Winter time diving in the North East is not for everyone, especially for brand new divers in their open water class. Exposing divers with dreams of Caribbean diving to the cold and dark wintertime quarries not only mismatches their wants, but it could discourage them from diving locally at all!
Some students will prefer to travel and complete their training as a referral, but ideally the students can complete the entire course with their local dive store. Completing the course with their local shop not only keeps sales local, but also ensures they have a great experience, start to finish. Dealing with a random island instructor to complete their certification may not give the students the experience that will encourage them to continue scuba as a hobby. The Florida springs are like quarries without the termoclines and seasonality.
The North Florida Springs are excellent dive sites for NE dive centers to use as wintertime training.
These sites are:
- Constant temperature, year round
- Simple dive logistics (no boats or tides)
- Little weather influence
- Access to lodging, fills and food.
Tips on Where
We don't list all the locations, but a few of our favorites that match the easiest logistics.
Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle is an excellent choice for training and fun diving.
Dive Sites:
Vortex Springs
Morrison Springs
Lodging
Vortex lodges and cabins
Hotels in PCB, Dothan, Marianna, etc
Upgrade Tips:
Day 1 in the springs and Day 2 on a boat trip out of PCB or Destin, FL makes for a fresh+salt water weekend adventure and opens the possibility of more and different training opportunities.
Panhandle
North Central Florida is better known for cave diving, but has plenty of sites appropriate (and fun) for open water training.
Dive Sites:
Orange GroveTroy Springs (our favorite)
Royal Springs
Blue Grotto
Divers Den
Lodging
Air bnb in Gainesville/High SpringsHotels in Williston, Ocala, Gainesville, etc
Upgrade Tips:
Hoping on a river charter is the perfect way to wrap up a fun trip to this area. Rainbow and crystal river have operators that see manatee, or just fun drift dives.
Tips on How
Hit your newsletter list of previous students and give them the opportunity to "escape the cold" and hop underwater.
Florida Springs trips are low cost trips that can easily be completed on a long weekend. They don't rely on boats, waves or many of the other hurdles that accompany an ocean based trip. If you want details on pricing and budgeting to run your own Florida Springs trip contact us!