23+ Resources to Plan Your Dive in South Florida
Reading Time: 11 minutes Plan and execute your dive to perfection with these essential resources for dive planning in South Florida!
Plan Your Dive in South Florida
This article provides you with dive planning resources in South Florida – specifically, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Key Largo, and the rest of the Florida Keys. Highlighted are useful guidebooks, waterproof dive cards, shore dive planning, and other useful tips to execute your dive without a hitch.
Dive Plan Navigation:
Fort Lauderdale: Plan Your Dive
Often overlooked, Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area is a fantastic dive destination few people know about. The city famously known for yachting features a three tier natural coral reef system found no where else in the continental United States.
Not to mention, Fort Lauderdale is arguably the wreck diving capital of the world. Nearly 80 ship wrecks and 150+ artificial reefs have been sunk in the area since the 1980s!
Fortunately for me and you, divers have been the beneficiaries of such programs as the wrecks are thriving with marine life today!
Guidebooks and Maps
Reef Smart Guides Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Deerfield Beach.
Be sure to pack this guidebook right along with your dive gear! The book features thorough info on Fort Lauderdale beaches, dive locations, and snorkel areas! While also including ratings for currents, depths, and commonly sighted species.
Broward County Florida Recreation & Dive Map Waterproof Card
This waterproof map is the essential start to planning your next dive or ocean adventure in Fort Lauderdale!
Dive Cards for Shipwrecks in Fort Lauderdale
Most dive shops in Fort Lauderdale visit a wreck on the first dive of the day before making their way to a shallow reef for a drift dive. Some of the most popular shipwrecks in Fort Lauderdale are:
Hog Heaven Wreck
The 180 foot barge sits in 60 feet of water off of Fort Lauderdale Beach. By popular demand, most dive shops make the trip to Hog Heaven regularly.
Mercedes Wreck
Hurricanes haven’t been kind to this 194 foot freighter. A twisted maze of metal and rock, the Mercedes sits in 90 feet of water in two separate pieces.
Lady Luck Wreck
126 feet down lies the recently sunk Lady Luck Wreck. The top deck was converted to a casino for divers to enjoy some great photo ops from some fishy dealers.
Robert Edmister Wreck
A 95 foot cutter, the Robert Edmister is a great wreck for beginners. The ship sits in 60 feet of water and connects to two smaller wrecks to explore.
Tenneco Towers
Five oil platforms make up the artificial reef sunk in southern Broward County. Luckily, three of the rigs are reachable within recreational dive limits.
Fort Lauderdale Wreck Trek
Three wrecks in one dive? Only if the currents are right! The Jay Scutti, Tracey, and Merci Jesus form a series of three wrecks known as the Fort Lauderdale Wreck Trek.
NOTE: View more Dive Cards for Wrecks in Fort Lauderdale here
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Palm Beach: Plan Your Dive
The best diving in Palm Beach County is out of Jupiter, Riviera Beach, and West Palm Beach as they’re located in close proximity to the Gulf Stream.
What’s the Gulf Stream, you ask? The Gulf Stream is a major ocean current bringing warm blue water from the Caribbean all the way to Europe. Fortunately for us, it happens to pass closely by South Florida and the Florida Keys!
In addition to sparkling water, the Gulf Stream brings some incredible marine life to the waters of Palm Beach, as well! Whale sharks, goliath grouper , and sharks of all kinds often pay a visit! In fact, Jupiter is a premier destination for shark diving!
Guidebooks and Maps
Reef Smart Guides Florida: Palm Beach
Another excellent guide for diving in South Florida; but this time, specifically for Palm Beach. Adding this guidebook to your library is a must for any South Florida diver!
Dive Cards for Shipwrecks in Palm Beach
Admittedly, Fort Lauderdale is more popular for wreck diving than Palm Beach. That’s not to say that Palm Beach doesn’t have exceptional diving, though. Particularly when it comes to sharks! A few popular sites are:
Spearman’s Barge – West Palm Beach
The 150ft deck barge was sunk in 1978 to form an artificial reef. You can enjoy the wreck with a shop in Riviera Beach.
Jupiter Wreck Trek
Zion Train, Miss Jenny, and the ESSO Bonaire make up this series of shipwrecks in Jupiter. Interestingly, goliath grouper love these wrecks during their annual aggregation in August and September.
Key Largo: Plan Your Dive
The diving Mecca of the United States – Key Largo is arguably the best destination in the country for scuba divers, snorkelers, and ocean lovers alike!
Featuring expansive coral reef systems, accessible shipwrecks, and the country’s first underwater State Park, diving opportunities in Key Largo are not short in supply.
Dive Cards for Coral Reefs in Key Largo
Get linked in with any dive shop in Key Largo to visit the nearby coral reefs. Molasses Reef, the most famous of the bunch, features high relief reef structures for an endless underwater maze to explore!
Molasses Reef
Encounter eagle rays, reef sharks, sea turtles, and enough fish to make your head spin while diving Molasses Reef in Key Largo.
Grecian Rocks
Grecian Rocks are the best site for snorkeling in Key Largo. In fact, the Dive Shop in John Pennekamp State Park uses this site for their snorkel trips!
Christ of the Deep and Dry Rocks Reef
The oh-so famous underwater Jesus Statue. Head to John Pennekamp State Park to get the perfect Instagram worthy photo with Christ of the Deep!
French Reef
Not far off from Molasses Reef is an equally as vibrant coral reef system. French Reef is another fantastic dive or snorkel site in Key Largo.
Dive Cards for Shipwrecks in Key Largo
Alone, Key Largo features more shipwrecks for diving than the rest of the Florida Keys. Take advantage of them when visiting!
Duane Wreck
A massive 327 foot Coast Guard Cutter, the Duane is arguably the most famous shipwreck for diving in the United States.
Benwood Wreck
The Benwood Wreck is an ideal dive site for open water divers. The 360 foot ship sits in just 30 feet of water with the stern of the boat in 45 feet. Search behind the stern to find the iconic anchor for a great photo op.
Spiegel Grove Wreck
Our personal favorite in Key Largo, The Spiegel Grove is an underwater explorers dream. The 510 foot ship is one of the largest artificial reefs in the world!
Spiegel Grove Wreck – Deck Plan
Penetrating the Spiegel Grove is exhilarating! However, only enter the ship if you’ve been properly trained!
The Florida Keys: Plan Your Dive
South of Key Largo are more, less visited dive sites throughout the Florida Keys.
Famous for its sport fishing, Islamorada is actually an excellent dive destination as well. Natural coral reefs such as Alligator and Davis Reef live here, but Islamorada also rocks a must-see shipwreck: The Eagle. Book with any dive shop in Islamorada to discover the depths!
Farther south is Key West, the pirate town with a flair for the eccentric. Diving in the area is worthwhile with the famous Vandenberg Wreck not far from shore.
Dive Cards for Shipwrecks in the Florida Keys
The two famous shipwrecks south of Key Largo are bucket-list worth dive sites!
Eagle Wreck – Islamorada
110 feet below the surface lies the Eagle Wreck, a 287 foot freighter. Upon sinking, the wreck broke into two pieces allowing you to weave between the two amongst vast amounts of marine life.
Vandenberg Wreck – Key West
Sunk in 2009, the Vandenberg lies in 140 feet of water off the coast of Key West. Luckily for divers, the 10 story ship’s deck can be reached merely 40 – 50 feet below the surface.
South Florida Beach Diving: Plan Your Dive
Did you know, two of the world’s premier shore dives are right in our own backyard!? Shocker, I know!
You can find many beach dives up and down the shores of South Florida, but the two most famous are the Blue Heron Bridge and Anglin’s Pier Reef (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Reef).
The best part? They’re entirely free to dive (assuming you don’t need to rent gear, that is)!
Dive Cards for Beach Dives in South Florida
We highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the dive sites before entering the water. These maps give you insight on the general layout and restrictive zones. Stay out of the boat channels!
Blue Heron Bridge – Palm Beach
Blue Heron Bridge is a tide dependent dive in Riviera Beach. The marine diversity is unprecedented for South Florida!
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea – Fort Lauderdale
One of our favorite dives, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a pillar for South Florida adventure bucket lists!
Traveling to South Florida for a dive trip?
Take the stress out of traveling with these handy resources so you can focus on what you really enjoy: diving!
Travel Planning Resources for South Florida
Book Your Flight: Book cheap flights on SkyScanner, one of the best tools to find good deals. Search for flights to West Palm Beach (PBI), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), or Key West (EYW).
Rent a Car: Discover Cars compares prices all over the globe – finding you the best deal on a car rental.
Book a Place to Stay: Booking.com is a great resource to compare hotels and guesthouses.
Or book a local apartment on AirBnB (get up to $55 off your first adventure when you go through this link!)
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Read More About Diving in South Florida
We hope you enjoyed our post on South Florida dive planning. Hopefully you’ll find it useful on your next adventure! Here are a few more ocean-loving articles we think you should read next:
- Resources for Marine Life ID in Florida
- 11 Reasons to Dive in Fort Lauderdale
- 11 Coolest Ocean Animals in Florida
- Complete Guide to Shark Diving in Jupiter
Leave a comment below about your dive experiences in South Florida! We’d love to hear them and would like to answer any other questions you have if you’re visiting the area!
