Troy, Ginnie, or Manatee Springs; which for OW

[firehawk335]

Hi all,
I'm kinda new to the board and am interested in getting into cave. Right now I'm just OW certified with ~75 dives. I am planning a trip to crystal river to swim with the manatees and thought it might be a good time to see what some of the springs are like. Since I will not be penetrating the cave systems which area would I be able to get 2 good dives in and not get bored. I also have family that will be with me that will be only snokeling so if they will enjoy the area too that will be a +.

Thanks,
-Chip

[Moonfuzzy]

This list may be helpful to you, although it is written more for cavern dives:
http://www.cavediver.net/archives/index.html

Devil's Den in Williston may be a good option. They only allow 'open water', but it is inside an air-filled cavern. Very neat experiance.

Ginnie Springs has limited open water areas, but lots of spring runs etc. and is a good place for above water activities too.

Manatee Park is great too. You can dive Catfish hotel, or the spring head, and they are close to each other. The park is pretty nice.

[ARY]

I would second on Manatee spring:
- closer to crystal river
- plenty of fish this time of the year in headspring-good snorkeling
- nice OW cavern Catfish Hotel
- state park, inexpensive
- nice boardwalk and trails for family and taking pics
- less swimmers this time of the year

drawbacks:
- no airfill station nearby, have your two tanks w/you
- teaks may be a problem (too much dear/pig in woods)

[skip]

I like Rainbow River for a nice family snorkel and dive. The folks at Crystal River (manatee's) should be able to hook you up with a boat ride up rainbow river and a very nice drift downstream. Great for those who snorkel, for those who want to sit on a boat, and for the scuba divers too. nice state park for picnic's if someone would rather wait for you to return. Very scenic. And it's just a few miles from crystal river (usually the same folks that take you on the manatee trip can schedule the rainbow river trip too.

-skip

[firehawk335]

Thanks all !!
The tentative plan is Crystal River manatee with Birds Underwater and then Dive/Snorkel/Float Rainbow river on a saturday. (Is it necessary to take a charter for Rainbow or can this be done by yourself; we'll have 2 cars) Then camp and make a couple dives at a spring on Sunday, then drive home to Mississippi. I've done Vortex once, and was thinking of some further away this time since we'll be that way.

Thanks,
-C

[Walter Pickel]

If you are interested, my site allows you to sort systems based on available diving.

If you follow this link - http://www.tampadiving.com/sections/...ems.asp?sort=5 you will sort the list by systems with OW diving.

Hope this helps...

[Me]

You can rent a canoe(s) at KP Hole on the Rainbow River. We did that a few years ago. We paddled up to the preserve and then did scuba back while towing the canoe with a dive flag mounted in it. You could do the same thing while snorkeling.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/rai...arkSummary.cfm

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/05/We...to_inner.shtml

[skip]

Bird's also has the rainbow river trip by pontoon boat in case you want to take dive gear (canoe is a bit tricky depending on how many people). The pontoon boat stays with your group/family, so anyone can climb out, rest, warm up, eat, get back in the water, etc. You can also rent an aluminum pram with dive flag and tie off to it, but controlling the thing as you drift back to KP can be a chore. of course then you tow it, launch it, return it too and for the money I like having the larger pontoon with a captain taking care of things topside.

-skip