Hey everyone, I will be going on a trip to ft. Lauterdale Florida From the 30th of December to the 7th of January and am wondering where are the best spots to hit. I also would like to know of a good, cheap dive shop because I am a college student on a budget. I am really interested in shark diving preferably no cage and would also love to shoot a lot of macro for my portfolio. I have strobes so depth is not an issue.

Lemon sharks are in season in Jupiter, FL, check Jupiter Dive Center. If you are on a tight budget, you might want to look into doing shore dives. This page will help you join some group shore dives in the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and the Dania Beach areas. For macro, check the Blue Heron Bridge, also a shore dive location. For all these, you'll need a car.

For sharks, the upper Palm Beaches (Jupiter & Juno) are your best bet with Boynton Beach a distant second right now. We haven't had very much in the way of cold snaps, so the sharks are bit thin at the moment. For shore diving and macro, Blue Heron Bridge is where it's at. As for diving the Ft. lauderdale area, wrecks are the main attraction, with those off Pompano Beach & Deerfield Beach offering better vis on average than anywhere else off Broward County.

I would check out Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures in Palm Beach.
Shark dive Specialists and do dives at Blue Heron Bridge.