Grand Caymen...what area of Island to stay?

[wgw04024]

Are there better areas to stay on Grand Caymen? I am possibly going in April with 2 non divers, and don't want to be on the opposite end of the island from a good dive op, but still want to be around areas they can do stuff in without driving cross the whole island. Suggestions?

 

[-JD-]

Disclosure, not a resident, but 3-time visitor (last - Jan '23.)

In general, the western end of the island is where the bulk of development is,
It is a pretty small place. Part of the fun is exploring. But some key questions first ...

What do "they" like to do without you: pool, beach ("perfect" and busy or "rough" and mostly deserted), snorkel, shop, gardens, distillery tours, kite-surfing, horseback, sting-ray city excursion, etc. ?
Are "they" comfortable driving without you, on the wrong side of the road, with lots of roundabouts, with either LH or RH drive vehicle depending on what you happen to get.
What type of eating are you looking for? Groceries, Local-flavor shacks, Tiki bars, fine dining ...
Hotel, Condo, house - Luxury or budget ( )?

Shore diving and/or boat diving for you? How much?


Happy to go 1-1 via tel if you like - just PM me and we can sort it out.

 

[wgw04024]

That's a pretty good description already. They can drive for sure. I'll probably just do 2 tanks for 3 or so days depending on how the weather is, how i like it, etc, and a nite dive for sure. Thanks!

 

[uncfnp]

If the focus of the trip is lots of beach time, resort style pampering, eating out, shopping with some diving thrown in then absolutely look at the west end, specifically 7 mile beach. Lots of trip reports and threads available here.

If however you want, in my opinion, the best diving available (warning-weather dependent) a more relaxed atmosphere and island feel then look to the east side.

Don’t plan on driving back and forth much between the two ends, while not a great distance it does take a fair amount of drive time. Do plan to spend a day driving around the island either way.

 

[Doctorfish]

With 2 non divers, I think the west side of the island would be best by far. All the dive operators on the west side will pick up and drop off divers so the car can stay with the non divers. Further, most of the west side diver ops preferentially dive the north wall if conditions allow. Another option would be to stay at Sunset House which is just south of town as it has a good dive op, house reef etc and is close enough to Georgetown to walk there. Sunset also has a nice pool area and tiki bar but is on ironshore rather than beach.

As JD said, it all depends on what the non divers like to do.

 

[drrich2]

I've had my eye on Grand Cayman as a potential destination with family in mind (got 2 dives on a cruise stop, 5 by liveaboard there), so I pay some attention to threads like these. For a budget option in the 7 Mile Beach area, Comfort Suites and Sunshine Suites Resort appear reputable base on others' reports in the past.

If willing to be further away, some years back I saw good-looking (read that cheap and I think included car rental) packages at a place called Turtle Nest Inn in the Boddentown area; a quick Google search notes one source claiming it's 10 miles from Georgetown and the airport. Perhaps that wouldn't work for you guys, but you may want to compare total trip costs.

Quite a bit may depend on what kind of budget you have to work with.

Whatever you guys do, I hope you'll let us know how it goes.

 

[mi000ke]

As someone who lives on island part of the year with a non-diving spouse, I would recommend 7 mile beach. Best beach, good snorkeling close by, near to restaurants, shopping, entertainment. As as others mentioned, Sunshine Suites (owned by The Westin) is less expensive, has a great mid-beach location and you can use the Westin beach chairs just across the street. If budget is less constrained I’d recommend renting a beachfront condo. The west side/SMB is the most reliable in terms of diving conditions, and most operators diving that side will also go south or north as conditions warrant.

 

[ROUS]

I'll be there in April and will be diving with Just Dive Cayman. I looked at lots of lodging options, from hotel rooms to Airbnb to whatever. In the end, I picked the Hampton on seven mile. It just gave us the best bang for our buck.

 

[Catito]

I like the Eastside, Compass Point and Ocean Frontiers (the associated dive op). Relaxing, peaceful, and great diving.

 

[Dish]

I agree with previous posters… stay on the West End for the non-divers. Still great diving to be had there and the night life is more available on the West End. I always go to the East End because I love the diving and don’t care much for night life. I’m sleeping in the evening so that I can do four dives the next day.