vacation destination/Florida keys-dive?

[ScoobieDooo]

I just went to Key Largo this past Feb and went with HORIZON DIVERS in Key Largo. Go with them!

They were a 5-star PADI shop, were VERY professional, friendly, had one of the nicest boats and staff that I have ever seen and had a blast!

Their boat even had a bathroom on it and fresh water showers after the dives! They offer freshwater gear rinsing after the dives at their dock as well! Its the small touches that make a dive charter shine and they guys treat you like they have known you for years! They serve beverages (hot and cold) during and after the dives in case your chilled and really had a first rate operation. We visited some of the smaller dive charters while down there and were not as impressed. I hear Amy Slate's is a good charter as well also in Key Largo.

We went in Feb and the water temps were 73 degs and the air temps around 74-76. Go when it nice an warm so you can avoid getting chilled at the surface between dives.

Key Largo and Tavernier as two hotspots for diving and you'll find dive shops and charters all over the place in Key Largo.

 

[raviepoo]

I've had really good experiences with Horizon Divers in Key Largo, Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier and Kellys by the Bay in Key Largo. If you're new to diving and want to do some easy, hassle-free, laid back diving, Kellys will do the trick. They have large, confortable boats which I have never seen filled to capacity. The layout of the resort is very easy for diving. Get your gear into the locker at the beginning of the trip and you hardly have to think about it until you're ready to pack up and go home.

I really liked Horizon Divers as well. THe staff is great and they are closer to the dive sites than Kellys. Ditto for Fla Keys. I've been a repeat customer with them.

Someone else in this thread mentioned Pro Dive in Ft Lauderdale. I had a negative experience with them last year. They have a huge boat which takes out too many divers, in my opinion. They are a training facility first, and a dive op second. Their charters often carry multiple classes of students of all levels. If you're on the boat just to have a nice dive with a buddy, you're kind of in the way. My buddy and I did a drift dive with them. The divemaster threw us into a group with a bunch of other divers without really attempting to match similar backgrounds or experience levels. He then handed off the dive marker and float to a random person in the group, a man who had never even done a drift dive before, let alone led one. Our group had more experienced divers who would have been better suited to lead the dive.

I will never dive with this operation again. I see them as the TGIFridays of the dive industry - lots of noise and balloons, appealling to the lowest common denominator.

If you're looking for a good dive op in the Fort Lauderdale area (a bit north of there actually) consider Jim Abernathy in Palm Beach.