My husband and I are thinking of a camping trip to the Florida panhandle area and would like to combine camping/scuba diving and biking. Would like information on local diving availability and quality, campgrounds (we have an RV but consider ourselves more campers than RV'ers), and bike trails. Would appreciate any onfo anyone has.

The panhandle is not the place to scuba dive. Best diving in Florida is down south, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, the upper keys and Key West.

We are not picking this as a "scuba diving destination" as we ususally go to the Carribean for this. What we are wanting to do is go on a camping vacation and get a few dives in. The guide books all say there is diving there on wrecks, man made reefs etc. THere are no natural coral reefs. We are interested in hearing if anyone has done any diving there and can pass on their thoughts.
We are also interested in hearing about camping places.

Check out www.floridatravelusa.com

Hi!
You guys sound alot like us. We have a little tent trailer but still consider ourselves "campers" (even though the real "campers" who tent and back pack everywhere look down on us!). For the past few summers we've taken awesome camping trips to North Carolina and South Carolina. We have three beautiful boys (all under the age of 8) so we don't scuba dive but maybe some of our beach info will be of interest.

Highly recommended state parks that are directly on the Atlantic:
1. Huntington b

AAAhhh, i got cut off (I must have touched something wrong!). Anyway...

Best beach camping in N.C., S.C.:
1. Huntington Beach South Carolina - gorgeous beach although the camping is somewhat urban.

2. Hunting Beach S.C. - this place is incredible (a sister island to Hilton Head without all the golfers and condos). It's all state park and natural. The campground is stunning with its old growth palmettos. Our campsite was probably the most beautiful we have ever had. The beach was only steps away from our site. There is a working lighthouse and the beach is practically deserted. The only problem? We travel in July and got attacked on night four by the mosquito welcome wagon - help!!

3. The outer banks of North Carolina - now this is real camping (even when you're pulling a tent trailer!) Very primative (no hot water, no elec), but my goodness is this heaven on earth. We stay at the Frisco campground in the National Park. The campsites are in the dunes and it is very rugged. We love it here! The surfing is incredible in the ocean and the kayaking and windsurfing on the sound side is world reknowned. I can't say enough about Frisco!

4. We're looking into Ocracoke Island in North Carolina for camping. It's in the outer banks still but even more primative. Ever heard anything about Ocracoke?

5. I've heard St. George's island in Fla is very nice. We're tempted although since we travel in July (my husband's a teacher) we're afraid of roasting!!

Have fun and write me back if you'd like to swap RV/camp stories!!

You might check St. Andrews State Park just outside (east) of Panama City (PC) Beach. They have natural areas and commerce-free beaches that make you feel like you're miles from the t-shirt shops, motels, and bars of PC. Not sure of their camping facilities. Between PC and Destin is Point Washington (State?) Park, which has some wooded trails, but it's not on the beach. Sorry; don't have any scuba info. Check the beachesofsouthwalton.com web site; they may have info.

Camping and canoeing is great at Suwannee river. There is a real nice place called Suwannee River Music park where festival are held but in between shows it is a great place to camp and canoe. Suwannee River State park is 15 miles away on I-10 with nice camp sites and canoeing. Don't know about the scuba though.

Try Ft. Pickens - Pensacola - we tent camped there years ago - it was great.

Well, to answer your real question, I highly recommend the state campgrounds in the panhandle, as they have the best beachfront property around. Check out the website dep.state.fl.us/parks and make sure you read the updated info on Henderson Beach and pets (in case you have any traveling with you). That will take you to another page, where you can click on park map and get specific info on each of those campgrounds. I am not a scuba person, but I have friends who are and they spend a lot of time diving in the area out of Panama City (St. Andrews) - very clear waters and I know there is one wreck that gets dived a lot as well as a bunch of manmade reefs. There are dive shops that will run you out to the dive areas on their boats, so you should have no problem finding the service you need for transport, equipment, etc. Let me know if you need more specifics. Have fun...

Thanks very much for your input. It's most appreciated. We saw that Henderson State park had just opened a campground this year that sounded very nice. Have you ever stayed at the Grayton State Park? It looks like it would be nice, although it does not have a lot of campsites. Is the St. Andrews State park campground always as busy as the travel books indicate? We are travelling from Ontario and have never been to the panhandle before so were hoping to not have to make reservations. We are going early in May.It's good to hear of other's diving experiences. We have always dove the Carribean but thought we'd like to combine our love of diving with our love of camping.
Thanks for everyone's help.

It's too bad no Canadians responded to your questions, as we have a lot of visitors from the north and I'm sure they have first-hand experience as tourists which those of us who live in the Panhandle don't. However, I can tell you that, yes, St. Andrews is busy enough that you should make reservations if you want to be able to stay there. Having said that, I should also tell you that though it's busy, I don't mean to imply that it's overcrowded. St. Andrews is at the quiet end of Panama City - no condos, restaurants, etc. and is just across from Shell Island, which is uninhabited... a great place to spend the day, sand dollars galore and usually lots of friendly dolpins all around the area. There are also boats to get you back and forth to Shell Island. Grayton Beach is also in a quiet location and very scenic; there are bike paths alongside the highway to get you in to some of the shops and restaurants. There are probably more kids at St. Andrews, if that makes a difference. Henderson may be your best bet since it's been open such a short period of time, but any of the three would be a nice place to stay, depending on what you want to do besides be in the water! The website on the parks should give you some ideas of what else is available... good luck choosing.