Bay Area Reefers

My old stomping ground (born and raised there).

In the Palm Beach Area most of the reefs are pretty dead from a coral perspective. Better off just snorkling. Bathtub Beach http://www.insideflorida.com/detail/bathtub-reef-beach/ in Stuart is decent and there are some nice areas of the reef down between Jupiter and Hobe Sound (near Johnathan Dickenson Park) http://www.bing.com/attractions/search?q=Jonathan+Dickinson+State+Park%2... that have some nice marine life as well.

Beware certain times of the year the beaches are roped off due to sea turtle spawning.

A good day trip for the whole family is to Blowing Rocks preserve in Hobe Sound. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g34291-d491797-Reviews-Blow...

Another good visit is the Flagler Museum http://flaglermuseum.us/. Henry Flagler was the railroad tycoon who brought the railroad to South Florida and basically opened it up.

The Jupiter lighthouse is also a cool thing to visit (Jupiter is just north of Palm Beach) http://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/

For the wife. Downtown Palm Beach has really nice shopping but very very pricy. Check out the Breakers http://www.thebreakers.com/ which is a very old (in South Florida standards) hotel.

Further South is the better place if you want to dive. Look into John Pennekamp Park http://www.pennekamppark.com/ in Key Largo. This is about the best easy diving in Florida. I personally recommend the Christ statue dive. It is an easy shallow dive with lots of marine life.

Other good attractions in the South include the Coral Castle in Homestead http://coralcastle.com/ or a good old Air Boat ride in the Everglades

Thanks Bryan! The plan is to head there the 3rd and 4th week in July so I'll probably make some calls to dive shops before I make my final plans. I am not even certified yet so I am not planning on going out on my own. My son and I will most likely take a dive tour/charter. Are there any places you would recommend?

There are literally dozens of dive shops near Pennekamp. Not one specifically I would recommend. That said, if you are thinking of getting certified, do it here and do your open water in Monterrey. The reason I say this is because it is much more challenging and will ultimately make you a better diver. Taking a course and doing your open water dive in mild conditions like FL or Hawaii off a boat is really the easiest fiving you might ever do. Just my 2 cents.

Most of the dives at Pennekamp are 40 ft and below with many less the 30 ft and lots of visibility so very limited risks.

Let me rephrase what I said before. It won't make you a better diver per se. It will, however, make diving in the conditions you might find in Florida and Hawaii seem much simpler as you aren't as apt to have to deal with vad visibility, cold water, kelp and thick wet suits (or dry suits).

Think of learning in Monterrey like learning to drive a stick and learning in Florida or Hawaii like learning to drive an automatic. You learn to drive in both, but one allows you to drive both tyes and the other only one.

+1 on learning to dive in Monterey! It's tough, but a good way to learn. Plus, if you luck out on your training dives and get to check out the Kelp fields.....it's AMAZING!

Yep, I'm planning on going to Anchor Shack in Concord where my son was certified through.

Bryan, have hotel suggestions for the PB area?

Not that won't break the bank. It has been a while since I have been back and didn't stay in many while I was there. The close to PB island you get the more expensive it is going to be. Worth Ave is the east coasts version of Rodeo Drive.

Thanks.