Dive Shop Services - Blog #TravelDive Shop Services - Blog #Travelhttps://www.diveshopservices.com/blogs/tag/travelWed, 25 Mar 2026 19:31:46 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Florida Springs Travel ]]>https://www.diveshopservices.com/blogs/post/Florida-Springs-TravelWinter 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 Ca ]]>

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 Grove

Troy Springs (our favorite)

Royal Springs

Blue Grotto

Divers Den


Lodging

Air bnb in Gainesville/High Springs

Hotels 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

1. Build the need
Schedule these trips well in advance, and package them with your open water training courses. This builds the need for the trips as it pairs them with the most popular training and introduces it from the beginning of training as an option.

2. Market
Hit your newsletter list of previous students and give them the opportunity to "escape the cold" and hop underwater.

3. Specialties
Offer upgrades for specialties and continued training. This gives potential attendees another reason to join on the adventure.

4. Don't exclude
You know who may love a springs trip? Your normal international travelers! A simple, US based trip to hop in the water during the winter, especially at a low cost, might be the change they want.

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!

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