Lauderdale by the Sea

Went to Lauderdale by the Sea to dive. My impressions was that it was really a bit overrated. Dove both first and second reef as shore dives, plus several boat dives. Reef is nothing like Mexico (or other places farther south) -- fewer fish, most coral is brown coral, vis for shore dives was maybe 30' on second reef, 15' on first. To be fair, we did the shore dives in the afternoon after boat diving so the water was more churned up than it might have been in the morning. Did see 1 nurse shark and an eel on the shore dives, but that's about it (besides some reef fish). Note that the shore dive depth is also only about 12' on the first reef, and maybe 20' on the second. If you are spending the money to fly to Lauderdale to dive and stay, do yourself a favor and go to the Riviera Maya south of Cancun instead. The cost of a decent all-inclusive there is roughly the same or less than paying full price for everything in South Florida, and you get world class diving rather than the over-hyped stuff you get in Florida. You can also easily take a $17.00 ferry ride to Cozumel from the Riviera Maya and dive in Cozumel for cheaper than it costs to go (boat diving) in Florida . . . Email me if you want any info, we go there all the time -- mmbane(at)indy.rr(dot)com.