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Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > Special Interest Group (SIG) Forums > SCUBA/Snorkeling

 
 
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  #1  
Old 04/30/2004, 09:00 PM
zoocrazy zoocrazy is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Columbus, ohio
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?????????good place to dive in keys?????????

i'm thinking of going to the keys this year for vacation and never scuba dived or snorkd' and wanted to know of a good spot down there to see fish and corals. i aslo would like some place family oriented. i just got into saltwater a little over a year ago and i've been wanting to do this ever since. i'd love any help you guys could give me. thanx!
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  #2  
Old 04/30/2004, 09:23 PM
Abynum1 Abynum1 is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Ellisville, Ms
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Don't expect to do any beach diving. Don't expect a beach for that matter In Marathon theres a dive shop by the name of Hall's its actually an instructor school as well. Since all the divemasters are instructors in training with an instructor trainer looking over his/her shoulder; you get very good service and attention. All you need to tell them is what kind of diving you want to do and they'll have an exact spot to take you.

Keep in mind the keys is only fun for 3 types of people: Fishermen,divers, and gays (no offense to any.) About the only thing else there is to do is party(at certain times of the year) but you said family oriented. Actually,unless the whole family are hard-core divers or really into fishing, somebody is going to be bored a lot of the time.

Plus,you said you've never been on SCUBA or snorkd' which means it's going to eat up a lot of your vacation time w/lessons. You may want to get certified before you go.Maybe just do your checkout dives there. As far as snorkeling, your'e going to have to do it off of a boat,again no beaches suitable for that. So unless the entire family is very comfortable w/snorkling and are good swimmers, that wont be fun for long.
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  #3  
Old 04/30/2004, 09:35 PM
zoocrazy zoocrazy is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Columbus, ohio
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???

is there any place around florida or in the gulf to do any snorkeling? that would be a family type of area.
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  #4  
Old 04/30/2004, 09:41 PM
Abynum1 Abynum1 is offline
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Don't get me wrong.Florida is a paradise for divers who can't travel abroad.There's plenty of great places to dive and snorkel there. Heck,they got everything from great lobster hunting. deep wreak diving, spring diving to snokeling w/manatees.It's just that the keys may not be ideal for your particular situation. Just do a little research on the net,find what seems to be a good spot,then post it here.Chances are that someone may know something about it or can suggest something better.
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  #5  
Old 04/30/2004, 09:47 PM
Abynum1 Abynum1 is offline
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By the way,although I travel to florida a lot,I only lived in the keys for 14 weeks when I was in instructor school and that's been almost 10 years ago, so I'm by no means an expert on the state. You should probably ask gregt he's a moderator in this forum and he's from Tampa I think. I bet he can put you on the right track.
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  #6  
Old 04/30/2004, 10:32 PM
zoocrazy zoocrazy is offline
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thanks!!

thanks for the info....i'll do some research about dive sites in florida. i go to florida alot but have never went diving or snorkeling. i always went for family vacations and thought i would try to find somewhere i could take the family and still see some cool stuff under the sea!!! corals, fish,etc......
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  #7  
Old 05/01/2004, 02:59 AM
gregt gregt is offline
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IMO, you're best bets are John Pennekamp in Key Largo, or Key West. You'll have to take a very short boat trip to get to the reef, but it's only a few minutes ride. Not sure I'd take very young children, but 10 and up would be a no-brainer.
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  #8  
Old 05/07/2004, 01:27 PM
Jow13 Jow13 is offline
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I was visiting family in Miami and me and my brother drove down to key largo for the day and went snorkeling (off a boat) and we had a blast. We went to the place where there is that giant Jesus statue in the water. Also on the same dive i swam right above probably 10 feet from a nurse shark that was definitly longer than I was. My heart was thumping.

Another fun thing to do is to drive to the everglades and take those fan boat tours around and see some gators, tons of fun. just thought i'd share my experience
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  #9  
Old 05/07/2004, 11:49 PM
zoocrazy zoocrazy is offline
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thanks!!

yeah it looks like i'll have to make plans for another trip w/o the family to do all the things i'd like to do, but thanks everyone for the info, buy the way has anyone been over to clearwater, i heard that was a pretty family oriented type of area? do you think that would be a good area to take kids? i was wondering b/c i heard that they have beautiful beaches and aqua/clear water. any suggestions around the beach would be great (i need to book reservations soon) thanks again for the info!!
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  #10  
Old 05/20/2004, 08:46 PM
Aquanaut66 Aquanaut66 is offline
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: New York
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Looe Key Marine Park near Big Pine Key, the best diving in the keys. Nice shallow reefs, make for looooong bottom times. Bibb and Duane good wrecks in Key Largo. Davis reef off Islamorada nice too at approx 50ft. Pennekamp way overrated.......
  #11  
Old 05/22/2004, 03:18 PM
Bomber Bomber is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Florida Keys
Posts: 10,137
zoo

I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life.

The Keys are no different than any other vacation spot and there's probably more "family" oriented things to do here than any place else. And like any other places, unless you seek out that trash, you don't have to be exposed to it.

I would suggest staying around the Islamorada area, it's more upscale than some of the other places in the Keys.

Start here>
http://www.fla-keys.com/islamorada/
http://www.florida-keys.fl.us/isla.htm
http://www.islamoradainfo.com/
http://thefloridakeys.com/islamorada/
http://www.theaterofthesea.com/
  #12  
Old 05/22/2004, 07:46 PM
cjpacitto cjpacitto is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Sunny Southwest Florida
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You are probably best off going to Key Largo. K.L. tends to get the best diving conditions of any of the keys... the further south you go the lower the vis gets... typically anyway... and not always.

There are lots of snorkeling and beginner diving boats in Key Largo. I wouldn't know which of them to recommend though (If you need any top notch dive ops, I've got you covered).

IF you are not SCUBA certified yet, you may want to try a "discover SCUBA" dive. They give you about 1 hour of instruction on the basic basics and then take you diving. The divemaster stays right with you and you usually make 1 or 2 dives on shallow reefs. Sounds like it may be perfect for you and your family.
 

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