Garfield Wilson Reef
Dive site · United States
Is it worth the trip?
68Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sat 7: Sea: flat, Visibility under 5 m, Water 22 °C
Tue 3 · 63 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 63 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.8 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 24°C
Thu 5 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 3kn
- Air
- 24°C
Fri 6 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sat 7 · 70 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 68 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Air
- 22°C
Mon 9 · 66 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.6 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 21°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 264, good
- Tue 363, good
- Wed 463, good
- Thu 569, good
- Fri 669, good
- Sat 770, good
- Sun 868, good
- Mon 966, good
- Tue 1070, good
- Wed 1171, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 16 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Open Waterand up
- Water 22 °C5 mm wetsuit
- Faces SWswell 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 Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 64, good | 0.7 m | 12 kn | 18kn | 26°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 63, good | 0.9 m | 12 kn | 16kn | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 63, good | 0.8 m | 12 kn | 18kn | 24°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 69, good | 0.3 m | 2 kn | 3kn | 24°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 69, good | 0.2 mflat | 3 kn | 11kn | 24°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 70, good | 0.1 mflat | 3 kn | 8kn | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 68, good | 0.3 m | 7 kn | 14kn | 22°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 66, good | 0.6 m | 9 kn | 16kn | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 70, good | 0.2 mflat | 3 kn | 15kn | 18°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 71, good | 0.0 mflat | 1 kn | 11kn | 20°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
- Mon 2 NovHigh 01:49 +0.2 mLow 14:00 −0.1 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:38 +0.2 mLow 14:39 −0.1 mHigh 20:00 +0.1 mLow 22:57 +0.0 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 07:27 +0.1 mLow 13:00 +0.0 mHigh 19:46 +0.1 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.
Map
the site and its town
Garfield Wilson Reef on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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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
- Mexico Beach 2002 Grant Reef 2.1 km away
- Fish America Foundation Reef 2.2 km away
- Tennessee Chuck McKibbonville Reef 3.6 km away
- Vamar Shipwreck Site 5.6 km away
- MB-256 10.8 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Garfield Wilson Reef
A reef dive. It goes down to 16 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 23 km away. The sea is about 17°C in February, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 30°C in July, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Mexico Beach. Within 5 km we also list 3 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 16 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 23 km away.
Water about 22°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Nov and Dec (about 6 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$965–US$1,740 each
about US$965–US$1,740 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to ECP, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$167–US$342 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$301–US$502 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Total | about US$965–US$1,740 |
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: Mexico Beach
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 20 min by car · 25 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Mexico 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 5h 25m
About 5h 25m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → ECP, direct, then 1h 20m by road
Flights MDW → ECP on your dates · AviasalesAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Mexico Beach · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Mexico Beach · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Daly's Watersports 23 km
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 records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Loggerhead turtle Caretta carettaSea turtle
Seen in 5 records.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS, through OBIS; common names from Wikidata. Largest datasets here: Sightings for SSAM2-BOSS Sonar Test Event - June 2013; Sightings for REMUS Sonar Test Event - July 2013. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.