Air Force Radio Relay Towers The Black Hole Captive Blue Hole Fantastico The Paddle Wheel Santa Lucia Tea Cup Ledge U.S.S. Mohawk

SCUBA DIVING in South West Florida is Unique

Dive locations include: Port Charlotte, Fort Meyers, Marco Island, Cape Coral, Naples.

The sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s West coast is basically a large shelf.

South West Florida diving is unusual in the sense that there are no natural reefs, the bottom is mostly flat, with a gentle, sandy bottomed slope with a few limestone ledges and holes like swiss cheese.

The many artificial structures like shipwrecks and other sunken debris, quickly attract fish and other sea life looking for a home making it easy to find a lot of sea life in a relatively small area.

Just north of the boundaries of Everglades National Park, Macro Island offers diving with warm waters and moderate visibility in the 20- to 50-foot range. The marine environment around is relatively shallow. The inshore waters rarely exceed 100 feet in depth, making the area a logical choice for divers lacking deep-water training.

Highlights include: the Collier 5 Mile Reef, Black Hole and wrecks like the Isabell and the Minesweeper.

Given the proximity of the Florida Keys, many of the quicker boats will make regular trips to the upper portion of the Keys, so check the charters if you don’t mind a longer boat ride in exchange for some better Florida scuba diving.

Use Scuba Schedules to reserve you trips with Blue Water Explorers, Florida West Scuba & Charters and Aquanutz Shark Tooth Diving.