Scuba Dive Panama City Beach East Coast

Where is the clearest water for scuba diving



The report was created by members of the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association (Mexico Wildlife Commission) and assessed the impacts on the reefs. The reef near the Varmar, which is not shown on the dive map due to its location off Mexico Beach, had the greatest impact. It was only 25 feet deep and contained 35% of the original reef material. The artificial reefs in deep and moderate water were unaffected. Below is a graphic taken from the report that shows the path of Hurricane Irma through the wrecks and reefs of Panama City Beach.


Panama City Beach was directly impacted by Hurricane Michael, which was a category four storm in October 2018. It made landfall in the Panhandle with maximum sustained winds of 154mph. Hurricane-force winds were experienced by more than 650 artificial reefs.

Beach


Warsaw Reef is a top-rated reef dive. It's a natural, undeveloped hole that is filled with concrete rubble and tire bags. Fish love it, and often travel between the hole (and nearby wrecks like Black Bart) to find food.

Beach
Dive Shop

Dive Shop



St Andrew's Park Jetties is the place to go for shore diving in Panama City Beach. It takes only a short distance from the parking lot and you'll soon be on the water. The beach-side is quite shallow with little boat traffic. If you are crossing over to the channel-side, bring your dive bag. In the rocks of the jetties, you'll find many tropical fish. High slack tidal is the best time to dive. Visibility and current are more clear. St Andrew's Park's Jetties are also an excellent place for snorkeling in Panama City Beach.

Best Snorkeling and Scuba Diving in Florida





You can expect visibility between 30'-50' with water temperatures ranging from the 60s in winter and 80s in summer. You should bring gloves for the sharp edges on the wrecks, a dive knife in case you run into some fishing line, and a safety sausage since you’re on a boat trip.

World

World




Panama City Beach is a seriously good vacation destination and dive destination wrapped into one. The fact that you can drive here from so many places makes it that much better. Divers of all experience levels will find plenty of reasons to keep coming back again and again, and their families will love them for it.

City Beach





Scuba Dive Panama City Beach (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), is the best PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors Training Center) on the Gulf Coast. Join the Scuba Dive Panama City Beach Family to have more fun and be a certified diver. Panama City Beach is known for being the best place to dive in North Florida. It is second only to Florida Keys in popularity as a dive destination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Never hold your breath

As every good entry-level dive student knows, this is the most important rule of scuba. And for good reason — breath holding underwater can result in serious injury and even death. In accordance with Boyle's law, the air in a diver's lungs expands during ascent and contracts during descent.

As you become a qualified scuba diver, you learn the basics of an essential scuba system. A cylinder, weights, an exposure suit, regulators, BCD gauge and timing device, mask and fins are the bare essentials.