Must see Florida Dive Sites

[Mar_Engineer]

Good Evening,

My name is Justin, I regularly visit ScubaBoard, but this is my first post. I am planing on taking a road trip to Florida in a couple of weeks and I was trying to put together a list of must see dive sites. So far, I would like to dive the Oriskany, Ginnie Springs, Crystal River (Manatees), and possibly the Spiegel Grove, if I make it to the Keys. Anyone have any suggestions as to other great dive sites. I am open to anything within recreational limits. Thanks for the suggestions!

-Justin

 

[SandyRobinson]

Without knowing how long you are staying and whether you are driving or flying, here are my recommendations/opinions.

The Oriskany can be a great dive with the right conditions but Pensacola is a 5+ hour drive from Ginnie and Crystal River. However, the drive to West Palm and the Keys from Ginnie may take 4.5 to 6.5 hours respectively depending on traffic, less than 2 extra hours. If I had to choose, I would go to the Keys If you make it, dive and stay in Key Largo(mm100) or Tavernier(mm90) In addition to the SG, the Duane and the Eagle are great wreck dives. Some nice shallower wreck dives are the City of Washington and Mikes Wreck(may have another name) Some nice reef dives are Conch Wall and Crocker Reef Deep in Tavernier and Molasses Reed and North North Dry Rocks in Key Largo. Do a search on the keys in this forum and you can find some great info. A couple of dive shops that we use are Silent World in Key Largo and Conch Republic in Tavernier.

Further north,, there is good wreck diving in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano. Likewise, a search can give you more info. Also, check out the AUE website. They have some good descriptions on a ton of wrecks.

If you want to dive Crystal River, check the conditions first. Maybe someone else with recent dives there can tell you about current conditions at the main spring. If you want to see manatees, I would suggest a snorkel trip rather than a dive trip. We have had a couple of good trips with American Pro Diver (I think that is the name) Be sure to follow the instructions of the guides so you do ot harass the manatees.

If you do dive the Oriskany, you can dive at Vortex and Morrsion which you would pass on the way to the central part of the state. Also, you can dive some wrecks at Panama City although the conditions are not as good as the southern part of the state.


Have a good trip.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Justin, for recreational diving, you would be better off spending the majority of your time in south Florida. While the Oriskany may be a great dive, it's pretty far from everything else you mention and a long boat ride out for a couple of short dives. Then you would be driving to Ginnie (about 5 hours) to do a dive that really isn't recreational (being that it's an overhead environment). Head straight for Crystal River and snorkel with the manatees. Then do a leisurely drift dive down Rainbow River. That will take half a day. If you want to see a great OW safe spring, check out Troy Springs. It's located about half way between Ginnie and Peacock, close to Branford. After that head south and dive Ft. Lauderdale and Key Largo. You can stay busy there for several days. If you'd like more dive sites to consider, then I would consider doing a cavern course while you're here. It's great training even if caverns aren't for you. The skills you'll learn are invaluable. Then you can do great dives like Jackson Blue, Morrison Springs, Ginnie Springs (safely), Paradise Springs, Peacock, Orange Grove, etc. I will warn you, though. Diving the springs of Florida can be very addicting. I moved 2000 miles because I couldn't stand to be away from them any longer!

Check out my website for photos and more info on some great dive sites in Florida.

 

[Walter]

Unless you're a cave diver, skip Ginnie Springs.

In the upper Keys, dive the Grove, Conch Wall, the Eagle, French and Molasses Reefs.

Off Ft. Lauderdale dive Tennaco Towers, off Deerfield Beach dive the Ancient Mariner.

 

[moneysavr]

Justin,
My Road trip would be on the way down-do one or two springs ,
Devils Den Florida's Pre-Historic Spring -- Devil's Den!
Williston Florida area
Blue Grotto <<<DiveBlueGrotto.com>>>
After that you have a idea of what some of the springs are like,got wet and had a nice break from the drive if your on a road trip,

Now hit the FL turnpike easy drive but have some toll money and head SE to Palm Beach Cty book a couple days at the Holiday Inn Excess is Boynton Beach and if weather works dive,dive, dive,, Drift dive wreck dive just have fun many boats to choose from,reefs are top notch,sea life great,ease of parking great! after several days in Boyton your dive computer will be mad at you,
Boynton Beach Dive Sites
a nice link a bit dated but two great opps are,,,,
Underwater Explorers - SCUBA Diving Boynton Beach, Delray, Palm Beach, Reefs and Wrecks
Splashdown Divers - Palm Beach County, Florida - Scuba Diving Boats and Charters - PADI Scuba Diving Certification - Serving West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Florida.

Now get a early start and head South on the Turnpike to Key Largo that's about as far as you need to go Dive the Duanne-or if you have it in your mind the Grove, a patch reef will follow. take a day tool around the Keys and FiZZ! Head to Robbie's and feed some Tarpon!
YouTube - Hand Feeding Tarpon at Robbie's. Islamorada, FL
-Eat a fish Sandwich at Craig's
Islamorada: Craig's Restaurant - Reviews, Photos - Great fish sandwich - TripAdvisor
head down to see Strange West Oh I mean Key West-do the Conch train-tour

Then do the long road trip NW up to Crystal River to see the T's this is a non dive part of your trip more like snorkel-book early with Bird's Underwater they leave the dock early REAL Early!well worth the tour and first class opp,If your a late sleeper pass-You will get a first class Eco tour of Crystal River-and for sure see some Manatee they thin out after March,
Manatee Tours Florida Manatee Swims Swimming With Manatee Florida

then set your GPS and tool home ! !
Lots of great spots way too many to list-if you can get off the beaten path Florida has so much to see and do I just put s few spots in have a fun trip!

Brad

 

[TheBigPhillyFish]

Well, I have dove a lot in the West Palm area. I entered all the dive sites from West Palm to Key Largo into the boats computer. I can tell you, from Boyton Beach to Miami there are about 50 awesome dives. Then I spent a week in Islemorada in the Keys, and did Little Conch and Big Conch, Arnos Reef, Davis Reef, Capt. Toms Ledge, El Fuego (one of my favorites), and Crocker Reef. I never made it to the Speigel or some of the other popular reefs. If you go to the keys, go to Conch Republic Divers, reasonably priced and there are right next to most of the big reefs. In fact they are the one who took me to El Fuego. Just look on here and you will find boats and captains the whole way down from West Palm. Just run one day at a place and move on. The keys, you need at least 4-5 days to see the main stuff.

Enjoy!

 

[jhayes75]

Justin,
My family and I just got back from our trip to Florida. I managed to dive Blue Grotto and it was a really nice dive. Although the person at the counter was rude, I ignored him and made the dive. It will cost you 40.00 dollars and they have a filling station on site. I too recommend snorkeling with the manatees with Birds Underwater. Get there for 6:15am and beat the crowds. We were the only boat there until 8:00am. Many panic-ed and unexperienced snorkelers stirred up the bottom killing the crystal clear water.

Jason

 

[Scubastud16]

Unless you're a cave diver, skip Ginnie Springs.

I'm not so sure about this. The ballroom is a fairly epic dive. There is nothing like seeing that clear water and feeling the flow come past the gate. Is it worth the 35 bucks? More so than Blue Grotto/Devil's Den I'd say, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Walter]

I'm not so sure about this. The ballroom is a fairly epic dive. There is nothing like seeing that clear water and feeling the flow come past the gate. Is it worth the 35 bucks? More so than Blue Grotto/Devil's Den I'd say, but that's just my opinion.

I've never dived Devil's Den, but I have dived Ginnie and Blue Grotto. Blue Grotto can be fun. Ginnie would almost not worth diving if it were free. Different strokes, but to me, Ginnie puts me to sleep.

 

[deepstops]

If you want to dive Crystal River, check the conditions first. We have had a couple of good trips with American Pro Diver (I think that is the name) Be sure to follow the instructions of the guides so you do ot harass the manatees.
Have a good trip.

There were a few videos posted a while back that clearly showed the guides from American Pro disregarding the rules concerning touching, chasing, and cornering the manatees.

Bird's Underwater has the best track record for being manatee friendly of the major operators in Crystal River.