Hey there guys and gals! My wife and I are heading to Orlando for a week from Oct. 17-24th! We will have a rental car for about two or three days and would like to head somewhere not too far (maybe 1 to 1.5 hrs?) for a day of diving! I was wondering if anyone on this forum has any suggestions for dives and/or dive shops or charters? I have around 30 dives and feel pretty comfortable and she has about 8 dives and just got her OW this year. Thanks in advance everyone!
Visiting Orlando!
- Thread starter drums198
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Jupiter31
Contributor
Closest salt water diving is Jupiter - superb diving - recommend JDC
OneRestlessNative
Contributor
Agreed partially, Jupiter may be closer and superb, but may lend itself to more of an advanced dive. How comfortable are you and your wife in a current driven drift dive at depths in the 90ft range? Not that it is hard, but that is what can generally be expected. West Palm is slightly farther south with many operators that visit nice reefs in the 60ft range (also drift dives). There are also options to the north about the same distance if you want to consider some fresh water springs.
Edit: Don't let the drift diving option scare you, it can be very enjoyable, easy, and relaxing carried along over the reef. This is the way most of the diving is done and the operators are quite proficient in getting divers in and out safely. Just something to know up front and be prepared for.
Jupiter31
Contributor
All good points - I no longer recommend Jupiter to real new divers; however if you have 25+ dives, and as you point out, are comfortable in current and maybe a little deeper diving, the OP should be OK.
Also Boynton/Delray worth consideration; better diving that West Palm.
Also Boynton/Delray worth consideration; better diving that West Palm.
fldiver1
Contributor
Not as good as a reef dive but you might consider the fresh water springs too. Blue Spring is just north of Orlando and is an easy dive for a newbie.
Fox-Cousteau
Senior Member
The east coast of Florida has some of the best salt water diving in
the world! my personal preference is to dive out of Pompano. This is a location especially good for the novice diver since the reef can be dived at depths of 60, 40 or 20 feet. all of the operators out of Pompano are trustworthy and work well with inexperienced divers. my personal favs are Parrot Island and Scuba Tyme. Be advised it is further than the 1.5 hr. drive limit you are asking for.
Thanks to late season tropical weather, the oceans are "iffy" at the present, (although they may calm down by the time of your visit) you may want to consider some of the more local fresh water dive sites.
PM me if you want to visit Blue Springs ($4.00 per day), Alexander Springs ($7.50 per day), Blue Grotto ($40.00 per day) or Devil's Den ($37.oo per day and the most unique freshwater ow dive in the U.S.)
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