Need Ft. Lauderdale advice!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:06 am

I'm headed to Ft. Lauderdale in March and want to dive. Has anyone been diving there or know a good charter & shop? Have any ideas of great places to stay? Diving packages? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:14 pm

rent a car and head to key largo!! me and the lady did it a year ago and we are looking to book another trip asap. it was incredible diving with a great boat. plus the spiegel grove is now upright from last years storms. we booked a package deal from sea dwellers dive shop they take care of the room and dive boat.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:23 pm

how long is the drive? I'll look them up!

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:45 pm

we drove from miami and it took about 3 hours with stops for lunch. it looks really short on a map but as soon as you hit the keys the road turns into a 2 lane drive so doing 70 is not really a option. once in key largo the drive to key west is another 2 1/2 hours and its ok, real touristy and full of bars. the great thing about the package is the holiday inn you are put up in saves room for the divers around back where the dive boat is docked so its only a 2 minute walk with your gear to the the boat. the rooms were nice and it has 2 pools. ther eis a huge dive shop right next to the hotel too more like massive compared to around here. we went in may which is the off season so the boat only had 10 divers on it but in prime season it usually has 25. if you are still thinking about it i will try to remember more details.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 3:54 pm

Yeah - end of March. Arriving Saturday evening, diving Sunday-Tuesday. Did you talk to someone in specific?

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:09 pm

http://www.sea-dwellers.com/

this is the link, i dont remeber who we delt with but everyone was super cool and friendly. if you go there is a bbq place a mile or so north of the hotel thats great, and a pizza place same side of the highway too. as for cocktails there is a cool bar on the dock right off from the boat.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:56 am

Hey,,,Take the turn pikes all the way and the drive is not bad at all in fact you should be able to make it within 2 hours. Traffic really moves on Florida turn pikes... I dove the Spiegel Grove a couple of times once on it's side and sure enough it is now straight up AWESOME DIVE and the reefs are amazing. Molasses reef is just one of many excellent dives and the Duane is supposed to be an unforgettable wreck..... I really enjoyed the much more personal 6 diver max boat over the cattle run of 50....
I would not doubt head for Key Largo though
have to run but I'll look up the charter I took and post...

:rr:

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:41 am

That'd be awesome thanks - I prefer 6 person charters over 12-20 anytime. We noticed a huge difference in Maui between the smaller boats and the larger boats... it's a whole different experience. Please do let me know on the 6-person charter. I also emailed the other shop for details.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:53 am

will do a.s.a.p. i will avoid the cattle boats in the future at all costs....

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:42 am

Thanks - I also found some good advice on SB, so don't kill yourself looking for it if it's not handy. Thanks again for the help.

Post by . » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:19 pm

I was in the WPB area for 15 months in 00-01. Places to stay - I rather enjoyed the Clarion Hotel in Lauderdale By the Sea. Don't know if they still do this, but the beach bar had $1 beers and burgers on certain nights. Not gourmet stuff, but hell, it's cheap! There's some shore diving there too. I dived mostly in the Palm Beach area. If you want to go north, there's a good little shore dive at the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach. Check the tides, because it's only 15-20fsw at high tide, but it's a nice little reef, short easy swim, lots of sea life - cudas, angel fish, rays, saw a small moray one time, and a hermit crab the size of a football. Jim Abernathy's charter is a good one.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:53 am

Quiescence Diving
Phone: (305) 451-2440
Key Largo , FL 33037

these are the folks I really liked in Key Largo..... For accomodations you can't beat the "Princess Ann" hotel/apartments in Ft. Lauderdale located 2 blocks from the beach and you literally get a 1 bedromm apartment with a full kitchen and small dining room table. The prices were awesome and the people that stay there are from all over the globe and they have many regulars that come back every year. A pool is in the center of the very small complex. Very family oriented and friendly, quaint and enjoyable.... I'll be staying there again.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:44 pm

Awesome, thanks so much. I'll check them out.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:59 pm

cool... I LOVE SOUTH FLORIDA DIVING..........ENJOY!!!

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:13 pm

Here's a shot from my last dive there..

It was super bright there in the water and I obviously need more practice taking underwater pics.....

Lots of fun though....
$\:D/$ [/img]

Wilky · Post by **Wilky** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:42 pm

I just got back from there, but could not dive because of the weather. The wind was from the East at 10 - 15 mph so no one was going out from the Keys or Ft. Lauderdale.

I had a charter scheduled through American Dream and Capt. Todd was really great about everything. He even recommended a couple of other who may have been going out, but they didn't. Here is their URL http://www.scubafortlauderdale.com/ and they came highly recommended to me.

I had a LDS recommend to go down to the Keys, which was only about 2 hours south. I stopped at several places and none were going out, but it was a great drive. I stopped by Conch Republic Divers and they were very helpful and informative. I was impressed with their operations, but they weren't going out as well. There number is 800.274.3483 and are located in Tavernier, in the Keys. It was little frustrating, but I guess that is the way it goes and my only day I could dive when I was down there.

Have fun when you go.

straitscuba · Post by **straitscuba** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:39 pm

I spent three months diving in Ft. Lauderdale and if you are into wrecks, dive there! I dove with American Dream and Capt. Todd, nice boat and good people! I also made about 60 dives from the Pro Diver 2 and Pro Dive, Capt Stu and Capt. Brad are great as well. As far as shops, I had my best experiences with Pro Dive and Lauderdale Diver. The Bahia Cabana is Centrally located and pro dive and Lauderdale diver are within walking distance.