Have you ever attempted scuba diving? If not, a good place to learn is Key Largo which is also known as the “Diving Capital of the World.” Several miles offshore is a living coral reef which beckons to thousands of divers as well as avid sport fishermen. You will want to visit a Professional Dive Center to see about Open Water certification courses. For beginners, you must have adequate swimming skills and be in relatively good health, but you do not need previous diving experience.
The PADI Open Water Diver course is typically offered by a Professional Dive Center such as the Key Largo Dive Center. The course includes a training session in the pool followed by four open water sessions. Also included are boat fees, pool fees, instructor fees, certification card fee, student logbook, and scuba equipment rental. This gets you started in learning about Scuba Diving in Key Largo. The next level of certification is the Advanced Open Water Diver Course that includes topics such as deep diving to 100 feet, underwater navigation, wreck diving, and more. There are 5 open water sessions, boat fees, instructor fees, and certification card fees included. This advanced level is required for those who would like to take the Deep Diver or Wreck Diver Advanced Specialty Course.
An Advanced Specialty Course includes the course manual, instructor fees, four boat dives, and the certification fee. Additional equipment required includes a Surface Signaling Tube (SST) or safety sausage (so that the dive boat can see you if you surface some distance away), a Dive Computer, and a dive knife. There are a number of other dive courses such as the Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver Course or the EAN Diver Course which certifies that you can dive with oxygen enriched air, the Rescue Diver Course, and the Digital Underwater Photographer Course.
A typical dive boat would be a 34 foot Crusader that has been custom modified to accommodate divers and their equipment. This kind of boat is more than adequate for shallow reef dives, deep wreck dives, or a combination of a shallow reef dive and a deep wreck dive. Many dive sites are protected which means that spear fishing, lobster hunting, or removing anything from these areas is prohibited. Scuba Diving in Key Largo can be loads of fun, and you will get to see some incredible underwater sights.