New certified diver...recommended dive locations to travel to to get my feet wet...

[scubadada]

Hi soldsoul4foos,

I understand the advantages of local diving but there are many reasons to consider getting away such as warm weather, warm water, good visibility, Caribbean reef fish, relaxation...

As a very new diver, without a known buddy, you might want to dive with a guide to take away some of the stress of navigation and some of the risk of a random buddy while you gain initial experience and confidence.

With a short trip of only 3-4 days of diving, quick, easy travel seems requisite. I"m spoiled by my air travel options from Philadelphia, not sure of your options from Portland. The upper Keys are a perfectly good choice. I would also second Providenciales, T&C. I used a very good operator there, Caicos Adventures, that would meet your requirements. PM me if you'd like more info. Keep in mind that the water temps in FL and T&C may still be cool at that time of year, perhaps mid to high 70s, I'd be diving my 5 mm

Best of luck in arranging your scuba trip,

Craig

 

[Bigd2722]

The easiest trip for a new diver would be to fly into Fort Lauderdale and dive in Fort Lauderdale. There are lots of things for your wife to do, the diving is relatively easy. Go 5 miles north to Lauderdale by the Sea and you can shore dive.

 

[wgw04024]

Someone here pm'd me about a trip one of the local dive shops that I hadn't visited is taking in May. Key west and Key largo, 1 week. Stopped by and they seem like a great fit personality wise. More so I think than the other two shops I've dealt with here. Can't wait! Thanks for all the responses.

ss4f-Maine

 

[Skittl1321]

We got certified this year and did about 10 local dives (mudhole, 30 feet, cold water) but our first 'real' diving was Cozumel. It was fabulous. We went with a dive op who was very safety conscious and was able to pick good sites for me each day. As the week went on, I did more challenging sites- but worked my way up to them. Many people told me you can't do Cozumel if you won't dive deep, but I was able to stay above 75 feet for the whole week (at times, I had to pay pretty careful attention to that, as it is very easy to get deeper than that without realizing you've done it.) Personally, I really liked the drift diving, though because the DM was careful in selecting sites, there were only a few that had substantial currents. Boat diving was no problem at all, except the part where I belly flopped onto the boat...



And it was absolutely gorgeous and very affordable. It is very affordable to get a private DM for the first day or two if you feel like you need it (we decided against it, because our group DM said she'd be able to dedicate time to us because the rest of the group was regulars). I guess the expensive part, is now that I've done tropical diving, I will not be doing local diving anymore!

Our dive shop does lots of trips, and they are good deals for what they are, but they were more expensive than going separately.

 

[drrich2]

Many people told me you can't do Cozumel if you won't dive deep, but I was able to stay above 75 feet for the whole week (at times, I had to pay pretty careful attention to that, as it is very easy to get deeper than that without realizing you've done it.)

One caveat. I was told on a 2 tank outing in Cozumel that the current tends to be less close it to the reef. If the dive guide is swimming close to the reef so as to find animals to show the customers, and that happens to be deep, someone trying to stay shallow by hovering higher in the water column could get pushed forward faster than the group.

Not saying that was you; just that if someone goes to Cozumel planning to stay shallow on deep dives, and is accustomed to being able to do so at minimal current locations, it could be a surprise.

Richard.

 

[Skittl1321]

One caveat. I was told on a 2 tank outing in Cozumel that the current tends to be less close it to the reef. If the dive guide is swimming close to the reef so as to find animals to show the customers, and that happens to be deep, someone trying to stay shallow by hovering higher in the water column could get pushed forward faster than the group.

Not saying that was you; just that if someone goes to Cozumel planning to stay shallow on deep dives, and is accustomed to being able to do so at minimal current locations, it could be a surprise.

Richard.

Yes, you do have to take care to make sure you are staying with the group. In my case, the DM was generally with the members of the group that were at the 70-80 ft range, and the more advanced divers who went deeper watched to stay with the group. That's another reason a private DM is a good idea for someone who wants to stay shallow though- if most of the group is deep divers the DM would go with them. I did have to email multiple operations before I settled on one, and a few could not guarantee dives would not go below 80 feet (so I chose not to dive with them).

And the currents do change based on depth (On safety stops, I often had to fin like crazy so that I didn't get too far from the group that was still below me.)