Name: Daytona Beach
Rating: 4.0

Florida

Volusia County

Divers will travel far and wide to find the best diving. But those who live in the United States have plenty of great diving on their doorstep as well, with plentiful access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. From warm-water reefs to temperate seas, here are some of the top places to scuba dive in the United States.

United States

Daytona Beach is a 4.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Florida, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 2 ratings.

Daytona Beach

Only used for scuba instruction... Damned!
See and not much to see at all. http://www.floridastateparks.org/deleonsprings for entrance fees.

W of the town DeLeon Springs, 9 miles N of DeLand on US 17.

DeLeon Sprongs

Spring, cavern and cave diving

35 miles North of Orlando

Blue Springs State Park

Blue spring is well known for its manatees (they usually come up from St John's river during winter season). Remember that Manatees are protected animals (you should not be less than 50 feet from them).

To enter the spring, go N past the concession area, you will find steps. The cave is located at the run's N end (cave entrence at 3m deep).

See Blue Springs State park fees at http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/

From Deland, travel S on US17/92 for 6 miles to Orance City. Blue Springs State Park is located 3 miles west on French Avenue. After the railroad overpass, turn left and go to the spring.

Blue Springs is also known as Blue Springs State Park, Blue Springs Organge City.

Blue Springs

Alexander is a very calm spring of 80 meters wide. There are small caverns. The main one can be penetrated for about 10 ft (entrance at 23 feet). There is a lot of marine wildlife here and a chance you might even see an alligator!

Alexander Spring is 17 miles NE of Deland in the Ocala National Forest. Travel W on SR 40 from Ocala. Turn right on CR 445A just before the town of Astor. Follow 445A past the sharp turn to the E. Watch signs to parking area.

Alexander Springs

This is a real nice dive spot. The reef is huge, I spent two hours there and saw less than a quarter of what is there. The coral life is amazing, soft corals, many several feet tall are everywhere Big heads of hard coral some three or more feet tall are not uncommon. In some areas I saw stag horn corals carpeting the ground. While the fish were not as dense as at gulf stream park, they were much more diverse, I saw almost everything I have seen in south Florida, Angelfish, Damsels, wrasses, parrotfish, a small nurse shark, a small stingray, and a whole lot I could not identify. This is seriously one of the best reefs I have seen this close to shore.

From I-95 get off on Oakland Park Blvd in Fort Lauderdale follow that east to the A1A. Go south along the A1A until 27th street. Go east on 27th. Then turn left (north) on Atlantic and drive about two blocks, Vista park parking will be on the right. There are cheap meters, 25cents an hour as of Jan 2004. Get into the water anywhere along the beach, the reef starts just after the Buoys

Vista Park

Lake. We saw blue gills and a painted turtle.


Merritt  Park. Walk in access on Merritt Island 

King's Park Lake is also known as Kings Park Lake.

King's Park Lake

The spring pool is roughly circular, between 100 and 200 ft in diameter in a semitropical swamp.
When spring flow is high, the pool is clean and clear, but when flow is low, murky lake water may cloud the pool. Advanced level cave diving (bring your light!).

In the SW section of lake Apopka (Gourd Neck arm).
The spring is 3 miles NW of Oakland. Drive 3.7 mile W on S-438, turn right onto a sand road through an old orange grove and continue for 0.5 miles; the spring is 500 feet N of the end of the road.

Apopka Spring is also known as Gordneck Sink, Gourd Neck.

Apopka Spring

Devil's hole is a very impressive place. The sink is about 18 meters in diameter with the water level about 15 meters from the top of the sink.

It can be very difficult to enter into the water (steep sides). You should plan on bringing vertical gear to get in and out of the sink (there is an old ladder but not really safe!).

This is different than Willistons "Devils Den", this is not a maintained area so dont expect facilities or help if you cant get out.  Scope it out and make sure you know what you are doing before you get into trouble.

The water is often unclear until you get down a bit, there are a number of cars, etc to see and some cave entrances.   Be smart on this dive.

IMPORTANT: This proberty is privately owned and trespassing is a federal offense. The land is currently being developed and the owners have posted no tresspass signs and the property is guarded.  Local authorities have been notified.

Edit 5/16/07: Ditches have been dug to bar all entrance. Multiple no trespass signs have been posted, and a fence has been built around the sink. 

Take S-20 from Gainesville towards Hawthorne. Look for route CR-21 (do not turn yet). Turn left onto Lake Galilee Dr, about 1.8 miles from the CR-21 intersection. Go about 150 yards and take one of the two sand roads to the left, and go to the sink.

Devil's Hole is also known as Devil's Sink, Devils Den.

Devil's Hole

For divers of all levels. This is a commercially operated dive site. Entrance fee is $27. Only certified cave divers can reach 140'.

Southeast of Ocala. Paradise Springs is a private place.

Follow U.S. 27 south to Williston

Paradise Springs

EPCOT Dive Quest is an exciting experience offered at the Living Seas at EPCOT Center Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL which gives you the chance to perform on our underwater stage- a 6 million gallon aquarium which houses over 65 different species of fish, sharks, turtles, and stingrays.

The program, which lasts for about 2 ½ hours, begins with a backstage tour of the Living Seas- a functioning marine research facility.  You will learn about marine wildlife conservation and Disney’s efforts all around the world to protect our oceans.  After watching a short film about how the Living Seas was created, it is time for the ultimate dive.   We provide all of the gear, while you supply all of the fun when you SCUBA dive in our main aquatic environment for 40 minutes.  You’ll be part of the Disney show as you get to dive in a place that millions have visited but few have been able to go beneath its surface.  All guests are given a T-shirt and a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.

Certified divers ages 10 and up are welcome.  The cost is $140 per person (group rates available- other discounts may apply). This includes all gear, the dive, refreshments, a T-shirt, certificate, and a dive log stamp.  Equipment includes mask, fins, tank, buoyancy compensator, regulator, weightbelt, and a 2.5 mm shorty wetsuit.  Water temperature is in the mid-70s. Personal masks are acceptable. To make a reservation for Dive Quest, please call  407-WDW-TOUR (407-939-8687) 

In addition to Dive Quest, we also offer two programs for non-certified guests- Seas Aqua Tours and Dolphins in Depth. Aqua Tours involves surface-assisted-snorkeling in our main environment, while Dolphins in Depth involves in-depth information and interaction time with our two resident bottle-nosed dolphins.



Epcot Dive Quest

Atlantic Scuba, Inc.

Discover Diving Dive Center

Seminole Scuba

Scuba Diversions

The Dive Station

Scuba World Orlando

Sea Hunt Scuba

American Divers International

Atlantic Pro Divers

First Coast Divers

The visibility is at best 2 feet but usually 2 inches in relatively shallow water. Deeper depths could be moderately better. But it was a poor experience near the Daytona Pier.

Daytona Beach

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Daytona Beach