Scuba Diving in Daytona Beach, FL
The Atlantic Coast of Florida has long been a favored destination for SCUBA diving and the areas around Central Florida are no exception. Visitors to Daytona Beach can take advantage of a number of different kinds of diving here, and there are also plenty of dive centers located in the vicinity that organize dives, rent equipment, and certify and train those who are inexperienced in the sport.
Because the weather is so pleasant in the Daytona area year around, diving is possible all year, with some exceptions caused by extreme weather or other factors. What you see underwater will largely depend on where you’re diving. In Central Florida, there’s plenty of reef and wreck diving as well as spring diving so divers can enjoy a different experience each time they head out to sea.
Dive shops conduct frequent trips to some of the best spots in the area where guests are sure to experience the most diverse underwater life.
Wreck Diving
- Rio Yuna Ship – This wreck was purchased from a salvage company in the Dominican Republic and sunk in 1995. It is a very popular dive site for the dive centers in the area as it is easy to swim through and a popular place for spearfishing. It sits at 80 feet of salt water (FSW).
- USS Mindanao – Located about 11 miles from Ponce Inlet, the USS Mindanao was once a repair ship that served in the South Pacific during World War II. The ship was damaged, repaired, then eventually decommissioned in 1946 and kept in mothballs until 1962. It was sunk in the Atlantic and now sits 60 feet below the surface. It’s also a popular spearfishing locale. Divers can spot bait fish, tomato grunts, mangrove snapper, and some encrusting sponges here among the remains of the USS Mindanao.
- Semarca – The Semarca, a 76-foot utility vessel, originally sank in a storm off Venezuela and was then raised and brought to Florida to be sunk as an artificial reef. Grouper and snapper are commonplace around this wreck and it’s often used for night dives. It also sits at 80FSW.
Spring Diving
Springs are bodies of water that bubble straight up from the ground. They provide pure, clean water in which you can go diving and there are hundreds of them throughout Florida, including central Florida. They’re also a great place to dive because the temperature remains constant around 72 degrees all year long. Furthermore, many can be explored as deep as about 200 feet. They’re also great for snorkeling and because many are ensconced in state parks, they are easily accessible. Some common spring dive sites in the Daytona area include:
· Blue Spring – Situated in Volusia County, Blue Spring is best known for its manatee migration during the winter months. A number of caves can be explored at various depths though restrictions apply. Camping is available at the state park in which Blue Spring is located.
· DeLeon Springs – This is a common site for instructional diving and many of the dive centers use the DeLeon Springs, which flow into nearby Lake Woodruff Wildlife Refuge. Depths near the center are about 25 feet.
Several other springs are located within about an hour’s drive of Daytona Beach and are often visited via organized dive trips from the Daytona area.
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