Where to go in Florida for a vacation?

[medic_diver45]

Here are the stats:
Time available: 2 weeks
When: Next May (the only time I'll have off from classes AND work at the same time)
Options:
Penascola?
Venice (for fossils)?
East Coast of Florida (wrecks)?
The Keys?

Anyone have suggestions and/or opinions about which of these places are best?
Specific spots that are "must dives" in these areas? Shore dives and boat dives both.
Places to stay (nice but reasonably priced resort type places preferrably)?
Which LDS to use in each place?
Should we stay in one spot or roam around and hit the major sites?

 

[grf88]

Here are the stats:
Time available: 2 weeks
When: Next May (the only time I'll have off from classes AND work at the same time)
Options:
Penascola?
Venice (for fossils)?
East Coast of Florida (wrecks)?
The Keys?

Anyone have suggestions and/or opinions about which of these places are best?
Specific spots that are "must dives" in these areas? Shore dives and boat dives both.
Places to stay (nice but reasonably priced resort type places preferrably)?
Which LDS to use in each place?
Should we stay in one spot or roam around and hit the major sites?

I enjoy diving the Keys. Last visit I stayed at Ocean Pointe Suites just south of Key Largo which was quite reasonable for a family. Diving Key Largo gives you a choice of both wrecks and reefs. After that we moved on to Key West which is really interesting and while there went diving with Captain Jim Wyatt about 20 mins north of Key West. Not aware of much in the way of shore diving but there are plenty of good dive operators in Key Largo and I am sure other posters will list their favourites.

 

[medic_diver45]

Thank you very much for the quick reply!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

2 Weeks Drive around and enjoy everything FL has to offer.

 

[Dive-aholic]

It depends on what kind of diving you want to do. I'd roam around.

So far I've been to Florida a couple of times and roamed around the north central part of the state diving the springs. You don't need any kind of special cert or training for most of them, but I recommend at least cavern. I've also done some wreck dives off the north eastern coast. Next trip I'll probably drive down to Venice Beach for the day to dive for fossils. The keys will probably happen next year. There's just too much diving in Florida to do to confine yourself to one location for 2 weeks.

 

[Bill51]

I’ve lived here 4 years and I’m still driving around to find new and different spots.

 

[medic_diver45]

OK, after further discussion, the trip is beginning to look like this:
Day 1- Drive to Pensacola
Day 2- Pensacola
Day 3- Pensacola
Day 4- Drive/Venice
Day 5- Venice
Day 6- Drive/Key Largo
Day 7- Key Largo
Day 8- Drive/Marathon
Day 9- Marathon
Day 10- Drive/Key West
Day 11- Drive/West Palm Beach
Day 12- West Palm Beach/Jupiter
Day 13- Visiting friends in Deltona
Day 14- Drive Home


Any suggestions for specific dive shops to use in these places or specific dive sites to try to get to?

 

[Buoyant1]

Truthfully...go buy Ned Deloaches Book The Diving Guide to Underwater Florida. Very comprhensive and layed out by region.

Start there, then after you decide upon the specific sites you want to dive, come back and ask that question again!

For the Key specifically, I bought the Florida Keys Dive guide (by Frink and Harrigan) tha has some site descriptions, as well as maps of the sites and pictures..very cool book!

Have fun, sounds like a great trip planned!!!

 

[medic_diver45]

Thanks for the info. Enjoy that Buffett concert.

 

[grf88]

OK, after further discussion, the trip is beginning to look like this:
Day 1- Drive to Pensacola
Day 2- Pensacola
Day 3- Pensacola
Day 4- Drive/Venice
Day 5- Venice
Day 6- Drive/Key Largo
Day 7- Key Largo
Day 8- Drive/Marathon
Day 9- Marathon
Day 10- Drive/Key West
Day 11- Drive/West Palm Beach
Day 12- West Palm Beach/Jupiter
Day 13- Visiting friends in Deltona
Day 14- Drive Home


Any suggestions for specific dive shops to use in these places or specific dive sites to try to get to?

Why not try to fit in a marathon, a couple of decathalons and a visit to Disney World while your at it. When I responded I thought you were looking for a vacation.