Give the Airlines the Finger. Drive and Dive Florida Instead.

First the airlines reduced the checked baggage allowance from 70 pounds per bag to 50. Then they started charging for that second bag. Then the first. Recently, one airline attempted to start charging for carry on bags. Could it get worse? Yes. In Europe, some airlines will charge you a whole euro if you want to go to the bathroom on flights under one hour.

Then there is the hassle of having to check in hours early, and waiting in endless lines at security — while a TSA employee stands by menacingly with a machine that is all too reminiscent of one of those alien probes from science fiction. And your reward for doing all of this? Several hours in a tin tube, crammed like a sardine into a too-small seat and having to pay for your pitiful dry sandwich, peanuts and soda.

Let’s face it: Flying just ain’t any fun any more. It’s expensive. It’s time consuming — and, when you finally get to your destination, you have to pay even more to rent a car and possibly rent any dive gear you weren’t able to take on the plane.

It’s time to get even. It’s time to discover the dive destination most of us can drive to in little more time than it takes to go to the airport, check in early, wait through all the lines, sit endlessly on the tarmac, change flights, do it all over again, arrive at your destination, hassle with a rental car…you get the picture.

Try this: Assume you want to go diving in north-central Florida or the Panhandle, and you are travelling from any medium-size city below the Mason-Dixon line. First, calculate the total travel time from your door, to the airport, to check-in, security, connecting flights, rental car counter and, finally, the drive to your real destination. Sure, the flight itself may only be a few hours — but the entire process is bound to consume the better part of a day. What you may discover is that, if you drive, you might actually get there faster.

Next, compare costs. If you fly, you are looking at airport parking, the flight itself, car rental, insurance and who knows what else. If you drive your own vehicle, you are looking primarily at the cost of gas.

Then, address the equipment situation. If you fly, you get to pay extra to check your gear bag — and may still be limited in what you can take. Whatever you have to leave behind, you get to rent at your destination (and we can pretty much guarantee you that you won’t like diving second-rate gear that has been use by Lord-knows-how-many strangers before you).

On the other hand, if you drive, you can take as much of your own gear as you like — and you won’t pay a dime for the privilege. Take an assortment of wetsuits, your own tanks, that big, bulky camera system. You are limited only by the space in your car or SUV.

Finally, consider the freedom that having your own vehicle gives you. You can go where you want, when you want. And you can dive the entire state in a single trip.

Remember that Florida is not just one dive destination, but several. There are the tropical coral reefs and warm water of the Keys and Gold Coast. There are the cool, clear, inviting waters of the Florida Springs. For world-class spearfishing, check out almost anywhere along the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts. And don’t forget the fantastic wrecks of the Panhandle, like the world-famous Oriskany.

So why deal with the hassles and limitations of flying? Or the stuck-up attitude of the airlines? Why spend more than you have to, or leave your hard-earned dollars in a foreign country? Save time, save money, stay right here in the USA and discover one of the greatest dive destinations on the planet: Florida.