Welcome back!
I thought I’d get a review going of the best places to snorkel and scuba dive in Florida.
As a professional scuba instructor who has taught hundreds of students in Florida and Hawaii, I can recommend the best and safest Florida scuba diving.
For U.S. citizens, air travel to Florida is much less expensive than Mexico or the Caribbean. Florida scuba diving is fantastic, affordable, and very accessible.
1. Miami Beach.
January Flights to Fort Lauderdale Intl. from Chicago are going for $172 on Tripadvisor.com. From New York, they’re $207.
Stay at a funky Miami Beach hotel like the Winter Haven on the Beach. You’ll be in the Art Deco District with hundreds of restaurants and clubs. Now rent a car and snorkel the reefs at Key Biscayne National Park. Your costs will be low, and you can rent gear at the park for ten bucks.
2. Key Largo, FL
One hour drive from Miami equals the best reefs South Florida has to offer. Key Largo caters specifically to divers, with modest hotels, cheap drinks, and a dozen or more dive shops.
Dive beautiful Carysfort Reef, see huge schools of parrotfish at the “Winch Hole” on Molasses Reef, or challenge the 450 foot long Spiegel Grove Wreck. Go with Allison and Chris at the tech-diving capable Silent World Dive Center. They’ll get you hotel prices for as low as $65 a night.
3. Key West, FL
The famous party town just sunk the S.S. Vandenburg, the world’s second largest artificial reef and it begs to be dived. The ‘Vandy’ is an ex U.S. Missile Tracking Ship with gargantuan satellite dishes mounted on the deck. Sweet.
Subtropic Dive Center is your best bet for excellent service and a large, well-equipped dive boat. Another must-do is the other-wordly snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas islands via Float Plane excursion.
4. Marathon, FL
Spearfishing and wreck diving in Marathon go hand-in-hand.
Dive the signature Marathon Wreck “Thunderbolt,” and see a ship once used to conduct lightning strike tests on the open ocean. Of the Marathon dive operators, Tilden’s Dive shop has the friendliest and most professional. Go with them.
Want to shoot gamefish? They are plentiful in the Middle Keys. Hop on a spear charter out of A Deep Blue Dive Shop in Key Colony Beach. They’ll take you to the famous Marathon Humps where you can take some yummy yellowtails and fat grouper.
One more note; this place is the middle of the Florida Keys, so be prepared for cowboy-type, local antics — especially at “The Hurricane,” or Brass Monkey Saloon after 11 p.m.
5. Venice, FL
The Gulf coast makes up for its lack of reefs with mile-long beaches and….shark tooth diving.
Snorkelers and beginner divers can use hand sifting techniques to find ancient, 4-inch-long Megalodon teeth right off the municipal town beach. Dozens of beachside accomodations are available, and nearby Sarasota offers a fantastic botanical garden with rare Everglades orchids. I visited in the middle of winter and it was lush and beautiful.
