what is the best place to scuba dive in florida
 

What is the best place to scuba dive in florida.
Thanks for any help puffer21

anyone

well the keys are a great area, off ft. lauderdale. How do you plan on getting to the reefs?

drive can you. Me and my cuz want to learn how to scuba dive and we thought we would in florida. Is the keys good what about west palm beach. we want to dive at two different places. one with a lot of turtles and the other a coral reef. any ideas

there are some shallow reefs off the coast in south florida. Actually from about vero allthe way down to the keys. Deerfield beach has a little reef that you can get to from the shore that is prety nice. But the best is in the keys. If your in florida you might as well go all the way to the keys. Its well worth the extra driving.

what about west palm beach what is there is it good.

The best is pretty much anywhere from Key Largo to Key West. You can even stop along the highway in spots and see amazing fishes, starfish, etc. The reefs are way out about 5-10 miles so you would have to join one of the charters that go out every hour or so. Sharky's is the one that I went on in Key Largo. The reefs are amazing. You can actully find some reefs along Miami as well if you go off shore about 200-300 yards but nothing like the reefs in the keys.

ok thanks

Ok here ya go . Islemorada in the keys not too far down. Stop in at "Bud N Mary's" dive shop and they can take you to a feww good reef walls, minnow caves or a good 130ft. wreck. It's all good and nice. Pretty cheap dives but awesome. I've been many times.

ok thanks

I live near West Palm and i dont think it has anything there.And i dont think you could see turtles anywhere in florida.But correct me if im wrong.If you find a place to dive for them let me know! :rollface:

oh well what i read said turtles are in west palm beach

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7638306#post7638306 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TriniReefer [/i]
[B]I live near West Palm and i dont think it has anything there.And i dont think you could see turtles anywhere in florida.But correct me if im wrong.If you find a place to dive for them let me know! :rollface: [/B][/QUOTE]

I've seen turtles off every coast (Party Grounds) Daytona, (Princess wreck) Deerfield Beach, (2nd reefline) Miami Beach, (Looe Key) Big Pine Key, (Eagle wreck) Islamorada actually it was on the ride back from the wreck).

Ya just gotta keep you eyes open.

HJ

oh

Don't go diving EXPECTING to see turtles. They aren't very common to see. Also, don't expect to see a bunch of them. You're lucky if you see just one.

No you're right. They just happen. The only time I expected to see then was off of Maui at a site called [url=http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_/Hawaii_/Turtle_Town/index.htm]Turtle Town[/URL]. Saw over 20 in about a 35 min span. Snorkled out there the next day and before we even got close saw 5 or 6.
Found a 1' baby hiding under a barrel sponge in 3' of water off of Big Pine once. He had a big hook on his hind quarters in the soft flesh. We took him on board are performed surgury. He seemed grateful when he was released.
The best was to spot them in the Keys is to be towed behind a boat with a sled. You can submerge 5' or 25' (if you're tough) and just glide along. I've run across quite a few that way.
I'm headed back down there next weekend to do some sledding.

HJ

Is hawaii where maui is. How close is maui to the paradise island in the bahamas.

Have geography class yet? Maui, Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while Paradise Island is just off of Nassau, Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean. I'm guessing...5000 miles?

oh and yes i have had geography i just never really passed.

Now you have a reason to learn geography, it's good to know where all the good dive spots are ;)

ya i guess.

Take a trip down to Cay Sal Bank in the Bahammas if you would like to see turtles and sharks. I saw at least a five foot long Loggerhead sea turtle there. Also 20-30 grey reef sharks. There are not many small animals to speak of but you may see turtles. At the Cayman Islands, I saw a turtle on every dive.

By the way, Maui is one of the islands in Hawaii. There are many islands within the Hawaii islands. Save your money up. It is a good location as well to see turtles in.I have not done any diving in Florida, so I don't know what the dives are like. I've seen many turtles while diving though.

well i didnt really want to see sharks

A little bit more info on exactly what kind of dives your looking for and your certification level would help. Hands down the Keys have the most variety in regard to wreck and reef in Florida all within a relatively close proximity. It also has a ton of tourist ammenities and night life. The east coast has some good reef dives and the west coast has mainly wreck dives. Central FL is full of freshwater springs, sinks, and river dives. Take your pick, FL's got it.