New to Diving...Where in FL Panhandle is good?

[MJWitt]

Hello! My husband and I are newly certified. We took "Resort" courses in Cozumel and Belize and then got certified on a cruise last month (did our dives in Cozumel and Roatan). We are planning to take a short trip to somewhere between Orange Beach, AL and Panama City, FL in mid July. We have heard that there is good diving in the Panama City area...but what about Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, etc? Any insight on any of these areas? Thanks!

 

[chaad]

Hi @MJWitt, welcome! The diving is good all the way from Gulf Shores, AL on the west over to Panama City in the east. The diving is pretty similar all along there. It is about a 120 mile stretch of coast between the two. I think Panama City edges out the others by a little bit, but not by much. I find Panama City is also the least likely of these to get "blown out" meaning cancelled due to weather. I do most of my diving in Pensacola, as I'm west of there (New Orleans) and Panama City is an extra two-hour drive. There's about a $50 spread in this area from cheapest dive charter to most expensive for an in-shore trip, with Destin at the high end and Panama City at the low end. The predominant type of diving in the area are wrecks and artificial reefs. Destin has some limestone formations to dive, but I find the wrecks to be more interesting. There are a ton of charter operators in this area to choose from. I've had good experiences with Down Under Scuba (Gulf Shores), Niuhi (Pensacola), Emerald Coast Scuba (Destin), Panama City Dive Center, Panama City Diving, and Big Blue Boat (Panama City). There are many more including some great ones, but those are the ones I've had positive personal experiences with. There's also decent shore diving at Ft. Pickens (Pensacola), the Destin jetties, and St. Andrews State Park (Panama City). The Destin jetties is a ridiculously far walk from the parking area, so a local shop Scubatech runs their pontoon boat out there to it, making it a much more enjoyable dive. Since you just got certified, do note that the diving in this area tends to be on the deep side. There are definitely some options under 60 feet, but in my experience charter operators don't shy away from putting open water divers in water deeper than 60 feet. My most recent "inshore dive" trip out of Destin went to sites that were 70-80 feet deep. Letting you know so you don't accidentally get in over your head. If you want to stay under 60 feet, just be upfront with the charter about what you're looking for and depths you want to limit yourself to. Lastly, check out the 3rd Coast Divers facebook group. It is run by a great shop in Pensacola (Dive Pros), and there's always lots of good info, photos, etc. from the local dive scene. Happy to answer any specific questions you might come up with while you're planning your trip.

 

[divezonescuba]

We will be going to Panama City Beach 1-3 August. It is just inside my one day driving tolerance from Houston. A lot of people fly into the ECP airport which is about 10 miles away.

We wil be instructing an advanced course, but you are welcome to join us. We typically go to the crystal clear springs, Vortex and Morrison, the St Andrews state park Jetties, and sometimes on one of the boats.

As previously mentioned, PCB is the most weather proof as you can always dive Vortex and often Morrison both of which are less than 1 hour away, no matter what happens. Sometimes, the visibility is only so so at the jetties which is 15 minutes away. When it is good, its like diving in the Caribbean. I would say that it is the number two shore diving spot in the eastern US after Blue Heron Bridge. The park recently did a lot of renovations to make it diver friendly.

Boat diving is generally classified as insore or offshore. For some of the offshore dives you have to be advanced and nitrox certified.

 

[MJWitt]

Hi @MJWitt, welcome! The diving is good all the way from Gulf Shores, AL on the west over to Panama City in the east. The diving is pretty similar all along there. It is about a 120 mile stretch of coast between the two. I think Panama City edges out the others by a little bit, but not by much. I find Panama City is also the least likely of these to get "blown out" meaning cancelled due to weather. I do most of my diving in Pensacola, as I'm west of there (New Orleans) and Panama City is an extra two-hour drive. There's about a $50 spread in this area from cheapest dive charter to most expensive for an in-shore trip, with Destin at the high end and Panama City at the low end. The predominant type of diving in the area are wrecks and artificial reefs. Destin has some limestone formations to dive, but I find the wrecks to be more interesting. There are a ton of charter operators in this area to choose from. I've had good experiences with Down Under Scuba (Gulf Shores), Niuhi (Pensacola), Emerald Coast Scuba (Destin), Panama City Dive Center, Panama City Diving, and Big Blue Boat (Panama City). There are many more including some great ones, but those are the ones I've had positive personal experiences with. There's also decent shore diving at Ft. Pickens (Pensacola), the Destin jetties, and St. Andrews State Park (Panama City). The Destin jetties is a ridiculously far walk from the parking area, so a local shop Scubatech runs their pontoon boat out there to it, making it a much more enjoyable dive. Since you just got certified, do note that the diving in this area tends to be on the deep side. There are definitely some options under 60 feet, but in my experience charter operators don't shy away from putting open water divers in water deeper than 60 feet. My most recent "inshore dive" trip out of Destin went to sites that were 70-80 feet deep. Letting you know so you don't accidentally get in over your head. If you want to stay under 60 feet, just be upfront with the charter about what you're looking for and depths you want to limit yourself to. Lastly, check out the 3rd Coast Divers facebook group. It is run by a great shop in Pensacola (Dive Pros), and there's always lots of good info, photos, etc. from the local dive scene. Happy to answer any specific questions you might come up with while you're planning your trip.

Thanks so much for all this awesome information! Appreciate you taking the time to type this all out. I will be sharing it with my husband, and it definitely helps to know that there are good places along there so we can be flexible. Also good to know about the depths!

 

[MJWitt]

We will be going to Panama City Beach 1-3 August. It is just inside my one day driving tolerance from Houston. A lot of people fly into the ECP airport which is about 10 miles away.

We wil be instructing an advanced course, but you are welcome to join us. We typically go to the crystal clear springs, Vortex and Morrison, the St Andrews state park Jetties, and sometimes on one of the boats.

As previously mentioned, PCB is the most weather proof as you can always dive Vortex and often Morrison both of which are less than 1 hour away, no matter what happens. Sometimes, the visibility is only so so at the jetties which is 15 minutes away. When it is good, its like diving in the Caribbean. I would say that it is the number two shore diving spot in the eastern US after Blue Heron Bridge. The park recently did a lot of renovations to make it diver friendly.

Boat diving is generally classified as insore or offshore. For some of the offshore dives you have to be advanced and nitrox certified.

Thanks so much! Good to know. We will also be driving from the Houston area, thus wanting to keep it no further than PCB...

 

[TMHeimer]

Hello! My husband and I are newly certified. We took "Resort" courses in Cozumel and Belize and then got certified on a cruise last month (did our dives in Cozumel and Roatan). We are planning to take a short trip to somewhere between Orange Beach, AL and Panama City, FL in mid July. We have heard that there is good diving in the Panama City area...but what about Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, etc? Any insight on any of these areas? Thanks!

We snowbirded there (Destin mostly) for years. Destin-- the Thumb Jetty, diving the Marlor bridge (needed a free permit from Eglin Air Force -- got it online). Check in with Emerald Coast Scuba on US 98 downtown. They run charters. Panama City Beach-- the jetties at St. Andrews State Park in the inlet (slack tide)-- 70 feet, go out to end of jettty and in on the gulf beach side. Shops do charters there also. Pensacola-- shop I used was Dive Pros. -- Capt. Andy Ross (Niuhi Divers) Charters will take you where you want to go. Alabama-- You can dive the jetty at Perdido Pass (slack tide), just W. of the Florida line. A bit of a walk. Park under the bridge. Note-- the last time I did any of this was 2017. There are several places you can just dive off the beach into the Gulf but you're looking at sand.