I am trying to figure out where to go for a vacation so I am asking help from all of you.
My wife and I are planning a vacation to Fla. sometime in the early or late spring of 2009.
First of all at this time I have 18 dives under my belt all been quarry dives except 2 and those where river dives. My wife does not dive she just wants a good beach where she can harass the guys LOL.
Since I have never been to ocean diving I would like to see a lot of variety of marine life, Coral drift diving would be ok. . .
A couple of things first come to mind.
First, the State of Florida is huge and one can sort of break it down into regional generalizations for the different types of popular rec saltwater diving found there:
a) East coast diving - predominantly drift, with predictable currents (Gulf Stream related).
b) Panhandle / West coast diving - predominantly wreck or low ledge
c) The Keys - more classical spot and 'spur & groove' reef structures (& more relief).
Of these, the Keys are probably the least technically challenging diving, as it typically will have better visibility and will be more often from an anchored (or moored) boat.
While you do have some experienced with drift diving in a river, its probably quite different for ending the dive...I expect that you probably just walked ashore, rather than having had to learn how to work with a 'live' boat for a drifting pick-up negotiating openwater waves and winds. Some days its easy, but on other days it can be a real bear. As such, I'd be somewhat reluctant to recommend a drift dive for any novice.
Similarly, for a trip in the spring, the water conditions will be considered "cold" (at least by the locals), so do make it a point to research this for wherever you end up deciding to go and what amount of thermal protection it entails. I'd have to check my logbooks, but I recall a March? trip to the Panhandle that had bottom temperatures in the low 70s...I had a full 3mm but wanted more. Personally, having been to FL many times, for getting in the water in the springtime, I'd probably try to go as far south as I could manage. Also, as a general rule - the further north you get, the less colorful the reefs will be. This is because corals are less tolerant of cooler water temperatures. As such, it is arguably "prettier" in the Keys than elsewhere within FL.
Finally, do be aware that spearfishing is not an uncommon activity off of a lot of FL diveboats, especially outside of the Keys. It can vary by operator and day of the week. The FL lobster season runs generally August - March, with a "mini season" in late July ... its outside of your vacation window, but the mini-season can get pretty crazy and it is IMO best avoided.
My boyfriend and I just got back from diving in Jupiter, Fl; which is near West Palm Beach. We dove with
Jupiter Dive Center. They are 5 Star PADI and have a top-notch operation...
Unfortunately, I recently had an encounter with a staff member from the above shop and I found said individual to be incredibly arrogant and downright unprofessional. In all my years of diving, I do have to say that this is extraordinarily rare, and I sincerely hope that they were merely having a "bad day" ... but I do have to also say that after 30+ years of diving and dealing with divers, I sincerely have my doubts.
I've dived in Boynton, which is just to the south of Jupiter. It is similarly drift diving (which can be pretty stiff at times), and while it is fun to go 'flying' across the bottom, drift diving does have some trade-offs, such as limited opportunities to set up photographs and sharing the duty of carrying the line for the dive flag float.
I've used a solid dive operation in Boynton that I found awhile back through local recommendations, but due to my negative comment above, I'll refrain from volunteering who they are, to preempt any "trying to steal business" accusations (disclaimer: I do own businesses in FL, but none of them at present are dive shops, or dive shop affiliated).
The upper keys are awesome for shallow easy dives that you will see alot of cool fish and coral... However the beaches suck, as in the nature shoreline is mangroves.
Agreed - the FL Keys aren't known for having great sandy beaches for non-diving spouses to kill time on, etc. The best known ones are probably Bahia Honda State Park in Marathon (Mile Marker 50) and in Key West (MM 0).
I go to pensacola fl a lot and they have some of the best wreck diving around . scuba shack have there own boat and the viking or a new one I have not tryed yet ...
There's also some dive operators over in the Destin / Fort Walton Beach area, as well as further east to Panama City. Throughout the region, there's a good number of wrecks that have been sunk and a variety of depths for different skill levels.
-hh
