Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in Miami and Miami Beach

Diving and snorkeling on the off-shore coral wrecks and reefs on a calm day can be comparable to the Caribbean. Chances are excellent you'll come face-to-face with a flood of tropical fish. One option is to find Fowey, Triumph, Long, and Emerald reefs in 10- to 15-foot dives that are perfect for snorkelers and beginning divers. On the edge of the continental shelf a little more than 3 mi out, these reefs are just ¼ mi away from depths greater than 100 feet. Another option is to paddle around the tangled prop roots of the mangrove trees that line the coast, peering at the fish, crabs, and other creatures hiding there.

It's a bit of a drive, but the best diving and definitely the best snorkeling to be had in Miami-Dade is on the incredible living coral reefs in Biscayne Underwater Park (9710 S.W. 328th St., Exit 6 of Florida's Tpke., Homestead, 33033. 305/230-1100. www.nps.gov/bisc), in the rural southeast corner of the county. With 95% of its 173,000 acres underwater, this is the national-park system's largest marine park. The huge park includes the northernmost islands of the Florida Keys and the beginning of the world's third-longest coral reef. Guided snorkeling and scuba trips, offered from the concession near the visitor center, cost $35.95 for a three-hour snorkel trip (daily 1:30-4:30), including equipment, and $54 for a four-hour, two-tank dive trip (weekends 8:30-1). Scuba equipment is available for rent.

Perhaps the area's most unusual diving options are its artificial reefs (1920 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, 33139. 305/672-1270). Since 1981, Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management has sunk tons of limestone boulders and a water tower, army tanks, and almost 200 boats of all descriptions to create a "wreckreational" habitat where divers can swim with yellow tang, barracudas, nurse sharks, snapper, eels, and grouper. Most dive shops sell a book listing the locations of these wrecks. Information on wreck diving can be obtained from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Divers Paradise of Key Biscayne (5400 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne, 33149. 305/361-3483. www.keydivers.com) has a complete dive shop and diving-charter service next to the Crandon Park Marina, including equipment rental and scuba instruction with PADI and NAUI affiliation. Dive trips are offered Tuesday through Friday at 1, weekends 8:30 and 1:30. Trip is $55. South Beach Dive and Surf Center (850 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, 33139. 305/531-6110), an all-purpose dive shop with PADI affiliation, runs dives with instructors on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 8 AM, night dives on Wednesday at 5 PM, and wreck and reef dives on Sunday at 11:45 AM. The center also runs dives in Key Largo's Spiegel Grove, the largest wreck ever to be sunk for the intention of recreational diving, and in the Neptune Memorial Reef, which is made using the ashes of cremated bodies. Boats depart from marinas in Miami Beach and Key Largo, in the Florida Keys.