Scuba Diver at gorgeous coral reef – photo by Viki Kleyer

Travel Tips: Unique Scuba Diving Adventures in Florida

Florida boasts over 1000 miles of coastline, America’s only coral reefs, a huge diversity of marine habitats, hundreds of shipwrecks and over 600 natural springs. It’s no surprise, then, that America’s ‘Sunshine State’ offers a huge variety of interesting scuba diving opportunities. Many divers go so far as to call Florida the ‘Dive Capital of the World’.

Divers can choose among beach or boat dives, shallow coral reefs, deep wall dives, wreck dives, artificial reef sites, cave and cavern dives, and clear fresh water springs. They can dive in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Florida Keys or fresh water lakes & springs.

Coral reefs in the Florida Keys have been preserved since the 1960s with national and state parks such as John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary near Key West. They consists of a variety of rich marine habits.

a cloud of colorful tropical reef fish

Wreck dives around the state include dozens of historic real shipwrecks as well as ships sunk intentionally to create artificial reefs. Over the years military ships, missile parts, airplanes and even tanks have been sunk off Florida’s shores for the enjoyment of divers.

But besides coral reefs and wreck dives, which are found all over the world, Florida also offers several very unique dive opportunities that are found almost nowhere else on the planet. For veteran scuba divers seeking new dive experiences and for those with an adventurous soul, Florida presents some new & exciting under water experiences.

Here are three noteworthy unique dive adventures in Florida:

Jules undersea lodge

Underwater Hotel

Key West offers a truly unique travel and diving experience: sleeping and dining under the sea.

Jules Undersea Lodge gives guests the opportunity to stay in a former scientific marine lab that has been converted into cozy living spaces. The rooms look something like trailers or furnished submarines, with a big round window looking out into the sea. Colorful tropical fish and marine life swim past randomly.

Guests access their room by diving to it and making a special entry, like a spaceship or submarine. They’re instructed beforehand on exactly how to do so and are escorted to/from their room.

Generally speaking, guests should be certified divers. But even non-divers can stay by first taking a basic intro diving course with the hotel dive instructors.

scuba diving in Blue Springs – Florida

Fresh Water Springs

As Florida Springs website reports, Florida has over 600 natural springs, mostly located in the north, central and Panhandle regions of the state. The springs all bubble up from Florida’s massive underground aquifer. They range in size from small trickles to large pond-size bodies of water.

The springs’ super clear waters all have a constant temperature of about 72 F year round. The water clarity makes for great snorkeling and scuba diving. Over 30 springs offer scuba diving. Depending on which springs divers visit, they may dive into underwater caverns, watch fresh water fish and other fresh water creatures, or perhaps even dive with the elusive manatee if they’re lucky.

Find out the details, choose the spring of your choice and find dive operators at the aforementioned website.

Christ of the Abyss dive site in Key West – Florida

Underwater Statue of Christ

According to several dive websites, Christ of the Abyss underwater statue is one of the most famous and visited dive sites in the world. It certainly is impressive looking!

To tell the truth, even though I’ve been a PADI dive instructor since 2004, I had never heard of this dive site until quite recently. And then online from other travelers, not from fellow divers or dive shops I’ve worked with. But then I’ve always been diving in SE Asia. Presumably the statue is much more well known in the Americas and Europe.

In any event, Christ of the Abyss has a very interesting history. It is one of three Jesus Christ statues created by Italian sculptor, Guido Galletti, specifically to be placed under the sea for scuba divers. He made the first statue in the 1950s. It was sunk off the coast of Genoa in 1954.

Christ of the Abyss is Galletti’s third Christ statue in the series. The Italians donated it to the Underwater Society of America who decided to sink it in John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo in 1965 as recognition for the park’s great reef conservation efforts.

The 8.5 feet tall bronze statue rests at 25 feet under the sea, which makes it shallow enough for even beginning divers to visit. Perhaps that, along with it’s impressive and unique visual impact, are what make this Christ so popular.

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