The center of the Florida Keys, the Diving Capital of North America, is Key Largo—home to one of the country’s most award-winning dive centers. Horizon Divers, operating with the same ownership for more than 18 years, ranked as the No. 1 dive operator in Key Largo and No. 3 overall in the country for Best Facilities. Horizon also won second place in the country for Best Quality of Dive Boats and was in the top five for Best Safety.

Wreck diving is one of the biggest attractions in Key Largo, drawing in recreational and technical divers alike. Horizon Divers is the only local operator to offer what it calls a “double dip” on the wrecks. For recreational divers, this is two dives on the same wreck, giving you more bottom time to explore these legendary sites. For technical divers, it’s the chance to do one long, extended dive on a site such as the Spiegel Grove, 510 feet long with four penetrable decks.

Beyond the metal, Key Largo delivers big on coral thanks to its location in the heart of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Here you’ll dive spur-and-groove reef systems, where sightings of green turtles, nurse sharks, stingrays and schools of French grunts are common. Because Horizon Divers is on the northern end of Key Largo, it provides a greater range of reef and wreck sites, including a handful of sites belonging to the Iconic Reef System, the newest project of the National Marine Sanctuary. Outplantings of elkhorn and staghorn corals are helping these reefs return to a flourishing state.

On wrecks and reefs, Horizon lets you dive to your certification and comfort level. This is possible thanks to a detail-oriented and incredibly safety-conscious staff—just bring your C-cards and logbooks to determine what bottom time is best for you. So long as you have the right equipment and don’t violate your dive computer, you’re welcome to dive to your ability, including solo diving.

Safety is incredibly important here. Horizon Divers runs training drills every few weeks to keep dive staff current on best practices. In fact, the owner recently completed his EMT training to provide another layer to the organization and allow him to pass on more knowledge to the team. This dive center invests in its staff, the core of which have been with Horizon for more than four years each. The boat captain has been with Horizon for 16 years and the lead instructor for nine. They bring expert knowledge on every site for every ability.

Both the clean safety record and the flexibility in allowing divers to dive to their ability are two of the biggest reasons that more than two-thirds of customers are repeaters. Some visit just once a year, others several times a year to take advantage of great diving so close to home. Returning also helps you take advantage of Horizon Divers’ punch-card system, which never expires. Buying a package of three dives nets a 15% discount. Buying a package of five dives can be had for the cost of four. The more dives in the package, the greater the discount.

Horizon Divers has a fleet of three dive boats and will run a trip for as few as four divers. Dive trips run every day, weather permitting.

Regular dive boats also make dive instruction that much easier. Horizon Divers offers class levels from PADI Open Water Diver—which takes just three days if you complete an e-learning portion at home—all the way to instructor. Technical instruction is available, including Advanced Wreck Diver, Advanced Nitrox Diver, Trimix Diver, rebreather diving, and a long list of additional technical instruction.

As a boutique dive center, Horizon Divers is also able to offer classes where the student-to-instructor ratio is no more than 4-to-1. With technical classes, that ratio more often is 1-to-1. The PADI IDC is offered about six times a year; however, it is also available by request with advance notice. Regardless of level, all classes include personalized instruction so that you can take your time as needed.

Add it all up and it’s easy to see why this magazine’s readers rated Horizon Divers as the best dive center in Key Largo. It’s the sort of place you have to experience for yourself—then you’ll quickly see why you’re diving with a boat full of guests who again and again choose Horizon Divers.

2023 Readers Choice Awards®

Horizon Divers placed in five categories for the U.S. and Canada region, including Quality of Dive Boats, Attention to Safety, Quality of Staff and Quality of Facilities.

Contact Info

horizondivers.com

800-984-3483

[email protected]