Best florida dive spots

[Bec3231]

What are the best florida dive sites for beginners??

[SkuaSeptember]

Fossil Dive with Florida West in Venice!
The charter was very well run, it's a very easy dive and everyone came back with some cool show and tell fossils.
http://www.floridawestscuba.com/

[Bec3231]

any places with wrecks shallow enough that I can go to without getting advanced water certification right away?

[Capt Hook]

Florida Keys, especially Key Largo.

[emcbride81]

Originally Posted by Bec3231

any places with wrecks shallow enough that I can go to without getting advanced water certification right away?

If you go to Key Largo you can dive the Benwood wreck...I think we maxed out at 42 feet on that one.

Also, if you go to Lauderdale By The Sea (just south of Ft. Lauderdale airport) there is a nice shore dive near the fishing pier. You can rent tanks for 10 bucks and dive your heart out. The deepest we got was 16-20 feet. There was a lot of fish life and a decent variety.

[scubasamurai]

gotta do the venice shark tooth dive, shallow but when you get one of those nice big fossil shark tooth it is worth it

[Dive-aholic]

There are a lot of diving opportunities in Florida. The best thing to do is find some experienced buddies to explore some of these sites. Ft. Lauderdale has great diving right off the beach. 15' and one of the best shallow reef dives with lots of life. And all it costs you is the gas to get there and the gas you breathe!

Or drive north and explore some of the fresh water springs. Lots of opportunities there. Check out Alexander Springs. Max depth 25' and lots of life. Also cheap to get in.

And work your experience level up. You don't necessarily need to be AOW to go deeper than 60'. Just take baby steps. You should have gone pretty close to 60' in your OW course. So you should already have some experience there. Just add to that experience.

[claiborne022]

The best place I tried was http://www.narcosisscuba.com/ these folks are friendly and are located in Tarpin Springs just outside of Tampa.

[scubasamurai]

Originally Posted by claiborne022

The best place I tried was http://www.narcosisscuba.com/ these folks are friendly and are located in Tarpin Springs just outside of Tampa.

hey that is one of the shops i use. gotta say hi to joyce if you go, she will bust your chops but they do run a first rate shop, plus they are one of the few in that area that have their own boat right next door!!! and after your done diving you can eat some great greek food and smoke a hand rolled cigar

[BSea]

2 really good beginner dive sites are Alexander Springs Just about 30 miles east of Ocala, and Troy Springs up by High Springs & about 30 miles west going through Branford. Both are crystal clear, and very easy dives. Alexander is only about 25 ft, but does have a small cave. Troy is about 50 to 60 ft & is used for many checkout dives.

Of course if I were you, I'd spend every weekend I could in Key Largo. It just cost more, but the diving is great. And you can progess to the more advanced dives as you gain experience.