Staying Home Sucks, home
CV-22 Osprey flies over the Emerald Coast
Miramar Beach, the nearest town, 11 km away. Photo: DOD photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter, U.S. Air Force. (Released), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Fort Panic Fish/Dive Reef

Dive site · United States

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

69Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
26°C

Tue 3 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
24°C

Wed 4 · 65 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
11 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
24°C

Thu 5 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
23°C

Fri 6 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
24°C

Sat 7 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
15kn
Air
22°C

Sun 8 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.0 mflat
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
21°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 157, fair
  2. Mon 264, good
  3. Tue 364, good
  4. Wed 465, good
  5. Thu 570, good
  6. Fri 670, good
  7. Sat 771, good
  8. Sun 871, good
  9. Mon 969, good
  10. Tue 1062, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 19 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 23 °C5 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Sswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Fort Panic Fish/Dive Reef
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov57, fair0.9 m18 kn28kn23°C
Mon 2Nov64, good0.7 m8 kn12kn26°C
Tue 3Nov64, good0.8 m9 kn12kn24°C
Wed 4Nov65, good0.7 m11 kn17kn24°C
Thu 5Nov70, good0.2 mflat3 kn5kn23°C
Fri 6Nov70, good0.2 mflat4 kn11kn24°C
Sat 7Nov71, good0.1 mflat7 kn15kn22°C
Sun 8Nov71, good0.0 mflat6 kn12kn21°C
Mon 9Nov69, good0.2 mflat9 kn23kn19°C
Tue 10Nov62, good0.5 m16 kn26kn17°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 00:47 +0.3 mLow 13:03 −0.2 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:04 +0.3 mLow 13:57 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:13 +0.2 mLow 14:38 −0.0 mHigh 19:59 +0.0 mLow 22:39 +0.0 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Fort Panic Fish/Dive Reef

A reef dive. It goes down to 19 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces S: swell from the S reaches it, and wind from the N blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 24 km away. The sea is about 18°C in January, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 30°C in August, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Miramar Beach. Within 5 km we also list 3 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 19 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 24 km away.

Water about 23°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 6 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jun and Jul (about 10 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$871–US$1,590 each

about US$871–US$1,590 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to VPS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$161–US$342
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$67–US$114
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$871–US$1,590

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Miramar Beach

Closest

Miramar Beach

19 min by car · 136 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 136 places to stay in Miramar Beach · Booking.com

About Miramar Beach its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 55m

About 4h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → VPS, direct, then 50 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 9 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.