Todd999
Registered
We are looking at liveaboard options Cayman vs. Bahamas vs Turks for late December
Which do you prefer and why?
Which do you prefer and why?
Liveaboard: Cayman vs. Bahamas vs. Turks
- Thread starter Todd999
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Personally, for scuba diving, I'd choose the Caymans WAY before the Bahamas. Cayman has better, more diverse diving with much better marine life. When I owned my dive center in NY way back, I always heard people wanting to go back to the Caymans, but I rarely heard people wanting to go back to the Bahamas after visiting the Caymans.
- Messages
- 21,487
- Reaction score
- 21,742
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
Hi @Todd999
There is only one liveaboard in the Caymans, the Cayman Aggressor IV. The one critical factor is whether the boat will be able to make the passage to Little Cayman for the diving at Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. If not, I can't imagine spending the week off Grand Cayman would be worth it.
I dived the Cayman Aggressor V, now the Bahamas Aggressor II in 2018 and had a good time despite losing one day at Little Cayman.
I have only dived Tiger Beach and Bimini off Dolphin Dream, so can't comment on the diving in the Bahamas.
There is only one liveaboard in the Caymans, the Cayman Aggressor IV. The one critical factor is whether the boat will be able to make the passage to Little Cayman for the diving at Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. If not, I can't imagine spending the week off Grand Cayman would be worth it.
I dived the Cayman Aggressor V, now the Bahamas Aggressor II in 2018 and had a good time despite losing one day at Little Cayman.
I have only dived Tiger Beach and Bimini off Dolphin Dream, so can't comment on the diving in the Bahamas.
Turks and Caicos. You have your choice of two boats. On my last trip to the Caymans we never got to make the crossing.
Damselfish
Contributor
That's a tough one. I don't think I would do the CA 4 in the winter months when odds of making the crossing to Little aren't great. Once upon a time I wouldn' have minded as much as it's at least an easy way of getting in a bunch of dives on Grand more easily than shore based. But the diving on Grand doesn't do much for me anymore.
Bahamas is good if you like sharks. There's some interesting stuff otherwise, but not really great reef diving. Aquacat runs a great trip and makes the most of what it has to work with. 3 weeks on that boat and I'd do it again, but it does often book far ahead. We were on one of the last trips of the BVI Aggressor (formerly CA 5) before it became Bahamas Aggressor 2 a few months ago. Very nice boat but no idea what their trip in Bahamas is like. I'd skip the BA 1 as it seems an older and not as nice boat, but that's just my preference.
I might pick Turks&Caicos but haven't been there in a very long time so no opinion on the diving now. I would probably pick the Explorer boat over Aggressor but I haven't been on either. (Did some land based and was on what is now Okeanos Aggressor.)
Bahamas is good if you like sharks. There's some interesting stuff otherwise, but not really great reef diving. Aquacat runs a great trip and makes the most of what it has to work with. 3 weeks on that boat and I'd do it again, but it does often book far ahead. We were on one of the last trips of the BVI Aggressor (formerly CA 5) before it became Bahamas Aggressor 2 a few months ago. Very nice boat but no idea what their trip in Bahamas is like. I'd skip the BA 1 as it seems an older and not as nice boat, but that's just my preference.
I might pick Turks&Caicos but haven't been there in a very long time so no opinion on the diving now. I would probably pick the Explorer boat over Aggressor but I haven't been on either. (Did some land based and was on what is now Okeanos Aggressor.)
AggieDiver
Contributor
If the weather is good enough for you to make the crossing to Little on the CA4, you can dive the BBW from land based operators as well. The CA4 is only going to stay there maybe 3 full dive days out of a week trip. So if you want to maximize your diving at the best Little Cayman sites, diving from land is a better choice. That time of year, I would pick the T&C if I was dead set on a liveaboard.
Redfoot
Contributor
I've done T&C Aggressor and Bahamas Aqua Cat
Turks diving is way better- you will see same sharks as Bahamas (nurse and reef) as well as more turtles, rays schooling fish and better wall diving. No wrecks though.
The Aqua Cat is a very nice boat- roomy, great food, great crew, stable, large bathrooms, etc. The diving was a lot of fun and varied (wrecks, drift, shark, wall, shallow reef), but it was not great for seeing a lot of animals or healthy reefs.
I also enjoyed the shore excursions. We did Iguana Island and the swimming pigs/Thunderball grotto. Even with those, we managed to get all 25 or 27 (I forget) dives in that week.
So take that with a grain of salt I guess? You will have fun on both, just depends on your expectations!
Turks diving is way better- you will see same sharks as Bahamas (nurse and reef) as well as more turtles, rays schooling fish and better wall diving. No wrecks though.
The Aqua Cat is a very nice boat- roomy, great food, great crew, stable, large bathrooms, etc. The diving was a lot of fun and varied (wrecks, drift, shark, wall, shallow reef), but it was not great for seeing a lot of animals or healthy reefs.
I also enjoyed the shore excursions. We did Iguana Island and the swimming pigs/Thunderball grotto. Even with those, we managed to get all 25 or 27 (I forget) dives in that week.
So take that with a grain of salt I guess? You will have fun on both, just depends on your expectations!
mcohen1021
Contributor
Never seen a shark in 3 GC and 1 Brac trip(s). I havent been back to GC since 2013 and and Brac since 2017, and may never go back as I found the diving boring. At least in the bahamas we saw nurses, reefers and we happened upon a scared puffer ll blown up! lol
Agree - of the 3 choices, this one is amazing. You will not get night diving if land based. We DID get a natural feeding frenzy on our trip 2022 - and its on film - really badass!
We are back on that boat October 2025!
Redfoot
Contributor
Yeah! That was the best dive of the tip- I think they called it the "nurse shark rodeo"
Similar threads
