Have you ever pet a fish, plucked a lobster from the bottom of the sea, watched a dolphin glide overhead or visited a sunken ship? It's an adventure you'll never forget and Ocean Reef wants to let you in on a little secret. Destin is one of the best dive destinations in the nation! Due to our unique geographic location, deep sea diving is only minutes away from Destin's East Pass, approximately three miles out into the Gulf. A fantastic natural reef is carved out of limestone, it's ledges covered with coral and sponge. The reef varies in size from two to over ten feet in height. The total water depth here ranges from 75 to 110 linear feet from the surface. Beautiful whole sea shells cover the sea floor where two varieties of delicious lobsters stroll around. The reef attracts such a huge abundance of tropical fish that they sometimes appear in what looks like rainbow colored clouds. Unlike the Atlantic, water clarity here along the Emerald Coast on the Gulf of Mexico is outstanding. In addition, the water temperatures in the Summer hits a comfortable and tropical 80 degrees.

Besides the natural reef in Destin, a man made artificial reef is located nearby in water depths at sixty to over 100 feet down. This is where a lot of experienced divers go to explore old ship wrecks that have been placed here to attract bait fish, which in turn attracts large trophy fish. There are four Navy vessels here including a Liberty ship, as well as an old tug boat, some airplanes and even parts of the original Destin Bridge! These wrecks and ruins provide mysterious, magnificent underwater scenery. Again, clouds of fish may be seen in all sizes from small tropical beauties to large game fish. The reef attracts the Amberjack, Cobia, Flounder, Grouper and Snapper that helped name Destin, "the luckiest fishing village in the world." Dolphin pods and Logger head turtles can also be seen circling around or floating by.

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Diving on 30A

So, what’s it like scuba diving on 30A? We sat down with local diver Walt Hartley, owner of Dive30A in Grayton Beach, to get the underwater details!

Closer onto the shore at East Pass are the Destin jetties. This is considered "Beach Diving" with depths up to fifty feet down. The rock jetties extend out into the Gulf and are made with natural stone. There are lots of shells here too along with the tropical fish and again large game fish. You may also find Rock Crab here and of course watch the dolphins swim by. They are usually either coming into the Choctawhatchee Bay or swimming out into the Gulf. Snorkeling is very popular here too since the depth of water on the rock jetties starts out with only a foot down from the surface edge. You can take some great underwater photos here and at the other reefs due to the crystal, swimming pool clear, emerald colored Gulf.

For beginners as well as experienced, certified divers, there are a few local outfits that provide charter boats, equipment and even instruction so that you may enjoy this wonderful sport. One of the best is Scuba Tech of NW Florida, Inc. in Destin. They have a professional, certified crew and a forty-five foot dive boat called The Cobra. This spacious craft has a covered dive deck, multiple stair platforms and a comfortable passenger cabin which is heated during the Winters. Scuba Tech has packages that start at $30 for 2.5 hours of snorkeling on the Destin jetties for adults, with kids under 12 at $25. The crew will take you to one deep sea dive site for about 2 hours charging $65. A full four to five hour dive trip to two deep sea reefs, including the one with the sunken ships, costs $80. Professional instruction for beginners includes one hour of class time before departing to the Destin jetties, allowing another four to five hours of dive time for $110. Free on line dive course material for learners is available via scubatechnwfl.com.

Another dive shop in Destin, Emerald Coast Scuba, also provides charter day trips and even some exciting night dives, if you are an adrenaline addict. Their rates are also $80 for around four hours during the day, (that would certainly be MY preference!), or the same rate for about three hours at night. You can visit them online at divedestin.net.

Discovery Dive World is another center in Valparaiso, FL which is just across the bay near Ft. Walton Beach. This place is one stop shopping for all of your diving equipment needs, including wet suits, fins, tanks, weights, masks and, (in other words), the whole works!  They are also able to make repairs for you on your own equipment, if need be. Discovery Dive World prides itself upon having all state of the art diving apparatus and apparel. Information on dive instruction and private charters is available at discoverydiveworld.com.

Besides deep sea diving, we are fortunate to also be located near "one of the best and safest fresh water diving destinations in the U.S." per Southern Diver magazine. A rare jewel of a place is called Vortex Springs which is only about one hour away, off Hwy 81 just north of Interstate 10 near Ponce de Leon, FL.  This public state park resembles a private resort in that you will not believe what special natural amenities await you for a reasonable amount of money. The natural spring pours out 28,000,000 gallons of crystal clear water each day, with a year round temperature of 68 degrees. The water goes down almost sixty feet and you can see all the way to the bottom. The ledges of the spring have been tamed with flat ledge rock sides and adjoining patios with pool ladders going down into the water. Picnic tables are available in the surrounding, forested glens. Many come to Vortex Springs just to snorkel here but it has a special surprise that attracts experienced divers from as far away as Alaska. The limestone edges cascade down to an entrance that is as big as a garage door. This leads into the cavern which meanders about 100 yards inside and up to 115 feet in depth. There is a white sandy bottom with lots of different freshwater fish, many record breaking in size, including the rare "Shadow Bass." Inside the cavern, bubbles spiral up from the clear, sandy bottom where the spring begins. This makes you think you have shrunk into a  manmade aquarium as the strings of bubbles make their way to the surface with an ethereal, tinkling, piano-like sound! Vortex Springs is also known as "the Mecca of dive training." On site certified trainers provide instruction for one day's superior, learning adventure for only $60. The cost includes your wet suit, mask, snorkel, hood, gloves, fins, weight belt, tank and regulator. For experienced divers who already have all of their own equipment a regular day pass to the park costs only $19.

No matter where you plan to explore in Destin and along the Emerald Coast, Ocean Reef Resorts is here to make sure that when you do arrive back to your home away from home, the comfortable accommodations will provide welcome rest.