Florida- Key Largo?

[Tonin jca]

Has anyone managed to sort through the mass of dive operators in Florida and in particular Key Largo, and managed to have a dive trip there. I would appreciate any stories or recomendations anyone has. I have contacted several operators there but can't seem to get past the offers of "free cake and soda" on every trip. First hand experience from fellow european divers on aspects of the operators that really matter is what Im after if anyone can help.

[Annie]

Several years ago we dived with Silent World, in Key Largo.

http://www.pennekamp.com/sw/

They were very good, friendly and efficient, and even babysat the children on the boat and allowed them to snorkel while we were diving. :)

Annie

[IainC]

Back in 2000 I did a few dives with Conch Republic and FKDC (florida keys dive centre, actually on Islamorada, just at the end of Key Largo, no complaints of either but CR were the better of the two in my opinion.

Of course it is a few years ago.

Dived the Eagle and Duane and some pleasant reefs, my brother and Mum came out snorkelling one afternoon, very easy going.

Best bit aprt form the dives, when I start carrying tanks of the boat (force of habit), 'no need for that sir, that's what you're paying us for..'

[mark - sandman]

I'm interested to know if you saw any fish?
I've heard that the aquatic life around there is minimal?

[Richard Greenwood]

My wife & I spent a week at Amy Slates Amoray Dive Resort, and had some cracking dives.

At the time (1996) they were a BSAC school, so our BSAC quals were very much welcomed. Not sure if they still have any affinity to BSAC.

HTH

Richard

[Richard Whitcombe]

I dived key largo in July. Was hoping to do a full week of diving but Hurricane Dennis meant i got evacuated to Fort Lauderdale and as a result only got 3 days. In addition to that conditions (ie vis) below optimum as well.

My first supposed dive there was the Spiegal Grove (artifical reef in around 35m). Except when we got there the boat thought it was odd as buoys missing, sent someone down to find out the entire wreck has rolled 90 degrees and sitting upright. Then they decided nobody could dive it as maybe unsafe.

I had no problems with qualifications being recognised to the extent that being bsac was welcomed ("Ah a good certification") (later explained to me they have a rash of resort course wonders reef bashing over there commonly). I investigated a few places before deciding which to go for and all of them recognised the qualifications without complaint.

I eventually dived with Ocean Divers ( http://www.oceandivers.com/ ) and found them very good. They didnt do what i hate the most - follow the divemaster group herding. They assigned proper buddy pairs and everyone did their own dive as a pair. Dive times were limited to max 1hr per dive which seems common there as these boats cater for lots of people. 2 dives in the morning, 2 dives on afternoon trip (and night dive a few times a week).

They offered Nitrox albeit 1 mix only to keep things simple at a cost of around $5usd a tank.

The diving itself i was a little disappointed with. The hurricane reducing vis isnt really to blamed and maybe i was expecting too much given what id read. I was expect red-sea style wall to wall coral on every rock and so on. What i actually saw at a lot of the sites where just some coral outcrops which were pretty enough but not spectacular. There were also large patches of white dead coral.

The 2 most popular dive sites there wreck wise are both artificial reefs - the Duane and Spiegal Grove. I dove the Duane. It sits in around 33m on water and isnt a huge wreck but a nice enough dive in fairly benign conditions. The SG wasnt cleared for diving until after id gone home. I also dove the Benwood which was sunk in the wartime after a collission. This was a nice colourful wreck with a lot of life.

A lot of the large diving is very shallow reef stuff, only 3 of my dives were below 10m. After a while despite different sites it all felt a bit samey. Fish life was OK but again not spectacular. Nurse sharks fairly plentiful. The best dive of the trip was a night dive where there was a lot more in the way of life from sharks, free swimming morays, lobster out walking and so on. That was a superb 1hr dive.

Id certainly go there again and dive, hopefully this time less unlucky with the weather but id try to get on more of the wreck dives people offer as the reef gets a bit repetetive. Id use the same company again as found their set up good, friendly and helpful. Steel tanks instead of aluminium was nice but like most of the operators there, if you mention "decompression" they pull a nasty face and say they dont really recommend it. Price wise there seems a bit of fixing, all the 20 or so companies in a 3 mile area are all near exactly the same cost, go to the same sites and so on.

[Alison Boler]

This is quite timely because am currently looking at a week in Key Largo for later next year - so will be interested in what you find out. Looking around and talking to people, have been recommended the following two operators from the very many who operate there. If you fancy diving a little farther up the coast at West Palm Beach for a day or two I can recommend Pura Vida Divers - have got a report on them on our trip reports page. They have small parties - no cattle boats, no time limits, no opressive guiding.
Anyway, the ones I've been pointed at in the Upper Keys are:

Conch Republic Divers
http://www.conchrepublicdivers.com/
Divers City USA
http://www.diverscityusa.com/


Allie

[Falco]

I agree with Richard. Ocean Divers are OK and I would use them again. To be honest, I think most of the dive operators who are based in Key Largo are pretty much the same.

If you are not tied to diving the Keys, then if you want some decent reef diving, the hours drive up to the Palm Beaches will be well worth it. I`ve had several dives out of Boynton Beach. About a mile offshore is a reef which runs most of the length of Florida. The marine life is great with turtles, nurse sharks and plenty of smaller stuff. There is some actual coral there as well. Depths are about 25m, and to cap it all, it`s nice gentle drift diving.

All in all, the dive trips were cheaper than the Keys, they are deeper, and the dive operators don`t treat you like a diving moron.:)

[Eugene Farrell]

I dived with Silent World at Key Largo a few years ago, and they were OK. The life on the reefs was really good, a lot like the Red Sea I thought only shallow so you could stay for ages. I recall nurse sharks, lobster, and 5 eagle rays in formation! oh yes they came twice!!

I dived the Duane which had a lot of pelagics on it, one hell of a current though, in fact of a boat of 10 only 2 of us made it to the wreck. Two gave up without trying and the others were not able to fight the current to make it to the shot! The quality of divers was very very mixed, so my experience was they tended toward easy diving, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. You could go out early, get two dives in and be back in the hotel by lunch.

Obviously it may be better or worse by now.:)

[Dave Martin]

Hi. Ive dived the keys on several occasions and have always dived with Silent World in Key Largo. I have always had a good time and been well looked after so have seen no need to shop around. They dont offer any gimmicks or frills but they are reliable and well organised. On a number of occasions I have known them take on 'strays' from other boats that have been let down. I would thoroughly recommend them. Having dived many of the usual sites: the Duane, Bibb, Spiegel Grove etc I still think the Benwood is one of the best...not much of it left and it is quite shallow but the marine life and lighting are superb.
Hope you have a good time and enjoy the keys as much as I have on the many times I have visited.
Dave.
Ps Look out for the manatees. On one occasion we had a family of three at the hotel dock every day for a week.