It’s very easy to overlook Florida as a diving destination. Most of the attractions that are advertised are the huge theme parks like Disneyland, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens but there is a lot of excellent diving as well. At last this may be the place that appeals to divers and their kids.

Florida is in the south eastern United States with good weather all year round. With tourism as a major industry there is accommodation of all types and flights are plentiful. The best way to get about is by car, particularly if visiting the Keys, so fly-drive packages are very popular.

The Keys are a chain of 34 islands (with other tiny ones) off the south east tip of Florida stretching south west towards the Gulf of Mexico. They are all connected by bridges and causeways and this highway is often featured in films and TV programmes.

First sighted by Europeans in 1513, the Keys were not settled partly due to their remoteness and partly to avoid the hostile natives who lived there. The first real settlement was at Key West in 1822 and it was not until the 1870s that the U.S. government began to encourage settlement on the other Keys. In the early 20th. century a railway was built linking the whole chain but a hurricane in 1935 destroyed it and it was too expensive to rebuild. The U.S. government bought up the remaining bridges and built the “overseas highway” which was opened in 1938.

There is year round diving on the Keys and the Florida coast but there is a short hurricane season mainly in September and October. Water temperature ranges from 23°C (January-March) up to 28°C (July-September). There are dive sites suitable for all levels from beginners to tri-mix and cave diving.

There are many wrecks on the coast of Florida while the Keys have coral as well as wrecks and there is a profusion of marine life everywhere. Florida’s underwater life is most abundant in the Keys where shallow reefs attract many small fish and the reefs are patrolled by larger fish including barracuda. Most dive sites are accessed by boat.

As well as all the wonderful diving Florida has another star attraction – the manatees.
The Crystal River is one of the best places to see them using only snorkel gear. Their numbers are reducing, often due to collisions with boat propellers so some “disturbance free zones “ have been created but there are still plenty of opportunities to visit these unique creatures.