Don't wait like I did--plan your SCUBA Open Water cert now! They're not joking about the concierge experience, btw. You get amazing service and education at such a reasonable price point. Book with this outfit and never look back. Plus, it's so much easier to get to than the more southern keys. It's hard to overstate the education and value I received from the fine people at Key Dives on the very South end of Upper Matecumbe key. My instructor was Nick C., and I can't say enough great things about the guy. His love for the job, his seemingly bottomless well of patience, and his motivation for teaching exactly what one needs to know in order to enjoy with safety and ease one of the most profound experiences a person will ever have in this life. If I could share that feeling, there'd be a 15-yr waiting list for open water certs. Nick's teaching style efficiently and effectively guided me to know and trust myself and most importantly--my equipment--building the confidence which I found to be crucial when you're so deep in an element you weren't evolved into. He made it easy for even me (adhd?) to absorb the amount of knowledge and experience needed to stay perfectly safe and comfortable in the water so that I could get down to the business of exploring the incredible world that exists below the water's surface. Nick's instruction additionally included steps on how to prep and preserve my own equipment, since I brought my own gear (they will outfit you with everything you need tho). IMO, that was above and beyond. Wrapping up, he was great with both my 11yr-old and my wife with 20 years experience and several other advanced certifications. Nick was in his element for both ends of the knowledge spectrum, often switching between the 3 of us in the same breath, able to shift deftly between helping the little one, myself, and instructing my wife. I also would like to reiterate that everyone I spoke with in the entire Key Dives operation were helpful, accommodating, fostering of the learning environment/process, and an absolute pleasure to be around. Everyone from instructors I was not attached to, to the boat's Captain were helpful and accomodating. I would be comfortable in sending my loved ones to learn under the care and instructions of the folks at Key Dives. Ask for Nick, and don't forget to tip. -jm read more

Key Dives - Headed to Alligator reef. My mask had ill-functioned on the previous dive, so instructor Nick lent me his own. - Diving Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

Only operator that went out on a Friday morning! IT was choppy but appreciate the crew saving our dive when other poorly operators canceled on us (rainbow). Great crew did a great job. Next trip to Florida keys will be with key dives! read more

Cpt Bradley, Mike, Nora and crew are amazing! First class outfit all the way around!! Highly recommend!!! read more

Key Dives in Islamorada is a great place to consider for any type of diving or snorkeling experience. I'm so impressed with the whole operation. The crew is amazing making sure everything is explained and watching carefully to ensure all divers are ready to jump in safely. Their briefing is thorough emphasizing not just safety but both before and after the dive, talking about the things that we might see or did see. The boat is so easy to access from the parking lot. If you're doing more than one dive with them, you can just leave your stuff and the crew will take care of it. I can't wait to go back for my next dive with Key Dives. And one ore thing, the owners are very environmentally conscious and also support the ICARE coral restoration program. read more

Key Dives crew was great, helped out so much when motion sick meds were slow to work. The dive sites were well chosen and had so much to see! Highly recommend!! read more

We enjoyed a fantastic week of diving with Key Dives. They emphasize reef conservation and safety and are professional in a fun, easy-going environment. On scheduled days, divers can participate in special activities they have going on through I.Care and REEF. They tagged our gear the first day and then kept it there for the week. We would walk onto the dive boat and it would be waiting for us. We really appreciated this aspect of their service. It made for a much more relaxed vacation. Each member of the staff we met was friendly and helpful. Each group of six divers has a dive guide in the water to point out marine life you might otherwise miss. The health of the coral formations and abundance of marine life we encountered was exceptional. We dove July 2022 and the visibility was very good most of the week with very calm water and just a bit less clear the last two days the water had a bit of chop at the surface and slight surge below water. Some of the marine life we saw included: Green Sea Turtles, Nurse Sharks, Stingrays (Southern, Yellow), Crabs (Arrow, not sure of names on others), Shrimp, Queen Conch, Jellyfish (1 only), Flamingo Tongue Snail, Sea Anemone, Sea Urchin (Black, White), Angelfish (French, Gray, Queen, Rock Beauty), Boxfish (Honeycomb Cowfish, Smooth Trunkfish), Butterflyfish (Banded, Foureye, Reef), Damselfish (Bicolor, Sergeant Major, Yellowtail, Blue Chromis, Brown Chromis), Eel (Green Moray, Spotted Moray), Filefish (Scrawled), Goatfish (Spotted), Goby (Various, not sure on all the names), Grouper (Black, Nassau), Grunt (Bluestriped, French), Jack, Parrotfish (Blue, Stoplight), Pufferfish (Balloonfish), Snapper (Schoolmaster, Yellowtail), Surgeonfish (Blue Tang, Doctorfish), Wrasse (Bluehead), Gray Chub, Great Barracuda, Spotted Scorpionfish, Trumpetfish and Yellowhead Jawfish. Shout outs to Misha and Nikki. Misha spent 5 minutes working with me on my weighting on the first day before I even got in the water. I dropped a huge amount immediately and later in the week, Nikki helped me drop even more weight on what turned out to be the best two dives of the week. read more

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Excellent operation!!! I was able to join their Thanksgiving morning boat trip, which was helmed by Capt Brad and crewed by Erica, Morgan, and Nick, and all of them provided OUTSTANDING service! Even though I was a solo traveler crashing the party of their normal divers, they made sure I felt right at home and it was clear that each and every one of them truly cared for our safety, our happiness, and the health of the reef. I look forward to diving with them again!!! read more

With so many dive shops in the Keys I really valued the reviews and selected Key Dives, excellent choice. A major plus is a nice boat, provide dive guides and they keep the group small and manageable. I wasn't expecting them to handle all my gear, switch tanks between dives , etc. I made a comment about that and Morgan said "it's vacation diving"...,even though I was on a day trip from Pompano. Great service and I was impressed how they interacted with everyone. Very, very professional. I highly recommend and will return myself. read more

Erica H is the best!!! We had incredible diving and love to see the Key Dives/ICARE partnership doing wonderful things for the reef!

Did open water PADI certification last week. Eric, ( Erik, Erickque, Air-ick) our instructor was great. Very SAFE, patient, positive and a great communicator. Open water dives were great and Captain Brad made you feel at home and SAFE on the dive boat. Will be going back on next Key visit. read more

Key Dives - Diving Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

The most impressive business approach of Key Dives is that they dive with a purpose. Whether it is their Dive against Debris Program or their reef restoration through iCare. Also impressive is the collection of the most talented dive instructors I've seen in 35 years of diving. Justin Hannel was our lead instructor. He has a special gift of breaking complicated data down into understandable bits of information. Highly recommend Key Dives from Basic to Master Diver. read more

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Absolutely stellar in every way. Professional, thorough, inclusive, still lighthearted and playful, and most importantly, respectful to the reef and ocean!!! Always a pleasure diving with you. read more

Really is as good as it gets. From the dive masters, owners and retail employees you'll feel welcome and ready to explore the Key's reefs. The pro shop has all the gear you could ask for with an extremely knowledgeable staff to help pick out what is right for you. Since we went down to get a few friends certified we really experienced how professional their staff is. The pool training was very thorough and expertly run and the following dives were nothing short of spectacular. Definitely looking forward to returning and expanding my training to explore what the Key's beautiful reefs have to offer. Thank you to Hayley, Emily, Jason, Captain Ken and Mike for an exceptional experience! read more

Key Dives - Diving Near Me - Islamorada, Florida

Did a week of diving with the folks at Key Dives over Christmas 2021, and cannot recommend them highly enough. Felt safe and cared for throughout the trip, and their divemasters all go above and beyond what I've seen at other dive shops. Had a great time, and actively looking for another opportunity to get back to the keys specifically for diving with them. read more

We took 3 students diving and 14 students snorkeling on a night trip. We were nervous about the logistics but the entire Key Dives staff was so helpful and professional that we were instantly put at ease. It was AMAZING! We saw turtles, nurse sharks, eels, sleepy parrotfish, lobsters...so many organisms! I would recommend this organization to anyone looking for safe and fun diving and snorkeling. Thank youb read more

This is a wonderful dive shop that I highly recommend for anyone. We have been diving there as a family and are uniformly impressed by the quality of the gear, the wonderful, personable, knowledgeable guides, professional captains and overall top notch service. They are also involved with iCare coral restoration which is a fantastic program and Educational opportunity. When we were unable to get in for a dive with this shop we have been to other dive shops in the area which are all inferior. We will continue to return to this shop -- as often as possible. read more

My wife and I just returned home from a great week of 32 dives with Key Dives. What a fantastic time! Our reservation experience was great (from Seattle) and the shop staff was friendly and ready to get us in the water. The dive guides were fantastic, they made us feel safe while showing us the abundant sea life and reefs. The boat captains got us to the sites and back and were especially helpful in keeping everybody safe getting off and on the boat. The boat, Giant Stride, was perfectly set up for diving and extra care was taken to keep the gear disinfected each day. This was our third week in the upper Keys and the third dive operation; we have definitely found our domestic warm water home! read more

I really enjoyed my dives with Key Dives. The owner Mike is great and the entire staff are very hospitable, knowledgeable, and enjoyable to dive with. The visibility was amazing and the dive sights were great. I especially enjoyed Alligator Reef because of crazy amount of schools of fish. read more

My partner and I booked a dive here in December. We had explained over the phone and then later in person how it had been over a year since we'd last dived, and that we were only certified for Open Water. The owner insisted twice (once on the phone and later in person) on booking us for a 100ft dive with nitrox, even though we hadn't be certified to dive that deep. Appalling and hazardous judgement on his part. We only did that one shallow dive, where the boat and dive groups were pretty disorganized, one group had over 6 even though their website states otherwise. There are a lot of dive shops in the area, I'd recommend finding another one. read more

I've been out with Key Dives six times now and the staff is always a pleasure to spend time with. Ken, Jason, Mike, Emily, Lloyd, and Pete always make sure we have a great time and keep us thoroughly entertained. The diving is great, too. I've taken several new divers to Key Dives, including one who was finishing his dive certification with his first open water dives. I've been guided by Lloyd, Jason, Emily, and Pete, and Ken is an awesome captain. Most dive spots are reachable within fifteen minutes, but Ken isn't afraid to burn extra fuel in search of great visibility. He always makes sure to have plenty of cool drinks onboard, as well as fresh cut orange slices that are super refreshing after an hour in salt water. He also never misses his safety briefing at the beginning of every trip. Mike, the owner, once spent 30 minutes with us going over the best spots to visit on our trip to Grand Cayman, well beyond the scope of his business in the Keys and right on the mark. These are great people. With Key Dives, I've seen octopus, all types of sharks, barracuda, turtles, and tons of healthy corals. These guys really know how to set you up for success. After diving with half a dozen different outfits in Key Largo and Islamorada, Key Dives will continue to get my business. Thanks for all you do. read more

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Jason Adams is the KING of dive instructors!!!! We did 6 dives and several classes to obtain our Advanced Open Water with Key Dives in IslaMorada. Jason explained the expectations clearly, while also mentoring another student (Emily) studying for her Master Diver certification. Multi-tasker to the max!!! He really helped me understand the navigational portion ..... And I'm directionally challenged! We had a fabulous experience with this dive shop. I also have to note Captain Ken saved me on several occasions from making rookie mistakes I overlooked that would have either ended my dive early or made it where I couldn't go at all!! :( Thank you, thank you, a million thanks. We have a fare alert to return to the Keys as often as possible to dive with them again and again!!! GREAT SHOP!!! Do yourselves a favor, dive with these guys!!!!!!!!! ALSO, Jason was very knowledgeable about the aquatic life and would point things out. If I didn't know what they were, he would write the info on his handy slate. Finally, I love that they didn't pack the boat to maximum capacity. They were small dive groups which also helps preserve reef and aquatic life. :) read more

Don't dive with anyone else in the upper and mid-Keys! I have gone diving with many different dive organizations in many different countries and Key Dives is one of my favorites! They make you feel like a long-lost friend which makes for a fun experience. It's a very well-run organization and the process from making the reservation to going for the dive is smooth. Unlike other dive operations in the Keys, a divemaster/guide always accompanies the divers without the divers having to pay extra. Like many other diver operations in the Keys, Key Dives is a Blue Star operator (eco-friendly practices), but in addition, Key Dives donates 2% of gross receipts to conservation organizations. They also undertake other eco-friendly initiatives like removing marine debris from reefs, hosting wetsuit recycling event, and running coral reef planting sessions. read more

As Advanced Open Water Divers, we love the wreck dives the keys have to offer. At least once a quarter, we find our way back down to the keys and have had the pleasure to book with different dive centers. With all of that said, this dive shop brings a whole new definition to concierge service! From the minute we arrived to check-in, the crew was readily available to answer any questions we had and took care of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. I don't think we needed to touch our gear from the time we got there to the time that we left except the usual double-check protocol. They provided personable and knowledgeable instructors or dive masters as guides for groupings of 4-6 people. Having been on "sardine"-packed boats, this was a huge benefit for us! The boat could have easily accommodated 20+ divers, but you can tell they are conscientious of the comfort of their divers. This has definitely become our FAVORITE dive center and we will be sure to be back again!! (P. S. Captain Handsome/Ken is awesome ) read more

A rare find in the Keys - a dive operation that truly provides valet service at a great price. Their environment credentials are stellar from their day to day operations to being a corporate sponsor of the Coral Reef Foundation. We've had the opportunity to dive with many operators in the Keys and they are the best of the best. read more

Nikki just certified my wife and me. She didn't just certify us. She made us safe and comprehensive divers. If you get a chance to dive with her then you should take it. She and the whole Key Dive staff are amazing. We will definitely be back! read more

Mike, Jason, Courtney, Nelson and the rest of the team are great. They treat you well, keep you safe and love what they do. I have been diving with them multiple times, as well as my son and daughter. Highly recommend. read more

Fun, caring and know their stuff! You never know what you will get when you sign up for a refresher course, but Hayley kept it fun while driving home the key points. The trips out to the reefs were swift and the team focused on safety, but again they did so in a fun manner that kept everyone focused prior to gearing up and jumping in. The dives were exceptional and we moved spots between dives which kept things fresh each dive. Between dives the team also changed over tanks while we were able to focus on changing out batteries on video equipment. So fun, full service and know where to go to see dolphins, sea turtles, rays, eels and plenty of vibrant fish. It really doesn't get any better! We plan to see you again later this summer to do some more sites. read more

This was our first experience diving after certification. The crew and staff were absolutely amazing. I was a nervous first time diver but am much more comfortable and confident thanks to their entire team. It was encouraging to meet other divers that said they will only dive w Key Dives for many reasons. We also learned about ICARE and saw some coral outplants. read more

Great communication. Gave call to give heads up on traffic issues. Adapted well to all levels of diver as it was my son's first dive following certification. I've been on many dives over 20 years and I don't think anyone felt held back at all. Good oversight and coaching without being overbearing and condescending. Fast work on equipment prep. Clean, organized boat. Super no-nonsense approach. As chatty, or not, as you want to be. Chosen dive sights not crowded despite holiday week. Definitely would use 'em again. read more

This place had very excellent service! They setup, take apart, and rinse your equipment for you! Quite a rare thing in the Keys. The dive was pretty good, although not our best dive site we visited. All dives are guided. We saw a few nurse sharks and lots of fish life. Very good experience all around! Definitely recommend to those who haven't dived in a while and need extra attention. read more

Probably the best dive outfit i think i have ever went out with. Such a great, and friendly crew. The boat was clean, just very proffesional and friendly staff. If anyone is looking for a fantastic outfit to charter with, look no further. I highly recommend this dive center. read more

While I would go back as the staff was great and general experience was really nice, the dive sites themselves were a little disappointing. The area chosen didn't seem to have much variety. Saw a number of fish and coral, but the only ray I saw was at the dock before we left. The biggest fish were also at the dock. Not that I went to see big fish, but I would've loved to have seen a nurse shark, a ray, or some eels. Can't control nature though and on another day, it may be different. Had been scheduled to go out a second day with two more dives and I think they would've been great. Life happens sometimes and wasn't able to make day two. The guides were great and had great personalities. Boat was nice and gear was maintained very well. Water was clear and warm. It's easy to tell they enjoy what they do. read more

Key Dives What a great staff and Instructors! I had not dived in 18 years and did a refresher course. Jenna was my instructor. I was great full that I had such a great dive instructor. Very thorough and the whole staff was wonderful. Nice boat and equipment. Definitely recommend this Dive Operation! read more

Key Dives is such a quality shop. If you are diving in the keys, this should be your spot. I am a little scared of diving but all that goes away here because the Key Dives instructors make me feel safe and know so much. The sea life makes every single dive different, even if you dive the same site. Great for beginners and certified divers of all types! I recommend to everyone. read more

Key Dives is an absolutely incredible charter. They are kind, fun, and always make for a great trip! I always know its going to be a good day when I can dive with these folks! read more

We came in to Key Dives to some gear for snorkeling and the man working was SUPER HELPFUL. He was nice and told us what we needed for our adventure. Would definitely go back! read more

We unfortunately had a experience on the other side The captain breeches reef etiquette and wanted us to move from the ball Still hooked up right next to us and messed up our ability with divers to fish !! read more

The only reason I didn't give this shop more stars is because of the guide (Raphael) who took me on the tour. I found him to be arrogant, condescending and demeaning. As a certified diver since 1998 and a former instructor since 1999, I have completed thousands of dives over the course of my career working for myself and dive shops on the island of St. Thomas while living there. I went diving for pleasure for the first time in about four years two days before I took this trip. I also have never done any other dives outside of the Caribbean and Cocos Island in the Pacific, so the colder waters of Florida required a heavier wetsuit than I normally wear. This guide treated me as a child, dismissing any questions I had regarding overweighting me. I had been diving two days before in a 5mm long sleeve shorty, but used a full 5mm suit for these dives because I was cold on the dives two days before. Raphael did everything possible to treat me as if I were a child. The final straw was on the second dive. I undid the left clip on my BCD to slide into it and clip it. Both rotator cuffs are damaged from years of lifting tanks and boat handling, so it is painful to stretch both arms in the position required to don my BCD. When I told Raphael this, he told me I was lazy and proceeded to buckle me into my BCD and adjust all of my fasteners for my BCD as if I were a toddler being strapped into a car seat. I have never felt so belittled in all of my years of diving - not even as a student. I could list other instances where he did whatever he could to undermine anything I said or did, but you get the picture. This was the most egregious of the treatment he gave me. I get the "safety first" part of diving, but the condescending manner in which I was treated really took away from my experience. Maybe it was a personality conflict or maybe he is like that all the time. I will not dive with the shop again to find out which is the case. However, having said that, the rest of the boat crew was very courteous and respectful. I also tipped because it is customary and I was provided a service. I gave the money to the captain (who was a very knowledgeable and affable skipper), knowing that it would be split and Raphael would get a share of it. The shop staff were courteous and friendly. The condition of the dive sites were mediocre at best (pollution and reef damage likely due to weather conditions over the course of time), the prevailing conditions at the time of the trip and there were students on the boat which likely contributed to the choice of sites we went diving at. read more

The guy was amazingly helpful and understanding. He had a great sense of humor and walked us through all of our questions and concerns in an entertaining and quick witted fashion. He was extremely knowledgeable about the gear, area, and boating. We had a great experience and will be back again. This was our third dive shops we visited and hands down the best! read more

Amazing Experience, Highly Recommended. The staff was amazing, the equipment was great, and they made the certification process a breeze. Attentive to safety procedures but still making sure we had fun. Well versed in the area so they gave great tours. If you come here, I highly suggest buying one of their shirts. I got one and it was so comfortable, and I got a compliment on it that very day! read more