Florida Keys & Key West

Dive for Less at Rainbow Reef

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Tropical Odyssey Dive Boat

Rainbow Reef Dive Center

Tropical Odyssey Dive Boat

As a full-service, PADI 5 Star Dive and Career Development Center, Rainbow Reef Dive Center offers an array of premium services from training courses of all levels, new training center with a 12 foot pool, all the latest dive gear in it’s newly renovated retail center, to guided dives on Key Largo’s top dive sites.

Courses include anything from open water certification, advanced open water, refresher classes to all specialties like nitrox, deep diver, wreck diver, drift diver, digital photography, side-mount, Tec-40, re-breather courses, instructor training and more. Classes are offered seven days a week, reservations are required. Most courses will have no more than four students to a class, instruction is personalized to meet the needs of each diver.

A customized fleet of five dive boats comfortably accommodate all sizes of dive groups and individuals. Boats range in size from a 30-foot island hopper taking no more than 10 divers to one of the 46-foot Newtons with amenities like tanks, weights, and warm water showers. All boats feature top-of-the-line engines for shorter rides to the reefs, higher rails to allow divers to spread out on the boat, and wider aisles for maximum enjoyment and comfort.

Every dive is guided with no more than four to six divers per guide for a personalized tour of the reefs and wrecks. Additional amenities would include bottles of water and cookies after each dive.

Rainbow Reef Dive Center is also conveniently located next to The Courtyard Marriott Key Largo, and offers discounted stays when booking your dive trip. The Courtyard features 91 newly renovated rooms and deluxe suites, each with a private balcony and dramatic view. The marina’s waterfront location offers easy access to everything in Key Largo. For more information on the hotel, visit Marriott.com/MTHCY.

For limited time, book 3 nights at the Courtyard Marriott Key Largo and get the 4th night free* when diving with Rainbow Reef! 

*Offer is based on availability and valid for new bookings only. Blackout dates may apply.

Package Validity – Start Date Feb 1st, 2016

Package Validity – End Date Jun 30th, 2016

Travel must be booked by May 31st, 2016

Website www.rainbowreef.us

Booking Email Address divers@rainbowreef.us

Booking Telephone 800-457-4354

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Dive Key Largo’s U.S.S. Spiegel Grove

Florida Keys & Key West, Florida Keys Wreck Trek, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, United States And Canada, UW Photography, Wrecks /

The breathtakingly enormous Spiegel Grove — nearly two football fields long — is the “grande dame” of Key Largo wrecks. As you descend on the 510-foot Grove, you get a dreamlike view of a wreck that appears to be cruising in the deep blue ocean depths, and in that moment, you know this will be a special dive.

If you’ve come to Key Largo to dive, you’ve come to the right place. The beauty of this dive destination is its easy access to island living and 70 underwater sites. As the dive capital of the world, Key Largo has an abundance of colorful reefs and is a wreck mecca for divers of all levels.

But it’s the Spiegel Grove — a former Landing Ship Dock — that anchors Key Largo’s reputation as a wreck lover’s paradise and captures divers’ imaginations. She’s an Everest of sorts — not a wreck whose entirety can be experienced all at once. Instead, navigate a section per dive, starting with the top deck. Toward the stern, midnight parrotfish patrol the former helicopter landing pad, gun turrets and two crane arms. Take your time, then fin back to the wheelhouse, shrouded by schooling fish. You’ll gain just enough of an understanding of Spiegel Grove’s layout to plan dive two — perhaps the first of many return visits.

Sunk in June 2002, the Grove’s original battleship-gray paint job has given way to a furry coat of corals and marine-life growth. Barracuda, horse-eye jacks and silversides make her their home base.

Offshore, Key Largo has quick access to shallow, beginner-friendly reefs and wrecks like S.S. Benwood. It’s also home to the nation’s first underwater state park, John Pennekamp State Park, as well as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary where you can snorkel alongside the Christ of the Deep statue.

The U.S.S. Spiegel Grove is one of 12 wrecks in the Wreck Trek program. Click here for more details on how to become a Florida Keys Wreck Treker. Browse our list of dive operators below to book your next trip.

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