Southpoint Divers
Southpoint Divers
4.5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Full view
About
Key West's Premier Dive Operation running daily trips to the Vandenberg, the world's 2nd largest wreck dive, and 3rd largest barrier reef. Our Dive Shop is a Certified ScubaPro Platinum dealer and carries everything you need for a great dive.
Key West, Florida
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
600 reviews
Excellent
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49
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30
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Stephanie C
12 contributions
Jul 2020
My experience with Southpoint Divers is on the retail side. I purchased an entire scuba kit including BCD, regulator, octo, and fins. I love my gear but, even more so, I was impressed with the customer service I received - Zach is fabulous! I worked with Zach over the course of a month: pricing out the pieces, researching the best options, ordering, assembly, endless follow up phone calls and questions, etc. Every step of the way Zach was patient, always available, helpful, and professional.
There was a mixup with my BCD order and he received the wrong one - Zach knew how excited I was to receive my new gear and felt so badly about the mixup that he expedited shipment on the correct BCD at his own personal expense.
I would highly recommend Zach at Southpoint Divers to anyone who is in the market for new scuba gear.
There was a mixup with my BCD order and he received the wrong one - Zach knew how excited I was to receive my new gear and felt so badly about the mixup that he expedited shipment on the correct BCD at his own personal expense.
I would highly recommend Zach at Southpoint Divers to anyone who is in the market for new scuba gear.
Written August 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Scuba555
Los Angeles, CA439 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
We went to dive the Vandenberg Wreck with Southpoint Divers on a Saturday morning. The booking was really easy online through Keywestscubadiving.com; got email and text reminders up to the morning of our trip. The email said to arrive at the shop by 7:30am for the 8am dive, however a sign on the shop’s front door said check-in was 8am to 8:15am. At 8:05am I called and was told someone would be there soon. About 10 minutes later, someone arrived and I was able to check our group in. If I would have known that, I wouldn’t have arrived so early. I was prepared to buy or rent a mask since mine was broken but the dive shop let me use a mask and didn’t charge me which was really kind of them. There’s street parking that’s $4 an hour, so be prepared to pay $20 since the boat doesn’t return until around 12:30pm. The boat is a short walking distance from the shop, it’s behind the Hyatt Centric Hotel. There was only 5 divers total on our boat, so plenty of room. They did place a solo diver with us, but we didn’t mind and ran our dive plan with him beforehand. The boat has a toilet onboard, defogger, shower, cooler filled with ice for your drinks, and water cooler for refills. It’s about a 35 minute boat ride to the dive spot. One our first dive, we took the second mooring line to check out the stern. You only get 17 minutes or when you hit 1000 psi, whichever comes first for safety measures. Did a 45 minute surface interval before our second dive. On the second dive, we took the same mooring line down towards the wheelhouse (super structure) and posed for photos with the Duval sign. When you return to the dock, they have two giant bins of water, one with fresh water and another with desensitizing agent for your scuba gear. They usually have afternoons and a night dive if they have at least 3 divers, or the dive could be cancelled. If you don’t have your advanced or haven’t dived in a while, you can hire a guide for $30 a person. If you leave your car in front of the scuba shop, there are plenty of places to eat and shop within walking distance after your dive. Thomas was the scuba instructor onboard, he was super friendly and helpful. They have an amazing crew who are very knowledgeable!
Written August 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roger B
14 contributions
May 2021
What a wonderful and amazing experience we had with Southpoint Divers!!!
We booked the AM wreck / Vandenberg dive on May 12, and due to another dive shop in Marathon cancelling a different wreck dive, we dove the Vandenderg again with Southpoint on the 13 as well.
So may great things to say... the conditions were excellent both days: calm seas (the calmest we've ever been on), 80+" and 60-70" viz, and the Vandenberg definitely lives up to the hype with things to see at every depth and experience level. Wildlife was abound: Jacks, TONS of Barracuda, Surgeonfish, and a couple Goliath Groupers. Many more that I'm forgetting as well. My girlfriend (and best dive buddy ever IMHO) even saw a Hammerhead at the safety stop on one of the dives.
The crew of the Phoenix was fantastic. We had the same Captain both days, and different boat crews on the 12 and 13. All were superb. They were very attentive to the needs and questions of the divers on board, and were courteous, friendly, and knowledgeable all while being safety first.
We only say a small portion of the Vandenberg, and could (and hopefully will) go back many more times. We will absolutely book with Southpoint Divers when we do.
We booked the AM wreck / Vandenberg dive on May 12, and due to another dive shop in Marathon cancelling a different wreck dive, we dove the Vandenderg again with Southpoint on the 13 as well.
So may great things to say... the conditions were excellent both days: calm seas (the calmest we've ever been on), 80+" and 60-70" viz, and the Vandenberg definitely lives up to the hype with things to see at every depth and experience level. Wildlife was abound: Jacks, TONS of Barracuda, Surgeonfish, and a couple Goliath Groupers. Many more that I'm forgetting as well. My girlfriend (and best dive buddy ever IMHO) even saw a Hammerhead at the safety stop on one of the dives.
The crew of the Phoenix was fantastic. We had the same Captain both days, and different boat crews on the 12 and 13. All were superb. They were very attentive to the needs and questions of the divers on board, and were courteous, friendly, and knowledgeable all while being safety first.
We only say a small portion of the Vandenberg, and could (and hopefully will) go back many more times. We will absolutely book with Southpoint Divers when we do.
Written May 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark S
3 contributions
Nov 2020
Overall a good experience with Southpoint. Shop manager Zach was accomodating and communicative pre arrival. Scheduled to Dive Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday (November 21, 22, and 24) while my daughter completed her Open Water Certification. Received a call on Friday afternoon around 1pm, Saturday dives were cancelled due to conditions (wind/waves). Appreciated the heads up and were able to plan other activities for the day! Check in process on Sunday was ok, the shop is small and quite a few divers trying to get checked in, short walk across the road to the boat docked at the Hyatt, then lined up to get equipment. Boat was full and crew did a good job at getting everyone ready to go. Left a bit late, 40 minute ride to dive site, and into the water. Seas were still pretty rough, visibility was eh, but bottom time of an hour made up for it (Shallow site, max depth 30 feet). Short move to next site, again limited visibility and shallow dive. Similar experience with loading on Tuesday but conditions had worsened. Windy, Whitecaps and rollers! Crew was helpful and accomodating...lot's of sea sick customers....Conditions made for a couple of tough dives, limited visibility, and late return. My daughter completed her certification, my wife and I were able to get some bottom time, and enjoyed our first Keys dive experience-despite the conditions/visibility. Shout out again to Kyle and Zach. Thanks
Written November 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Congratulation to your daughter for completing here open water certification. It’s not always tough conditions but we try to make the best of it when it is. Please come back and see us!
Written January 9, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Roderick G
2 contributions
Dec 2020 • Couples
If you have international and advanced dive experience don’t come here. A two tank dive for 175$ with each a total dive time of 25min ( including entrance and deco stop) is an absolute rip off (Depth was not the reason). “It’s the Algorithm “ was the explanation with no dive tables to back the reasoning.
The guides herd you around in a militant way, giving even us experienced dive masters no space.
The wreck is not anything special (No coral and little marine life) and with the given regime, we couldn’t explore it anyway.
The Captain was obviously proud to recite his briefings in verse form, but in such a speed and tone that no one understood anything.
The company does well with beginners who have little expectations.
The guides herd you around in a militant way, giving even us experienced dive masters no space.
The wreck is not anything special (No coral and little marine life) and with the given regime, we couldn’t explore it anyway.
The Captain was obviously proud to recite his briefings in verse form, but in such a speed and tone that no one understood anything.
The company does well with beginners who have little expectations.
Written December 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are sorry to hear you did not enjoy your time with us. I’ll explained the reasoning for the dive profile that we us. We typically do 2 dives to 100ft on the Vandenberg on our morning charter, if you were to attempt to do this dive using dive table you would find that it is not possible without going into deco which we want to avoid when recreational scuba diving. This is why we require everyone to have a dive computer. If you run a dive table and did a 17 minute bottom time at 100ft then a 45 minute surface interval you would only be able to do a 10 minute dive for dive 2 at 100ft. This is because when using dive tables you assume you are at 1 depth the entire time. If you you were to run plan mode on a dive computer you would find that depending on your model you would have about 17 minutes at 100 feet and with a 45 minute surface interval you would find that most computers will give you the same amount of time on dive two. The exception to this is Suunto computers which will actually be more conservative than most computers giving you about 12 minutes on dive 2 to 100ft. Dive computers will adjust your NDL or no decompression limit based on the depth you’re currently at. This feature is what makes diving this dive twice possible. This may be a surprise but even with this profile occasionally people don’t pay attention to their dive computers end end up having to do a deco stop which is what we are tying to avoid. So after a 17 minute bottom time your assent and a 3 minute safety stop your runtime on each dive is 25-28 minutes. This profile has held to be true with the time we have in the morning and for keeping divers safe and out of deco. Here at Southpoint Divers safely is of the utmost importance.
Written January 8, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Benwa52
Ewing, New Jersey73 contributions
Jan 2020
My family and I recently stayed at the Marker Waterfront Resort. My youngest daughter was thrilled that Southpoint offered scuba lessons at the pool. Going scuba diving was one thing that she and I have talked about for the past two years.
We signed up for the pool lesson and the two-dive afternoon excursion. Our instructor John was patient and thorough with both my daughter and I. My last dive was some 30 years ago so I opted to participate in the pool session to refresh my recollection of diving techniques and etiquette. Unfortunately, my daughter did not feel comfortable with the underwater breathing sensation and she opted out of the afternoon dives. John was completely understanding and offered her encouragement for an attempt on another day. Also understanding was the business manager who did not charge us for her dive, even though they could have strictly adhered to the the "no refund" policy contained in the contract.
I elected to proceed with my dives. There were four divers assigned to one diving guide. I was fortunate to have John as my guide. He brought us along at a relaxed pace and periodically stopped to show us sea fauna and activity that we would ahve otherwise missed. He was also careful to monitor us on our comfort level and oxygen supply.
It was great being back in the water blowing bubbles again. It was funny how that long-ago training kicked right back in.
My thanks to John, Scooter (another dive guide who also teaches the pool training program) and Emily, who served as the Dive Master. Captain Dave was instructive and informative and implored us to take care of the crew before we disembarked at the end f the tour.
Great time and great folks.
We signed up for the pool lesson and the two-dive afternoon excursion. Our instructor John was patient and thorough with both my daughter and I. My last dive was some 30 years ago so I opted to participate in the pool session to refresh my recollection of diving techniques and etiquette. Unfortunately, my daughter did not feel comfortable with the underwater breathing sensation and she opted out of the afternoon dives. John was completely understanding and offered her encouragement for an attempt on another day. Also understanding was the business manager who did not charge us for her dive, even though they could have strictly adhered to the the "no refund" policy contained in the contract.
I elected to proceed with my dives. There were four divers assigned to one diving guide. I was fortunate to have John as my guide. He brought us along at a relaxed pace and periodically stopped to show us sea fauna and activity that we would ahve otherwise missed. He was also careful to monitor us on our comfort level and oxygen supply.
It was great being back in the water blowing bubbles again. It was funny how that long-ago training kicked right back in.
My thanks to John, Scooter (another dive guide who also teaches the pool training program) and Emily, who served as the Dive Master. Captain Dave was instructive and informative and implored us to take care of the crew before we disembarked at the end f the tour.
Great time and great folks.
Written January 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eric G
4 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
Great dive shop that is very accommodating to divers of all experience levels. They are also very patient and make sure you enjoy the experience and get to dive. They even offer a snorkel option for your friends and family that want to tag along but don’t scuba dive. Our dive guide Alex was really cool and super friendly. The captain of the dive boat was really funny and has lots of experience. I Highly recommend southpoint divers to everyone wanting to SCUBA dive regardless of experience. The 2 dive day trip was also a good value and we got to see a lot of fish including moray eels and turtles along with many different schools of fish around the coral. In the future I’d like to dive the vandenburg with them and also do some night dives.
Written August 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you! We appreciate you taking the time to give us a review. We hope to see you again and we're so glad you enjoyed the experience!
Written October 29, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bjorn123
Cherry Hill, NJ9 contributions
Jun 2021
I did 2-tank morning dive at Vandenberg wreck on June 9th. There were 12 divers onboard on larger boat so I did not feel crowded. Staff was friendly, informative and helpful. I rented gear, which is in good condition. I was a single, so they provided a guide along with 2 other singles. Overall, I felt very safe and satisfied with the morning dive and highly recommend SouthPoint Divers.
Written June 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! We hope to see you again and we're so glad you enjoyed the experience!
Written October 29, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MCG
1 contribution
Jul 2020 • Couples
We had a great time scuba diving with Arden!! My husband and I did the beginner’s scuba dive and felt very comfortable with our instructor. I felt like Arden gave enough information for our first dive but not too much information. She was relaxed but very specific on what we needed to do. She was very patient with teaching us the basic skills and didn’t make us feel dumb (even though we knew nothing!!). We both felt confident after our pool training session to be okay with diving (this was something we were worried about when we thought about scuba for the first time). Arden gave us plenty of time to practice our skills and I really felt this helped things go as smoothly as possible on our first dive and we were given good feedback for our second dive. I think the best thing about Arden is that we felt safe with her. Sadly my husband wasn’t able to do the second dive due to pressure in one ear while trying to descend but I had an awesome second dive!!! It was so totally incredible to see the reef life! I would definitely recommend South Point Divers and I would definitely recommend diving with Arden! Give scuba diving a try!
Written November 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the review. Arden has been a great addition to our team and I’ll tell here to keep up the good work. Come see us again the next time you make your way to Key West.
Written January 9, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Neil S
Chicago13 contributions
Apr 2021
I did two shallow reef dives which were fun, mainly because of the many different types of fish that could be seen, including barracuda. They were shallow enough that no safety stop was required, so it was good for beginners. The next morning I did a deep dive to the famous Vandenberg wreck, and was very impressed with the professional way that it was set up by the company -- everyone went up and down holding a line, and there was a long line at 15 feet to facilitate the safety stop. They even had an extra air supply at 15 feet in case anyone was low on air. The wreck itself was interesting but there are fewer fish at that depth (albeit they are big) and it is less colorful than a reef.
Written April 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Th0masw137
Brentwood, NY24 contributions
I recently got certified PADI Open Water I’ve done about 10 discover scuba dives before getting certified. So far as a certified diver I have only done 4 dives. Is the morning dive, in your opinion, a reach for me? I know that since I am not advanced Open water certified I will need a guide. Thoughts?
Southpoint Divers
Key West, FL
Hello, It is not a reach. How long ago did you do your last dive? Know that there can be a lot of current on the Vandenberg dive so it is for sure a more advanced dive. What I recommend to people in your shoes is to do our reef dive in the afternoon then the next day go on the Vandenberg (assuming the reef goes well for you).
Chrystie1
Sarasota, FL192 contributions
My husband and I are both AOW certified and dive regularly. We would like to hire the guide for the wreck. Do we each need to pay $30 for the guide per person or is one dive guide fee for both of us? thank you
jbrazau1
Key West, FL8 contributions
It is $30 a person for a guide maximum of 4 people to a guide or you can do a private guide for a $100 and it would be just the two of you. I do highly recommend a guide if it is your first time to the wreck. It is massive with a lot to see, multiple swim thoughs and is much easier done with a guide.
icankmcp
Burlington, VT
My wife and I are about 70. We are both PADI open water certified. She is an open water swimmer competitive at about 10 miles. We have done a lot of dives, but more recently we have been ski instructors, etc. We haven't dived in about 10 years. What would you require for us to go diving?
Southpoint Divers
Key West, FL
We would recommend taking a refresher course with us. This course includes a morning session in a pool and then a two tank dive at the reef in the afternoon. The cost of this course is $195 per person and it includes all gear rentals.
If you have any more questions the number here at the shop is 305-292-9778. Hope to hear from you soon!
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