Need help finding the best shop near key west

[PSEUDOREEFER]

Hi everybody I'm new if you couldn't tell by the 1 post My brother, girlfriend and I just finished our confined water dives and classroom work locally in Colorado for our open water cert. We will be going on vacation to Miami and Key West later this week and would like to do the open water dives to complete our certification there. Does anyone have any recommendations about where to go and who (what shop - btw we're getting the certification through PADI) to get our certification through? We will be leaving for Miami this Thursday and will be driving down to Key West after that. All I've learned through internet searches and phone calls is that there are hundreds of shops in the area and all of them say they are the best

 

[MsParamedic]

The best advice I can give you is to call some of the shops....and find one that will fit your personality and needs!

Pat

 

[DebbyDiver]

My advice is to NOT dive Key West and to dive Looe Key (off Big Pine Key) instead, it's so much prettier. Sorry, don't have a shop in mind. Afterward you can drive south and party in Key West.

 

[bcleveland]

I can highly recommend Rachel Chaimson. She's a PADI instructor. My wife and younger daughter did their open water cert dives with her in April. We liked her so much, we went back two weeks ago for another 4 days with all 4 of us diving. Her boat is docked at Cudjoe Gardens Marina on Cudjoe Key (mile marker 21) and she runs a six pack boat. Her website is http://www.wreckreationcharters.com She went out of her way to be sure we had a good trip. All four of us are new to this and would have been perfectly happy to dive the same site every day. She took us to several different sites on Looe Key and American Shoals. I would keep going, but then it would start to sound like a paid commercial. I believe that when someone does a good job, other people should know about it. We stayed on Little Torch Key at Parmers Resort. It was friendly and clean and very convenient to Cudjoe Key (4 miles away). Sorry if this is starting to sound like a trip report. Call her (number is on her website), you won't regret it.

 

[TheRedHead]

I was in Key West last month with my deco instructor (who owns a condo there) and we finished our Deco Procedures checkout dives with Paradise Divers at MM 39. These people are superb and I'm picky. They dive primarily Looe Key for recreational dives and they are a PADI shop.

http://www.paradivers.com/

The diving in Key West sucked. I think we had 5-10 feet of viz on the Cayman Salvage Master and the one reef dive we did, we found most of the coral to be dead or in the process of bleaching. I wouldn't waste my time there again.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Parmer's rocks!!! I love that place. It's not too far from the No Name Pub, a MUST SEE in the lower Keys. I don't remember who I dived with down there, but Parmer's gave me a discount for diving with whoever it was. That was a few years ago so I don't know if they still do that.

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

Rachel runs an outstanding operation... small boat... personalized, friendly service. She's moved up the road a couple of miles from her old shop... new location info is on her website at www.wreckreationcharters.com. Enjoy!

 

[Susiecue]

I highly recommed Rachel and Wreckreation Charters. My boyfriend and I had a great experience diving Looe Key at the end of June with her and her captain, Scott. Check out this post for additional details:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=149313

 

[msgordon]

Just got my C-Card this week with the Captain's Corner and would highly recommend them. My instructor was Tony and he was great always making sure I was OK and that I had no problems. The boat is the Sea Eagle and the crew is top notch.

 

[CBulla]

Wreckreation.. see the super Ms Rachel and you'll have a dive experience thats well above and beyond! At least thats what every report I've read about her has been saying....

Rachel, you're on my hitlist for dive charter reviews!