Key Largo is considered the
diving capital of the world. It is the northern island of
Florida Keys islands chain. Key Largo is famous for having
the largest artificial reef in the world, the 510-foot USS
Spiegel Grove. Beside artificial reefs it offers both
shallow reefs and deep wrecks diving, which attracts divers
and adventure seekers. Key Largo's magnificent coral reefs
are not far from the shore, which makes it easy to enjoy the
beauty of its
underwater life including jawfish, black
grouper, barracuda, morays, nurse sharks and many more.
Always dive according to your level of training.
Never enter the water without checking with
Key Largo dive
centers for safety, additional information, level required
for each dive site and without being accompanied by a
professional.
All the information provided is purely informative for our
readers and shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Average annual temperature: Between 26°C and 30°C. (77° F
and 86° F) Average Water surface temperature: Between 21° C and 30° C
(70°F and 86°F) Visibility often averaging: Visibility is between 40 and 100
feet (12 to 30 meters) Coldest time: February Warmest time: July Possible to dive all year round.
The diversity of Key Largo's dive sites is what makes it a
unique diving destination. Key Largo has more than 100
beautiful dive sites that attract divers of all diving
skills. Key Largo's shallow reefs allow beginners to observe
underwater life and give them the chance to study the
abundance of Caribbean species. For advanced divers Key
Largo diving offers deep wrecks diving with depth ranging
from 60 to 140 feet (18 to 43 meters). Underwater visibility
here is outstanding in the Florida Keys and it is great for
underwater photography.
Some of Key Largo dive sites are:
Benwood Wreck was a 285-foot (87 meters) ship sank in the
year 1942. Now its remains lies in 30 - 55 feet (9 - 17
meters) of water. This dive site is great for night dives.
It became home to abundant sea life like goatfish, grunts,
moray eels and glassy sweepers as well as snapper, lobster,
grouper and hogfish. Also many kinds of corals grew in this
area including brain and fire coral.
Carysfort Lighthouse is a site for snorkeling. A 112 foot
(34 meters) tall lighthouse forms this reef. It is
surrounded by 13 mooring buoys all marking beautiful dive
spots. The coral structure here is well developed and you
will enjoy seeing beautiful elkhorn, staghorn, brain, and
sheet corals growing.
Christ of the Abyss is a bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ at
a depth of 25 - 60 feet (8 - 18 meters). The Underwater
Society of America donated the statue to the Florida State
Park Service to form this beautiful reef. This shallow dive
site is favorable by both divers and snorkelers as well.
Large spotted eagle rays and southern stingrays inhabit the
area and beautiful structures of groove and brain corals
form the reef.
City of Washington is a 20 - 25 feet (6 - 8 meters) deep
site. It is one of the most popular dive spots on Elbow
Reef. This wreck is a great spot for snorkeling and night
dives. You may spot many kinds of tropical fish including
many parrotfish, grunts, snappers, barracuda, morays, and
nurse shark hang out in the area.
Elbow Reef is a beautiful reef that grew around some old
shipwrecks. Some of these wrecks are under the water for
over 100 years. It is 20 - 55 feet (6 - 17 meters) deep and
home to large amounts of sea creatures like beautiful
elkhorn, schools of snapper, porkfish, goatfish, angelfish,
and butterfly fish.
French Reef is the most spectacular reef in Key Largo area
with dozens of ledges, tunnels, and caves. It is located on
the northeast of Molasses Reef limestone. French reef's
tunnels and caves are home to many kinds of corals,
yellowtails, porkfish, moray eels, cooper sweepers and
grunts. This reef is a great spot for underwater
photography; you may want to take an underwater light with
you to explore its beautiful structure. Depths range from 15
- 100 feet (5 - 30 meters).
Grecian Rocks is a popular reef for snorkeling. It is 3/4 of
a mile south-southwest of the Christ of the Deep and it is
in 10 - 25 feet (3 - 8 meters) of water. Mooring Buoys
outline the snorkeling area in the shape of "G". You can see
large amounts of tropical fish and elkhorn corals as well as
queen conch seen on the white sand plateau that forms the
reef.
Mike's Wreck is a sunken ship now resting on Elbow Reef. It
is a great spot for underwater photography. The visibility
in the area is very good and you can see abundant sea life.
Beautiful elkhorn, brain and star coral as well as sea fans
grow in the area and you will see parrotfish, jacks,
filefish, grunts, and barracuda. Sometimes you will see
rays, nurse sharks, morays, lobster and sea turtles. Mike's
Wreck is 20 - 25 feet (6 - 8 meters) deep.
Molasses Reef is a complex reef with the depth ranging from
15 to 40 feet (5 to 12 meters). The reef attracts divers
with its hard and soft corals formations. The current in
Molasses Reef makes it a great spot for drift diving. The
drop off rang in the reef starts from 50 to 60 (15 to 18
meters) and can extend to the 70-100 (21 to 30 meters) foot
range. Some of Molasses Reef famous spots are Spanish Anchor
Winch Hole, Fire Coral Caves and Hole in the Wall. The
reef's caves are home to massive brain coral, star coral,
and other large barrier corals as well as lobsters, crabs,
moray eels, parrot fish, turtles and sometimes nurse sharks
Spiegel Grove is a sunken ship, now part of Key Largo's
artificial reef program, at a depth of 80 - 130 feet (24 -
40 meters). Algae, sponges and coral and more than 130
species of fish including goliath grouper, barracuda, large
jacks, and a large colony of gobies inhabit the area. You
may use multi-level diving techniques to explore this
massive vessel.
Turtle Reef, also know as Turtle Rocks, is on the northern
edge of the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary. It is at a
depth of 20 - 25 feet (6 - 8 meters). Most of Key Largo's
underwater creatures are seen here including eagle rays,
plenty of nurse sharks, and moray. This site is good for
shallow diving and visibility is usually great.
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