florida it would easily be one of the many wrecks off the Keys

 

[sportxlh]

Keys wrecks are nice but if you come in the fall, the wrecks in Palm Beach County will be teaming with goliath grouper. It's a pretty awesome experience to dive with 20-50 of these creatures. Lemon shark aggregation in the winter in Jupiter is also pretty exciting. If you like macro photography, Blue Heron Bridge can't be beat

 

[iamrushman]

that's a hard question, with so many great and wonderful dives in Florida, I'll have to think about that one.

 

[packrat12]

If I had 1 dive in Florida it would be the Spiegel Grove. Big beautiful wreck with lots to do and see. You can get the range from 130' to 80'. You can do many dives and still not see it all, regardless of what depth range you are at. I would recommend Nitrox at least to get the bottom time. Most shops also require AOW or a guide.

If you get creative with your schedule you can do the first dive on the SG and maybe the second dive on either the Duane or Bibb. An ideal weekend for me is do a double dip on the SG and the next day do a dive on the Bibb followed by the Duane.

I love the wrecks in Pompano also but there are many of them. I think there I would hit the Capt Dan, a nice small 80' - 120' dive.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

If you haven't been here before, and wanted "one dive", I would pick either Molasses Reef in Key Largo, or Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary off of Big Pine Key.
Why, when there are so many great wrecks, big animals, etc in the Keys and in other parts of the State?

First, the combination of beautiful hard and soft corals, the variety and structure are amazing. Second, the huge variety of tropical and reef fish life, everything from barracuda, dense schooling fish, to macro oddities if you really look. Nurse sharks and morays guaranteed. Also, a pretty decent chance of a reef shark, or large grouper, or eagle ray. Third, the shallow depth (less than 40'). This means lots of light for absolutely dazzling colors. It also means long dive times. If you rent boat and go dive yourself with a 100 or 120 cf tank, you might two hours of bottom time. The wrecks, as great as they are, are deep so the dives will be short.

The good news is that, because you will be doing a boat trip, you will not be doing one but two dives, so you can get two of the best--so do a trip that goes to the Spiegel Grove wreck, and then to Molasses for the second dive. Can't do better than that!

 

[t-mac]

I agree completely on the Spiegel Grove/Molasses Reef two-fer. If this is your first trip to Florida to dive, you should definitely go to Key Largo -- Jules is right nearby and you said you want to go there. The Vandenberg in Key West is also good, but I prefer the Speigel Grove. Hopefully, however, you will not just be doing a single boat trip and you can get in several dives on the Spiegel Grove and the reefs and perhaps do the Duane too! While I have not done it, but I suspect there is also a very strong case to be made to do the groupers and Blue Heron Bridge as another must-do two-fer. Shooting to do that this fall. Sorry to divert from your single dive question.

 

[Bratface]

The Vandenberg in Key West.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

My runner-up "must" is a two-fer in Jupiter/West Palm--a boat trip to the wrecks for the goliath grouper aggregation, and a shore dive at Blue Heron Bridge. But, the grouper aggregation is an August/September thing and I don't know when the OP is coming. Although there are always a few giants on the wrecks, all the time, the groups of 50-70 behemoths (500lbs+) is in only late summer/early fall and is one of the greatest "big animal" dives anywhere. BHB is the ultimate in Florida for a mind-blowing assortment of macro oddities--it is a special-purpose dive. We see stuff there that we went to Indonesia to see.

But, since the OP is going to the keys, I went with Spiegel/Molasses. If the OP is driving down, then I would consider diving both of these areas--you really get the best of everything that way especially if you are coming in late summer.

But, even at this time of year, here is a sample. My last Jupiter dive, two weeks ago: 7 lemon sharks, 2 reef sharks, 1 big nurse shark; 12 goliaths, and five very friendly large turtles. All on a 1/2 day trip to two spots.

 

[AdivingBel]

Good list of dives. One of my favs in Key Largo I didn't see listed is the Benwood. Nice old wreck scattered all over the bottom. Relatively shallow so long bottom times with lots of light for lots of color. Plenty of nooks and crannys for wildlife to hang out. Makes a nice second dive after a deep wreck. New divers get a kick out of the glass minnows when they are there. It's what I always imagined a shipwreck would look like.