Would Key Largo Disappoint by comparison...

[luscioman]

Interesting responses in this post. As for the spearing there are not a lot of boats that allow it and the are mostly in Palm Beach and Jupiter. There is a lot more "slaughtering" done by charter fishing boats off the wrecks. I think picking the proper dive operation is very very important. Almost all of the things i read i have never seen on a boat. There are tons of posts with lots of good information to choose from. August is a great month for diving. I also suggest looking at reefmans pics that he posts every week from the keys.

 

[Dogbowl]

And you feel it is different up in Jupiter, West Palm, etc.? Interesting. I guess the Keys have the distinction of being the closest thing to a tropical vacation destination in the continental US, and so maybe service industry personnel get jaded from the difficulties associated with a constant stream of budget tourists. I have never noticed this, but I suppose there can be a lot of variation among the choices of dive ops, restaurants, and other service providers. Choose wisely?

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by "And you feel it is different up in Jupiter, West Palm, etc.?" I was just comparing it with where I've been to, which is Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and the like. I'm sure you're right, that service personnel get jaded from a constant stream of tourists but I wouldn't call Key Largo a "budget" destination, at least not for me. I would consider Coz a "budget" destination.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by "And you feel it is different up in Jupiter, West Palm, etc.?" I was just comparing it with where I've been to, which is Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and the like. I'm sure you're right, that service personnel get jaded from a constant stream of tourists but I wouldn't call Key Largo a "budget" destination, at least not for me. I would consider Coz a "budget" destination.

Okay, sorry. I understand. The OP indeed asked for a comparison between Key Largo and Coz/Caymans/etc. I guess I saw Key Largo getting bashed and wondered why attitudes there are (IF they are) different from a similar dive destination just an hour or so north.

Flying nonstop into Miami and renting a car is cheap and easy for many in eastern North American, and one can dive Key Largo as a long weekend, whereas for many of us Coz or even Cancun is a more expensive flight, with a connection, and so a week-long trip is needed to make it worth the hassle. On a cost-per-day basis, I suppose I would agree with you that Cozumel could be done even more cheaply than Key Largo.

 

[scubadada]

It's been awhile since we dived in Florida but I am happy to say that I have never had most of the the negative experiences Nemrod describes above; but his post did remind me of a Florida experience that I did not like at all.

Once we were very surprised to see that some of the divers boarding our dive boat were carry spears, and this was before the lion fish infestation. We wanted to dive to enjoy the beautiful sea life, not watch creatures being slaughtered. We got off the boat and asked for a refund, after an argument they finally gave us our money back.

I don't know if that still happens, and it probably depends on the season, but it is something to be aware of.

Divers have many different interests, sightseeing, photo and video, spearfishing, lobstering. Many boats in SE FL provide services for divers who enjoy all these activities. Personally, I am mainly a sightseer who occasionally takes photos and video. All the divers get along well and I rarely see any of the hunters on my dives, in fact, I often don't see any other divers. There are locations in the Keys where hunting is prohibited, these would be good places to go if one would like to avoid sharing the boat with hunters. Of course there are still the photographers and videographers

 

[Dogbowl]

Okay, sorry. I understand. The OP indeed asked for a comparison between Key Largo and Coz/Caymans/etc. I guess I saw Key Largo getting bashed and wondered why attitudes there are (IF they are) different from a similar dive destination just an hour or so north.

Flying nonstop into Miami and renting a car is cheap and easy for many in eastern North American, and one can dive Key Largo as a long weekend, whereas for many of us Coz or even Cancun is a more expensive flight, with a connection, and so a week-long trip is needed to make it worth the hassle. On a cost-per-day basis, I suppose I would agree with you that Cozumel could be done even more cheaply than Key Largo.

It was not my intention to bash Key Largo. It was just my one-time limited experience there.

 

[Dan]

Just FYI on what you might see in Key Largo, here some underwater pictures I took during the last 4th of July weekend trip (2 weeks ago) to Key Largo & Jupiter: Dropbox - FL 2016

 

[Skeptic14]

I haven't been/dived key largo but I'd disagree with the budget notion too, from what I could tell doing research comparable accommodations in Key Largo/Key West were no cheaper than Grand Cayman... and from where I am flights weren't cheap either, despite being in the same state...

 

[Lorenzoid]

I haven't been/dived key largo but I'd disagree with the budget notion too, from what I could tell doing research comparable accommodations in Key Largo/Key West were no cheaper than Grand Cayman... and from where I am flights weren't cheap either, despite being in the same state...

"Comparable" accommodations, sure. I'm not comparing apples with apples when I say Key Largo feels like a budget destination to me. I have no data, but I think a lot of people try to do Key Largo on the cheap, whereas they would be inclined to spend more if they were going to a more exotic destination like Cayman. There are airfare sales all the time to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale from most major US cities, and I have long been able to find economical places to stay. The mildew-y old motels and VRBO have worked fine for me, though admittedly there seem to be fewer of those old mom-and-pop motels than there once were. Food from the Publix supermarket, greasy spoon diners--cheap, and not how I would eat if I were on a Caribbean island. At least for me, a long weekend in Key Largo has served as a relatively economical way to get in a few dives. Maybe it's gotten more expensive--I haven't been down in a couple of years.

 

[diver0008]

I will be in Boynton Beach Aug 3-10 and would be glad to help show you around

Hi Scubadada,

That may be interesting to me. I am off between the 6th and 20th of August.

I have read good things about Jupiter, Blue Heron Bridge and the Grouper aggregation.

A few questions:

1. Drive time from MIA?

2. Wetsuit thickness/water temp? (I usually wear a full 3mm in aprox 80F)

3. Getting to the sites. Dive ops?

4. Decent medium priced accomodations well located for diving?

Thanks!

 

[Dan]

1. From north Miami is about an hour, to Blue Heron Bridge (BHB) exit.
2. Water temperature was about 84F down to 30' then drop to 82F at 90' on July 3rd.
3. Force-E is a good dive shop to make boat reservation or rent tanks for BHB.
4. Ask Force-E about that.

Good luck!