Visiting from Cleveland Jan 24-26 and I want to dive

[Salmonboy97]

For springs my recommendation are Devils Den, Blue Grotto, Manatee Springs, Crystal River headsprings, drift Rainbow river. PM when you get into town and we can try to set something up.

 

[alwayssummer]

This is great information and I'm really excited to see all the options around here for springs.

How long would you recommend spending at any given spring?

Would it typically be difficult to find a buddy at a spring if I can't arrange one ahead of time?

I'm going to arrive Friday before noon, and would like to get underwater ASAP thereafter.
So I could potentially spend four full days diving: Fri-Mon.

So here's my plan atm...

Even though I have enough time, I think I'd rather focus on either ocean or spring diving and not try to do both in one trip. All of the springs that have been recommended to me are relatively close together, but the drive down to Jupiter or West Palm Beach would take me pretty far out of the way. I'll also be doing a lot of ocean diving in the coming months, so I'm leaning toward spring diving.

I think I'm going to edit some of this stuff into the top post so that it will be up to date.

 

[Salmonboy97]

You cant do BOTH spring diving and gulf diving in the same day. The springs are too far north and the gulf dive sites are too far offshore.
The general rule is 1mile = 1.5' deep here in Hernando County. If you go out from Pinellas County it is a little better/ deeper.
The springs vary in price. DD and BG are about $40.00 each. Manatee Springs is a state park and costs $10.00 to dive. At Crystal River you would want to rent a pontoon boat to get to the different springs, I think the cost was about $50.00 for half a day. The drift dive on the Rainbow river is about $30-40.
I have dove all of these and wouldnt spend all day diving them again.

 

[Salmonboy97]

Looks like a bunch of divers are headed over to Ft. Lauderdale. I will probably join them, I just have to clear a few things out of the way first. Do you want to join us??

 

[alwayssummer]

Looks like a bunch of divers are headed over to Ft. Lauderdale. I will probably join them, I just have to clear a few things out of the way first. Do you want to join us??

Dates, times? I just told a group that I would go to Devil's Den. It's gonna be a large group.

Also, is it difficult to find dive buddies on the fly for some of the springs sites, I'm not getting a lot of people who want to dive Friday or Monday. Any other suggestions?

 

[I Dive]

Dates, times? I just told a group that I would go to Devil's Den. It's gonna be a large group.

Also, is it difficult to find dive buddies on the fly for some of the springs sites, I'm not getting a lot of people who want to dive Friday or Monday. Any other suggestions?

I've never done this before, but I think if you show up to a Spring and are a little patient, you will find a dive buddy or three in a relatively short timeframe, maybe an hour or two wait max. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

As far as the Ft Lauderdale trip, we are doing a boat dive Saturday at 1 in the afternoon and a Sunday morning shore dive. We are heading down Friday night but you could arrive Saturday morning if you wanted. PM me if you are interested.

 

[Missdirected]

Dates, times? I just told a group that I would go to Devil's Den. It's gonna be a large group.

Also, is it difficult to find dive buddies on the fly for some of the springs sites, I'm not getting a lot of people who want to dive Friday or Monday. Any other suggestions?

You could also post another thread in here specifically asking for a buddy on whatever dates. Some may have already looked in this thread when you initially posted and won't look again. So if you have an actual date in mind and spot - think about posting another thread

 

[Missdirected]

You defintely want to hit the other coast. The water will be warmer and the viz will be better. My personal recomendation is Sandy's Sunday. It's a great boat and the staff is top notch. They can also supply your dive buddy in case you can't get anyone to go with you from here. We all like the diving over here but if you are coming in from out of town for a short trip you gotta hit that side.

I haven't been out with them in forever. Agreed they run a fantastic operation - need to get out with them again.