Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale?

[deltat]

I'll be down in South Florida for a short trip over NYE weekend. Can anyone recommend any dive operators and sites around Palm Beach?

I've dove all throughout the keys for the last 10 years or so, so I'm looking for something new. Would I be best off going w/ a dive boat off Palm? Lauderdale? Are there any sites I shouldn't miss? What dive operator should I use?

I don't really know the diving in that area, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You!

 

[danvolker]

I'll be down in South Florida for a short trip over NYE weekend. Can anyone recommend any dive operators and sites around Palm Beach?

I've dove all throughout the keys for the last 10 years or so, so I'm looking for something new. Would I be best off going w/ a dive boat off Palm? Lauderdale? Are there any sites I shouldn't miss? What dive operator should I use?

I don't really know the diving in that area, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You!

I have a website that attempts to answer this question, and also offers the selection of boats, hotels, etc....
In this link, the issue you see breaks down the dive sites in Palm Beach, to show you what kind of experiences you could have in each....so that whatever you have in your mind as your dream dive experience, will be much easier to match with what you end up on.

Table of Contents... Finding Your Dive Issue

All of South Florida can be said to have great diving.....Lauderdale has more wrecks, Palm Beach has more fish and brighter colored reefs, particularly Delray/Boynton/Pauls-Lake Worth....
The SFDJ link here will give you specifics of each area in Palm Beach.

 

[Andy Lazar]

I normally use Capt SL8R in Jupiter (I'm diving with him Saturday, Jan 2nd @ 10 AM). I've also been with PuraVita on singer Island. Either way, you should try to hit the Blue Hereon Bridge if you have time and the tides work, it's a world class shore dive!

 

[sportxlh]

If you like wrecks, then choose Ft Lauderdale or Pomapno. If you like drift diving on 60-90 foot reefs then choose Palm Beach County: either Jupiter or West Palm Beach or Boynton Beach. If you want a near guaranty of seeing big marine life, then Jupiter is the best choice. If you like shallow reefs, then Pompano or Lauderdale by the Sea are your best bets. All the diving between Jupiter and Ft Lauderdale is great.

I dive with Jupiter Dive Center often. In WPB I've had good experiences with Sandy's Sunday, Narcois, Walker's, Jim Abernathy and the Scuba Club. In Boynton I've had good experiences with Splash Down and Underwater Explorers. In Pompano I like South Florida Dive HQ, Pompano Dive Center and Scubatyme.

If you want to beach dive, Force-E or Gold Coast can help you.

 

[PatW]

I am not familiar with Lauderdale diving.

West Palm has the Blue Heron Bridge. You dive it at high tide. It is a shore dive and shallow with a max of about 25'. It has an amazing variety and amount of macro critters. The dive has a world wide reputation. There is a running conversation on it on these boards.

Jupiter is drift diving with 80' to the bottom. It is famous for large stuff: turtles, Sharks and Goliath groupers. you can also dive a technical dive, the hole in the wall, at 140'. A number of shops do it. They will give you the training to do it. The training is abbreviated.

West Palm is 60' and is not known for Pelagics like Jupiter. It is drift diving also.

You our could hit Jupiter. Blue Heron, West Palm and drive down to Pompano for wrecks and reefs. Pompano has soft corals which are lacking farther north.

 

[scubadada]

The nicest reefs in SE Florida, with the Castor to boot. I recommend Underwater Explorers out of Boynton Beach Marina