Anyone that has followed Frogfish Photography over the last few years will know that we love to go to Florida in January. Why, well the weather in the UK is usually pretty dreadful, and Florida offers a host of different diving, that you can do at your own pace. Cheap flight to Orlando, grab a hire car, and you are set. For the past 3 years, we have done this and are still not bored of what it has to offer. We even do nearly the same route each year. First, we head up to Crystal River in the north-west of the county. Initially, we went here for the manatees that gather in the warm spring water when it gets cold. Swimming with them is an amazing experience. We head to Birds Underwater, to hire a house on the water, with kayaks so that we can visit the manatees in our own time, and throw some tanks and weights in the back of the car.
Diving in these fresh water springs is great, and there are loads of different state parks where you can pay a $6 entry fee and try out diving in this crystal clear water. Ginnie Springs, and others, also give the cavern and cave divers something to sink their teeth into. If you ignore the warning signs for alligators, then Manatee Springs is also a dive not to miss, as the green pond weed covering the spring, make you feel like you are diving in a spooky haunted cavern.
Heading south to the keys, we usually stop off to try a dolphin spotting trip in Pine Island, or look for alligators in the Everglades to break up the journey. As you drive south the air and water get warmer. We go to the Keys to get in some wreck diving before we have to head home. As we have been coming here for a while, we know a few of the locals, and often get asked to photograph a new boat, or particular dive site for them. This latest trip saw us on a speed boat, yacht and live-aboard.
Diving in these fresh water springs is great, and there are loads of different state parks where you can pay a $6 entry fee and try out diving in this crystal clear water. Ginnie Springs, and others, also give the cavern and cave divers something to sink their teeth into. If you ignore the warning signs for alligators, then Manatee Springs is also a dive not to miss, as the green pond weed covering the spring, make you feel like you are diving in a spooky haunted cavern.
Heading south to the keys, we usually stop off to try a dolphin spotting trip in Pine Island, or look for alligators in the Everglades to break up the journey. As you drive south the air and water get warmer. We go to the Keys to get in some wreck diving before we have to head home. As we have been coming here for a while, we know a few of the locals, and often get asked to photograph a new boat, or particular dive site for them. This latest trip saw us on a speed boat, yacht and live-aboard.
Our final dives were on the USS Vandenberg, a simply huge wreck, with radar arrays and a large US flag as good features to get images of. We were also lucky to see vast schools of fish flashing around the wreck avoiding the barracuda and jacks hunting them. You could dive this wreck all week and not get bored.
I keep saying we should go somewhere else next January, but I am sure that by the time we get there, we will be missing the freedom and variety Florida can offer.
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