What dive op for 7 mile beach

[JJPCheers]

We will be staying at either the Ritz Carlton or the Westin on 7 mile beach. We are travelling with our 13 yr old son who also has his ow cert. What is the best operator? Is there any easy shore diving close by? We prefer to go with smaller groups.

 

[Alex777]

There are many: Ambassador, Wall to Wall, Off the Wall, Indigo, Happy Fish, Dive 'n' Stuff. That's a 6-pack of dive ops that would suit your needs.

 

[diversteve]

Most (all?) of the above will pick you up also. I'll add Neptune's Divers to the list.

Turtle Reef slightly north of SMB is a very good shore dive - easy ladder entry over the ironshore and not much over 40' to the sand at the mini-wall. It's really a good dive all down the wall. Look for the schooling tarpon to the left. Sundivers is on-site for rentals.

The other Divetech location at Lighthouse Point is close to there also. I haven't dove it yet. And you can also dive at Cobalt Coast - just a little farther NW. Divetech - shore diving

You could also drive down to Georgetown and dive at Sunset House. Easy entries and both the Amphitrite Mermaid and the Nicholson wreck are about 60' or less. Lunch at My Bar there and a visit to the Cathy Church Photo Gallery makes a good afternoon.

Georgetown when there's cruise ships in port can be a hassle. When they leave, Eden Rock/Devils Grotto is also a shallow dive. I personally found it a little tired looking - it's 100 yds. from the cruise port so gets a lot of traffic. Others like it for the swimthroughs at the grotto.

Most dive operations with adjacent shore diving won't let you remove tanks from their property. So it limits other options.