Salty-
it is easy enough to go online, get the contacts for the dive shops in the area he is interested in, and see what they have to offer. A lot of the boat dives may be Advanced Open Water not plain OW. And the reefs...they ain't the Red Sea, even if they are a lot closer. Your buddy may also find his best deal is to actually TAKE A COURSE in the Keys, so his open water dives will be there, and the shop can give him a bundle on everything. More incentive for them. Most of the shops are PADI (as they are everywhere in the US) and that may or may not be an issue. PADI likes to deliver bite-size courses so they are easy to pass, but you've got to keep coming back every time you want to do anything extra. Like, dive on weekdays, or in months without an "R", or use a yellow tank instead of a silver one. Apparently a lot of people like that approach.