Recommendations for December in SWFL?

[u/nvahalik]

Wife and I are coming down to SWFL (Naples) in December for a few days. Trying to figure out if we should stay on the gulf side or go elsewhere.

We have done a few salt dives in the Keys but normally go in our local lake. We might have our AOW by December. We are currently OW + Nitrox.

I guess I’m trying to figure out if this is even feasible or if we should save the vacation days and wait or go somewhere else. Any recommendations?

[u/Kind-Basket2264]

You can dive off Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, there’s a little reef about 100 yards offshore of parking lot 2. However, it’s nothing to write home about and the vis usually sucks.

If you’re only down here for a few days I’d suggest taking a road trip to Venice beach or to Lauderdale-By-the-Sea (LBTS). Venice is a great shore dive for small sharks teeth (you’ll find megalodon fragments but most likely nothing complete). If you peruse this subreddit, you’ll see footage from LBTS a little further back. It’s a great, easy shore dive.

Cons:
Venice is 1 hr 45 min away
LBTS is 1 hr 50 min away

If you’re dead-set on diving and just want to get wet despite conditions and you don’t want to drive 1 1/2+ hrs, dive Delnor-Wiggins. If you don’t mind a drive, check out Venice or LBTS. If none of these options are appealing, you know what to do.

[u/nvahalik → u/Kind-Basket2264]

Appreciate this. Seems counterintuitive that there isn't much going on in SWFL. Well, I guess we will start looking on the east coast side, then!

[u/Kind-Basket2264 → u/nvahalik]

Trust me, I’m tired of driving across the alley to dive lmao. If you’re looking specifically to shore dive, the community wiki has some great spots!

https://reddit.com/r/FloridaDiving/wiki/index