Florida

Collier 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

The Santa Lucia was a 47 foot turtle boat; she was sunk in 1997 to become part of and artificial reef site.

Approx. 4 miles west of Gordon Pass

Naples

Santa Lucia

Bulb shape sink-hole

Approx. 27 miles offshore Marco Island, Florida

Black Hole

Military radio tower

Approx. 29 miles offshore Marco Island


R  Tower

Boca Grande Wreck



Directly south of Marco Island / Cape Romano

D Tower

Artificial reef. approx. 30-40' barge with culvert pipesaround that lead to another barge.

Always goliath grouper, snapper, AJs, and various other species.

Viz is normally decent. Usually not crowded.

Easy to find 8-10' relief on bottom finder.

Palm Island Ferry

This site is known to yield fossilized sharks' teeth. Poor visibility, esp when the water's a little choppy. I have found upwards of 60 teeth in a one-hour dive. (Pics of them on my page.) Teeth ranged from serrated (white sharks) to lanceolate (sand sharks). Many different sizes. This site has been reported to yield teeth in excess of 4" diameter !!! Local dive guides available, but you won't need them. Stay at exactly 19'-21', and you'll find plenty. BEWARE of boats: use a dive buoy.

Public parking at the municipal lot. Hump your gear to the water's edge. Go straight out +/- 100 yards from the lifeguard tower.

Venice Beach

There is a SCUBA destination in Lake Denton, Florida.  This is where my wife and I completed our open water dives for our certification.  The visibility is good and there are a lot of fish to see.  It is a favorite of the locals and is busy on Saturday, but Sunday it's less crowded.  There are lines on the bottom to help navigate.  There are also a couple of sunken dinghies.

Lake Denton, Florida

Lake Denton

This 453 foot-long German freighter was sunk by Dutch and British warships back in WWII.

Off the coast of the Dry Tortugas

Rhein

The bridge at Bahia Honda State Park on Bahia Honda Key is a shallow (8 - 11 feet) but a good dive.  It's almost too shallow for scuba but the viz is not quite good enough for prime snorkeling.  Pull a dive flag and stay out of the boat channels.  There's are lots of fish in numbers and variety, crabs and lobster and small nurse sharks eating the crabs and lobster.  Look closely around the bridge pilings and there is grass and soft corals on the bottom.

Bahia State Park is on Hwy 1 in the Florida Keys.  Exit into the park and follow the park roads around to the base of the bridge.

Bahia Honda State Park



a nice spot to hide your pirate ship

Pirates Hide Out is also known as Pirates Place.

Santa Lucia

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Santa Lucia