Grand Cayman Newbie-- Advice Sought. Stay? Dive Ops? Shore Dives?

[ZMO]

Hey guys my girl and I are heading to GC late June for 5 days. We've narrowed it down to a couple locations on the island to stay.......a condo just north of 7MB and Kaibo Beach Club on the N. Shore--close to Rum POint.

Wondering best way to set this up........leaning towards the NW point place. It looks like there are plenty of dive sites near here.
If we go with dive ops near here will they stay close to just this area? I really dont want to pay $100 for instance to get out to a site I can kick to for 10 minutes.

Should we do all of our dives with one operator--or do some one say the 7mb side and a couple in the North or East side? It seems logical that If we really want to see differnt parts of the island we'll need to drive over to these different areas and use different operators.

Also is there a full service shop who will rent us gear, do boat dives and allow us to use that gear for shore dives that we can drive around to? Ive read that Diver Supply will rent tanks.
Is there a place to just simply rent from for the days we'll be diving and then keep that separate from the diving costs?


I've seen some nice pkgs of 3 2 tank dives for $255-299 w/ Don FOsters , Divers Down, etc.

Best ideas to see some really varied dives--fish, corals, caves and swim thrus--both boat and shore and save a few $$???

Thanks very much for the help! We've dove SoCal and Hawaii and Belize and cant wait for this!!

 

[diversteve]

Here's some things you need to consider:

Generally speaking there is often a dive operator on-site at many of the known shore dive entry points. Since they own the land to the water's edge, you're not allowed to bring tanks or gear from off-site locations. This applies at Cobalt Coast and Lighthouse Point - Divetech onsite, Turtle Reef - Sundivers onsite, Eden Rock/Devils Grotto downtown - Eden Rock onsite, and Sunset House south of town.

There's a lot of taller ironshore cliffs in the NW Point area so access to the water is difficult (actually it's the getting out part) in many of what would seem to be shore accessible locations on the map. At Turtle Reef there's a multi-step ladder to the water, CC and LP have a dive dock. View the Cracked Conch (restaurant) website, in their header pictures you can see the cliffs - the ladder shown in one photo is the Turtle Reef access point. Sundivers has a page on their website also.

Depending on which condo complex on NW Point, there is shore access from some properties, from Coconut Bay you can get out to Hepps, from Bonnie's Arch condos - Bonnie's Arch. There's an affiliated dive operator at CB - for Bonnie's Arch you'd have to get gear at Divers Supply as it's a small complex. I've thought about asking the mgmt. whether non-guests can use the ladder there during the day. They're rented on vrbo.com so it should be possible to contact them. Both would be a decent swim out but mention that it's possible.

The North wall is pretty far out there, at Cobalt Coast they'll tow you out on their dinghy. There's both the mini-wall (great dive) just off Turtle Reef and access to the North Wall farther out. When Divetech was the on-site operator there, they rented scooters to get out to the N. Wall. IDK if Sundivers does now. We've never dove Lighthouse Point but I've read it's a good dive also.

Sometimes there's current off the North side. So what appears to be a shore accessible dive site turns out to be more work than you thought at entry. I've shore dove in San Diego and Maui/Kauai so I have a similar frame of reference to yours.

Theoretically you could shore dive the Kittiwake. You'd have to buy the medallion and surface swim (300 yds?) across an active boat channel (just about every diveop goes out there) though so bring a flag. There's a recent thread about it in this forum.

You're correct about Diver's Supply renting tanks. I believe but am not positive they rent full gear also. They have a Facebook page for contact info. Eden Rock downtown has a 24hr. rental program also - including tanks.

Two accessible shore locations are Cemetery Beach - on the north end of SMB and Smith's Cove south of Sunset House. Bring everything to either. We've wanted to dive Smith's Cove forever just haven't got there yet. It's close to SH so my assumption would be it's similar.

I don't believe (not positive, things change) that there's a dive operator near Kaibo Beach club. The nearest two I'm aware of are Tortuga Divers at Morritt's and Ocean Frontiers in the East End. Tortuga won't let tanks off-site - not sure about OF. I don't think either would rent you gear to remove from their property. I do believe - verify this - that OF would sell you fills. So you might have to drive all the way to Eden Rock in Georgetown to rent - that has to be over an hour one way. Maybe stop on the drive out from the airport if your flight gets in early enough.

To dive a site like Babylon on the north side requires a longer (15-20min.) surface swim out but is possible. There are several other accessible sites in that area also - a couple near Old Man Bay. McCurley's wall is nearby somewhere. Google it, there's another website with access details - besides http://shorediving.com/Earth/Caribbean/Cayman_Islands/index.htm

Many of the boat dive operators that are based farther up Seven Mile Beach - or on the north side - will do North Wall dives due to proximity. Some of the best are Eagle Ray Pass, Ghost Mountain, Babylon. Other good sites off NW Point are Big Tunnel, Orange Canyon, Trinity Caves, the Hepp's sites, etc.

Sunset House is worth a drive down one afternoon, the Mermaid is a classic dive location, My Bar is fun - good food and the Cathy Church Photo School/Gallery is interesting. We thought Eden Rock was very tired, it's walking distance from the cruise port so has gotten a lot of traffic over the decades - others like the Devils Grotto swim-thru's. Go late afternoon when the cruisers are getting ready to leave.

I'm not panning Fosters since they use the same DM/diver ratio as everybody else - 8:1 but you may find up to 24 divers on some of their boats. They're the official cruise operator also. If you're going to stay in the NW Point area, that would be a long drive.

Some of the other dive operators run larger boat "six-pack" operations - check Ambassador Divers, Wall to Wall, Off the Wall, Neptunes, Living the Dream, Indigo etc. for what (for us) would be a better option. Most won't pick you up in the NW Point area but you could meet them at the marina nearby. If you stay on SMB - Ambassador is based at Comfort Suites. Most include a free shuttle from SMB area hotels/condos.

With a car though it's a non-issue - staying in NW Point you'll definitely want one - things are spaced apart there. And you'll probably drive down to SMB or over to Camana Bay for dinner occasionally. There's a Foster's market in West Bay for food also. http://www.fosters-iga.com/

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Here's some things you need to consider:

Generally speaking there is often a dive operator on-site at many of the known shore dive entry points. Since they own the land to the water's edge, you're not allowed to bring tanks or gear from off-site locations. This applies at Cobalt Coast and Lighthouse Point - Divetech onsite, Turtle Reef - Sundivers onsite, Eden Rock/Devils Grotto downtown - Eden Rock onsite, and Sunset House south of town.

Bolded emphasis mine.

Actually I've never seen them object to bringing outisde rental gear. Outside tanks is what I have seen them prohibit.

I don't believe (not positive, things change) that there's a dive operator near Kaibo Beach club. The nearest two I'm aware of are Tortuga Divers at Morritt's and Ocean Frontiers in the East End. Tortuga won't let tanks off-site - not sure about OF. I don't think either would rent you gear to remove from their property. I do believe - verify this - that OF would sell you fills. So you might have to drive all the way to Eden Rock in Georgetown to rent - that has to be over an hour one way. Maybe stop on the drive out from the airport if your flight gets in early enough.

Red Sail Sports has one of their watersports operations (jet ski and kayak rentals, stingray snorkel trips, and such) at Rum Point. They can arange for a dive boat to pick up guests in the Rum Point area (either at Rum Point or Kaibo) for diving the North Wall (weather permitting). The owners of the Rum Point property also own a substantial portion of Red Sail.

Tortuga Divers (which owned by Red Sail Sports) will not rent tanks for shore diving. With OF I have heard varying reports over the years.

The drive from the Rum Point are to Eden Rock is about 45 minutes, assuming you are not going during morning rush hour.

Sunset House is worth a drive down one afternoon, the Mermaid is a classic dive location, My Bar is fun - good food and the Cathy Church Photo School/Gallery is interesting. We thought Eden Rock was very tired, it's walking distance from the cruise port so has gotten a lot of traffic over the decades - others like the Devils Grotto swim-thru's. Go late afternoon when the cruisers are getting ready to leave.

Sunset House receives relatively few cruise ship guests. Most of them stop at Eden Rock.

Some of the other dive operators run larger boat "six-pack" operations - check Ambassador Divers, Wall to Wall, Off the Wall, Neptunes, Living the Dream, Indigo etc. for what (for us) would be a better option.

I second that suggestion for boat diving. I added links for those operators. Several probably would do pickups from the north SMB area or the marinas are close by if they are diving North Wall that day.

 

[Mark Derail]

All dive ops are "excellent"
All resorts are "excellent"
Don't miss "stingray city" (snorkel expedition or diving)

Having done Maui & GC within a year apart - GC was ok, Maui was wonderful. Why the distinction? The people, the culture.

We don't travel to dive, we travel and dive. So any vacation we dive between 4-6 times over 7-8 days, not more.

We stayed in Boddentown, Turtle Nest Inn, and dove private dives with Cayman Turtle Divers (small boat).

Now - everything and anything along 7MB is highly doved & snorkeled. Other than wreck diving, you won't see much. Diving at the Cracked Conch (North-West) or diving from Sunset House (South-West) you'll see more wildlife.

From hearsay when we were there - diving along the North shore where Rum Point is, to way out East, has better diving. Which makes sense, way too many tourists stopping by on the cruise lines.

 

[tkaelin]

In April, we stayed at Discovery Point on 7MB just below Cemetary Reef. Nice quiet location compared to staying closer to GT. I dove three days with Divetech. They picked me up every morning and free shore diving included at Lighthouse Pt and Cobalt Coast. I thought they were very good and enjoyed the trips. We shore dove at Lighthouse Pt, Turtle Reef and Eden Rock multiple times and enjoyed all and would recommend. You can't bring in tanks to thes sites but certainly can bring in all your other gear. They rent geat and I thought all were reasonably priced. We rented tanks one afternoon from Diver Supply to dive of Discovery Point and they were good to deal with as well. We dove with Seasport for an afternoon two tank, one on the Kittiwake and other on shallow reef. They were good as well. I would not recommend trying to swim out to the KW. We thought about it, received comments from others on another SB post and once down there decided it was way too far and potentially way too much boat traffic. If you stay at a condo and have the room bring food. Also try Chicken Chicken for affordable take out. Enjoy.

 

[Mark Derail]

I find that they should capture & use the free range chickens throughout the island. Especially the roosters...woke us up every morning real early.

In April... Also try Chicken Chicken for affordable take out. Enjoy.

 

[nfarrar]

Kaibo point is GREAT. Wonderful condos!!! Kaibo condos are modern, quiet and beachfront. Its not open ocean front its the bay but it does have a sunset view and no big waves!! Im not sure what dive ops run out or Kaibo but Rum point is just down the road and there are ops there. If you go to the other side of the island (7mb) we loved Divetech. We just got back after a week of diving. The North end has been open the last few days and Divetech goes there as often as they can. Eitherway you will want to go dive the Kittiwake! IT WAS GREAT! Shallow bright and 3 exits from every space.

If you are dealing with Nikki for the condo at Kaibo tell her Nick says HI!! Shes a sweety. If not you are in good company. They Kaido yacht club has a Tuesday night BBQ all you can eat. Its GREAT!!! Cobalt Coast has one on Sunday for lunch. Macabuca(behind Cracked Conch) has one Monday night.

Later Mon,
Nick

 

[Damselfish]

If this is a serious dive vacation, rather than a beach vacation with a few dives, I think it is better on Grand Cayman to decide what area of the island you want to dive and what type of diving you want to do, then pick your dive op to meet those criteria, then decide where you're staying. Or maybe pick the op and place in conjunction. If you are unfamiliar with the island and just pick a place first based on what sounds like a good place to stay, there is a good chance you will wind up someplace from which is it difficult/impractical/inconvenient to do the diving you would prefer.

If you decide you would like to do both East end and Northwest dives, or whatever, you might be better off splitting your stay between 2 different places. (This works better if if you can stay a bit longer than 7 nights, at least.) Or just chose a place and op where you can get a bunch of good diving, and save what you can't easily get to for a future trip. For example, if you can live without the shore diving you could stay someplace like Compass Point condos on the East End and dive with Ocean Frontiers, and get a week of great dives on the N, E, and South sides as conditions allow. Cobalt Coast and and Lighthouse Point in the Northwest are a couple other very dive oriented places you might consider. A condo on the north end of SMB is not a bad choice either, you can be away from the zoo but relatively close to stuff when you want it, easy to find a good op in range that will go to the better diving, and not bad to drive to the various ops with shore diving facilities if you want that. Outside of the established shore diving facilities, shore diving on Grand Cayman is unfortunately way less trivial than you would hope.

I'm not sure what is available for dive ops in the Rum Point area besides Red Sail, who would not be my choice to dive with except maybe for new or inexperienced divers, that seems more their niche and they may or may not suit you. So I'd make sure there was an op that suited my needs in that area first (and I currently have no idea.)

I can't imagine any op saying you can't bring in rental gear any more than they would say you can't dive with your own gear. Tanks are a different matter.

 

[diversteve]

since I've been corrected twice on this now:

or gear from off-site locations.

I'll just leave it at one of the better shore dive locations mentioned it the first time we were there.

Not that you couldn't just that it wasn't cool.

 

[mixedcouple]

I am new to this forum but this thread is exactly what I need to know more about. I am planning a dive trip to GC in mid-August (yes, I know it will be hot and humid...what can I say), but I really need to have a good diving experience. I am relatively new at it, just became certified, and had a terrible experience in Puerto Vallarta in February. So I need nice clear water and good things to see. My wife is a non-diver (hence the name "mixedcouple" but she does love to snorkle. Most likely two brothers and wives, all divers, one a Master Diver, will be going as well. In researching the opportunities at GC, I see that if we stay on the North Side, the tour operators are limited and the drive to where they are at 7MB might be a long one. I've read this thread and there are some good suggestions of dive operators and places to stay. I want to dive on three or four of the seven days, including the Kittywake, and do some other things on the off days. Don't particularly want to stay in the cruise ship area...would like to be away from the crowd as much as possible yet still have the opportunity to go diving without a lot of hassle of getting there. Does anyone know of any of the dive operators who take groups out really early in the morning, like around 6:00 AM? Would love to get a dive in before the heat of the day hits. Thanks for any help. Basically, knowing what we want, location for accommodations is the most important thing now. So many condos and villas spread out all around the island. I am assuming that the eastern or northeastern sides would be the best for ease in having someone pick us up for diving? Am I correct on that?