West Palm Beach, Singer Island, need info...

[erparamedic]

Hi, everyone...

I'm brand new to scuba board.... so hello to all!!

In December my husband and I will be going to Singer Island, a little island off of West Palm Beach, FL. We're staying at the Marriott Ocean Pointe Resort on the far south end of the island. Should we rent a car, or is there plenty to do within walking distance?

Has anyone been to that resort, or to Singer Island? What dive companies do you recommend? What is the diving like (vis, reefs/wrecks, ocean life, etc.)? Are there any "must do" dives that we should try while there?

Any info that anyone has would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Jamie

 

[Missdirected]

Hi, everyone...

I'm brand new to scuba board.... so hello to all!!

In December my husband and I will be going to Singer Island, a little island off of West Palm Beach, FL. We're staying at the Marriott Ocean Pointe Resort on the far south end of the island. Should we rent a car, or is there plenty to do within walking distance?

Has anyone been to that resort, or to Singer Island? What dive companies do you recommend? What is the diving like (vis, reefs/wrecks, ocean life, etc.)? Are there any "must do" dives that we should try while there?

Any info that anyone has would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Jamie

On the island go to Ocean Quest Scuba/Sandys Sunday is the name of the boat. Great people. The owner is Sandy - go figure, lol. Sailfish marina has a good restaurant - nothing fantastic - average everyday good. U can sit by the water where loads of fish come in. Viz as always depends. Ocean life is great. After you have done Sandys take a ride with Splashdown divers. They are about 15 minutes from your hotel and worth the drive. Scubakev is the boat's DM and a member of this board.

Depending on how long your stay is for - u may want to drive to Ft Lauderdale and do the Tenneco Towers with Pro Dive.

Well that is all I can think of. Have fun!

 

[El Orans]

Hi Jamie,

have a look here: Florida Conch Divers.

El O.

 

[LSDeep]

my recommandation would be pura vida divers (also on the south tip of singer island) having worked for nearly a year in the area my favorite shop - http://www.puravidadivers.com

as far as car goes - i would def. get one. without you're pretty much sc****ed in the palm beach area.

 

[Skeeter1097]

As you drive on to Singer Island you well pass Force E dive shop. It is on Blue Heron Blvd before you go over the bridge to Singer Island. They are hooked up with all the dive boats around there. They don't have there owne boat and do not play one over the other. They can and well get you on any of the boats you wish.They well help in any way they can, very nice people and have been around for 30 years. That have a good web site www.forcee.com.

 

[Carolina Diver]

Everyone has their favorites. Mine is Diving Solutions. Good people, divemaster at no extra charge, and are only concerned about your safety and that you enjoy your time. Wouldn't use anyone else. (Unique entry method too).

http://www.divingsolutions.com/

 

[erparamedic]

Wow... 5 replies, and 5 different dive centers! There must be alot of really good places around. Are there any dive operations to avoid? If so, can I ask why?

 

[FloridaScubaDepot]

Welcome to the board...

I don't have any accommodations recommendations, but can offer a suggestion on a great dive operation. Check out Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures. You can see their site at http://www.scuba-adventures.com

I originally dove with them in the spring of 1992. They are still going strong today, and most of their business is repeat customers.

Welcome again... and good diving!

 

[Firediver32]

I second OceanQuest Scuba, I used to dive with Abernathy, until Sandy got her own boat. You'll never go wrong with sandy!

Dan

 

[scdivegirl]

Ocean Quest Scuba is the best!! We spent a week with them during my kids spring break. We were recommended by our local dive shop...and boy are we glad we went with them. We have spent our vacation there for the last 5 years, and we have dove with I think all the operator's in town. This time we chose "Sandy's Sunday" and Sandy and her crew are great. On the first day when we first arrived they took our gear from our car, and by the time we were parked, it was on the boat. We were greeted by a friendly staff, and our kids were treated better than we have ever had on a dive charter. It wasn't long until the boat was full (only small group), and away we went. The diving is great, we did both wreck and reef dives. Each day it was a priority that we got to see something new, and they spent extra time on the surface interval two different days, letting the kids play around. Two members of the crew and several other passengers even got into a diving contest off the bridge with them. By the end of the week each of them had a zip lock bag of shells that the crew and even some of the regular passengers had helped the kids collect. Great..souvineers that didn't cost mom any money. By the end of the week we felt that we had made many new friends. Our dive guide was Sandy and I can't say enough about how wonderful she is in the water. It really made our trip, not to have to drag the kids out in the morning...each day they were excited to see what Sandy could show them. On the last day when I received our invoice for the week, it seemed a little low, having such great service I wanted to make sure that it was right. I was told by Vicki that there was no charge for the kids the last day, because Sandy said she wanted to take them to see the sharks, and they were her quests for the day. What an great day...Shark Canyon and Jolly Jacks, and each of the kids got to experience thier first real sharks, with someone they had come to admire. This dive operation has a friendly, professional crew, and they are very close and seem to be in this business simply because they love it. Thanks to them for a wonderful vacation....we will never dive with anyone else in WPB again.