Half Day Scuba Diving Trip in the Florida Keys in Key Largo booking from $115.00

Half Day Scuba Diving Trip in the Florida Keys

Overview

Come join us SCUBA diving some of the most beautiful reefs within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Pennekamp State Park. We have many different reefs to explore: Molasses, Elbow, French Reef and the famous Christ of the Abyss on Dry Rocks. These protected areas offer an opportunity to see turtles, spotted eagle rays, moray eels and a variety of different fish. These special reefs are part of the 3rd largest living reef system in the world and the ONLY living coral reef in the US. We stop at two different sites on the reef. The sites are chosen by the captain based on the day's sea conditions. We cannot guarantee any specific sites.

IMPORTANT: You MUST be SCUBA certified with recent dive experience for this activity. If you have not been diving in more than one year, you may be required to hire a guide at an additional charge. If you have not been diving in over two years, you will be required to take a refresher course. Single divers may be required to hire a guide.

City: Key Largo

Sun 23 Feb

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Starting at $115.00

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Sun 23 Feb

Starting at $115.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Refillable Paper Cups

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (93)

KaisyDaisy

Nov 2022

Wow - what an amazing adventure! Cpt John and 1st Matt were incredible. I refreshed my skills while my boyfriend obtained his Open Water Certification over a 2 day period. Our instructor Brandon was incredibly knowledgeable about both SCUBA and the area. We had an absolute blast in both pool and open water dives! 10/10 would recommend Pirates Cove for all your SCUBA adventures!

Response from Host

Nov 2022

Thank you for the awesome review! Captain John,Matt, and Brandon will be so happy to hear they helped make your refresher and OW certification such a great experience. Congratulations and happy diving!

Kevin P

Nov 2022

In a word, AWESOME! Capt. Chris and Brandon were fantastic. They were super attentive and helped with anything needed. Brandon switched gear for us and got us prepped for the dives. Easy to get to the dock and plenty of parking...literally right next to the boat. Great knowledge of where to dive...I highly recommend. The reefs are unreal...just beautiful. Easy shallow diving. The only suggestion I have is that they wrap the ladder with some sort of non-slip neoprene or something to help hang on....

Response from Host

Nov 2022

Thank you for the awesome review and for sharing your great experience with us! We are so happy you were able to enjoy our beautiful reefs on your dives and that the crew helped make it an even better experience!

Steven G

Sep 2022

Hello everyone! Well where do I begin? I’m a 54 yo Divemaster. I stopped logging my dives after about 500 but I’d guess I’m logging somewhere near 1000 dives worldwide personally. I’ve worked as a guide and divemaster on the shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina which can be some of the most challenging sport diving in the world. I’ve experienced about every condition the ocean offers short of diving in a hurricane. My fellow divers, except for my girlfriend, who was new, have about 35 years of diving experience worldwide and over 1000 dives with cave certification and extensive wreck experience including multiple trips to Truk Lagoon! This is absolutely not meant to be boastful but to give you a bit of background about us and where I’m coming from because it’s important. Now here’s my review: I have dove the Florida Keys for 20 years from Key Largo to Key West, but mainly Key Largo and initially had awesome experiences beginning back in the early 2000’s. I used the dive operation who is now Pirate’s Cove. It was a wonderful experience and I returned frequently. I got to know the previous owners and kept in touch for awhile but you know how life gets in the way. Eventually the PADI 5 star shop was sold and we lost touch. My girlfriend just got certified to dive and my friends and I wanted the best experience possible for her first real experience in the ocean. Our group had gone to Cozumel, Roatan, Curaçao, and Grand Cayman lately so I thought Key Largo offers shallow reefs, short boat rides and generally great conditions for novice or beginner divers! So we booked our trip! Unfortunately, Pirate Island Divers had been sold and now the operation was Pirate Cove Divers. Nevertheless, I had high hopes. The resort owners no longer offered a package deal through the dive shop per the resort so we booked our reservations and hotel stay separately. Upon arriving at the resort, we went to the dive shop. As soon as we walked in, we were asked to fill out a waiver absolving the operation from any responsibility. They asked to see our certification cards but never inquired about our experience, number of logged dives, time since our last dive, history of diving in this area, or about any issues or medical conditions that may affect our experience nor any special needs we may have (a brand new diver who has never dove off a boat in the open ocean). We offered that information finally after never being asked. We were just told to show up the next day at 0830. They said we had booked a guide. I didn’t book the trip so everyone asked me if the guide was necessary and I said for these dives, probably not so we declined the guide. In the meantime, the dive shop employee got a phone call. The caller was inquiring if the operation offered shark dives for a group. Her response was, “Every dive is a shark dive! The ocean is full of them!” Obviously the caller said thank you and ended the call. This spoke volumes to me immediately. Her tone and treatment of the caller was not only rude, it was demeaning, sarcastic, and unprofessional. Afterwards, she announced to everyone in the shop how stupid the caller was to ask such a dumb question. Now you and I both know what that caller was asking. Perhaps, “No sir or ma’am, we don’t offer that activity, but let me put you in touch with an operation who does do that. Call them and they can take it from there. Thanks for calling, and if you find yourself in need of any water sport activities here in Key Largo, please consider us at Pirate’s Cove.” Please tell me what is wrong with that? Stuart’s Cove in the Bahamas offers a wide variety of shark diving. That would have been a nice referral. On day one we showed up at 0830 and were invited on the boat. There were at least 25 divers, a number of snorkelers, a captain, a mate, and a divemaster. 15 of the divers were open water kids getting their certification. When it was time to get on the boat there was no organization. We were spread out amongst the throng of divers. I don’t care much about boat amenities, but I do like to set up next to my buddy so we can check gear, etc. Nope, none of that. Conditions were marginal. 20-30 ft visibility on day one with a slight current and visibility dropping to 10 ft by the second dive. Not the best the Keys has to offer but hey, you get what you get. On day two, we have a bunch of snorkelers! Fortunately we are the only divers. Things are much less chaotic…until we get to the dive site. It’s Key Largo Dry Rocks. I’m preoccupied with my new diver going over gear and the plan. The other two in our party suit up and enter the water. I’m taking my diver down the mooring line to control descent and ear equalization. As I’m getting ready to giant stride into the water, the captain walks up to me and says, “Keep an eye on that current, it’s moving”, or something to that effect. Now this is just my opinion, but throughout 40 years of diving, once arriving at the dive site, both the captain and the divemaster assess the conditions (current, visibility, other dive boats, weather) and they consider that info given the group they have. Nope, not today. We got a brief on the site and where the Christ of the Abyss statue was but nothing on visibility or current until I’m getting into the water. Well that information was pretty evident about the time I hit the water. Now compared to North Carolina, this is nothing, but for your first time in the ocean, yeah, not so good. At that point, I decided this may just be an exercise on getting on/off the boat for my new diver plus I looked down and the visibility was about 10 ft. So…off the boat my diver comes and yep, you got it, she doesn’t feel comfortable. I’m trying to get her to the mooring line and she’s trying to communicate to me her BC needs adjusting, but every time she gets the reg out to talk she gets hit in the face with a swell. I’m trying to decide if I can get her underwater, then it might be more calm and I can adjust her gear and perhaps get out of the current. Nope, we submerged about 10 feet and the sea fans are leaning over so there’s current everywhere which is not surprising since the depth is only about 20 feet. No guide can control that! Meanwhile our other couple gets swept away in the current and within a few min they are 100+ yards away from the boat and signaling for assistance as they can’t overcome the current to get back. Unfortunately, our crew isn’t paying attention and another dive boat on site had to signal them to get their attention. I got my diver back on the boat and the other couple got the assistance they needed. Once on the boat the divemaster announces to the captain, “These people need a guide! They don’t know what they’re doing! Who’s the idiot that cancelled their guide?” At this point, the divemaster and captain decide NOW that this may not be too good for the snorkelers and perhaps another site would be more appropriate. In addition, the divemaster announces that we cannot dive any more today regardless. She did not address us, in fact she didn’t explain anything, give any reasoning behind her decision and ignored us for the remainder of the trip. We proceeded to two more sites where the conditions were improved and we watched the snorkelers tread water, keep swimming back to the boat as they drifted away, and see essentially nothing as the vis was nil. No one can control conditions, but you sure can pre-empt issues by being proactive, professional, and courteous. The captain did apologize to us and I appreciate his honesty and his humility. During my experience, I never had anyone take my fins to get on the boat. There wasn’t even anyone there at the top of the ladder any time. I never had any offer to help with gear, weights, or tank switch overs between dives. Not that I care or need any of that, but some divers feel for the price, that should be an included amenity. Lastly, each time out and back everyone gets a lecture about how to rate on Trip Advisor. You are told to rate them 5 stars and if you don’t want to give a 5 star rating, give them one anyway and take your issues up with management. Now I may be mistaken, but doesn’t that undermine the whole reason for a rating system to begin with? No one can predict the ocean conditions. That’s no fault of anyone. My issue is that I don’t come to work. I expect there to be an assessment of the conditions on site, an evaluation of the situation, and base your dive site/plan on the least experienced person in the group—period. In my opinion, based on that, you choose another site and re evaluate it. My friends did not need to be alienated, insulted, or chastised. They were here to celebrate a new diver experiencing the ocean for the first time. In summary, Pirate’s Cove is a water sports operation. Let’s just hope they do a better job with their other sports in safety, attention to detail, and professionalism than they do with scuba diving.

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Half Day Scuba Diving Trip in the Florida Keys

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