GC - North side and East side - shore dive sites?

[ScubaTexas]

Will be visiting Grand Cayman and staying in a home on the north side. I'm looking for information on shore dive sites located on the north side and on the east side. I'm aware of Babylon as a potential shore dive. Are there others recommended?

Thanks

 

[Doctorfish]

On the north, there is shore diving at Cobalt Coast.
Have never tried to shore dive north or east except there and at Babylon.

Babylon is a long swim out.

If you are staying east of north sound, I would look more at boat diving. If you are on the north, west of the north sound,it's a short drive to Cobalt, Turtle Reef and Lighthouse, all of which have good shore dives.

 

[KathyV]

Babylon is a great site but I wouldn't do it as a shore dive either, it's a long way from shore.

Cobalt Coast is in West Bay on the west side of the island, but it is on the northern end of the west side - above the Seven Mile Beach area.

Rum Point and Kaibo are on the Northside and they are a long drive to the shore dive sites like Cobalt, Turtle Reef, and Lighthouse Point.

I don't think that there is much shore diving on the Northside or the East End, but there is some very good boat diving available. Ocean Frontiers is a popular dive op at Compass Point on the East End.

The nearest shore dive to the Northside that I am aware of is at Sunset House which is south of George Town and south of 7MB. There is also shore diving at Eden Rock in George Town but be sure to avoid times when cruise ships are in port.

 

[diversteve]

There's several sites on the NE side you can get to - Plus I think there's one more on the east side. They're probably on idivecayman Best Dive Sites Grand Cayman - iDive

Testudo's Snorkel Guide lists some NE sites - maybe they're also dives?

 

[Damselfish]

Maybe clarify what you mean by "staying on the north side." Exactly where, so people can focus. Since you are asking for dives north and east, I assume that means you are staying someplace on the North coast east of the sound - like around Rum Point or the town actually called North Side. Rather than on the North side west of the sound, which is called West End and is where places like Cobalt Coast, Turtle Reef, and Lighthouse Point are.

The north/east coast area is not exactly a hotbed of handy shore diving, my understanding is access is difficult due to distance, private property, entries, whatever. Even if you find a few you want to take a crack at - if the place you're staying doesn't come with tanks and a compressor, you need to figure out where you're going to get tanks? Not much for dive shops around there, let alone any that rent tanks to take off site. The couple places generally mentioned that rent tanks to go are quite far away from there, near Georgetown/SMB. You might want to think about some boat trips from an East end op, and some day trips where you hang out and dive at one of the West Side places with tanks and shore diving.

 

[ScubaTexas]

Maybe clarify what you mean by "staying on the north side." Exactly where, so people can focus. Since you are asking for dives north and east, I assume that means you are staying someplace on the North coast east of the sound - like around Rum Point or the town actually called North Side. Rather than on the North side west of the sound, which is called West End and is where places like Cobalt Coast, Turtle Reef, and Lighthouse Point are.

Thanks. Staying on North side - near Old Man Bay area - at Christmas Palms villa for a week. Then hitting 7 mile beach for a week.

 

[ScubaTexas]

The north/east coast area is not exactly a hotbed of handy shore diving, my understanding is access is difficult due to distance, private property, entries, whatever. Even if you find a few you want to take a crack at - if the place you're staying doesn't come with tanks and a compressor, you need to figure out where you're going to get tanks? Not much for dive shops around there, let alone any that rent tanks to take off site. The couple places generally mentioned that rent tanks to go are quite far away from there, near Georgetown/SMB. You might want to think about some boat trips from an East end op, and some day trips where you hang out and dive at one of the West Side places with tanks and shore diving.

I found that Ocean Frontiers between Gun Bay and East End rents tanks to take off site. Definitely will try to get some boat dives in on that side of the island but we always enjoy fun and challenging shore dive opportunities. We do have two kayaks that could reduce some swims a tad.

When hit SMB the following week, planning to hit the typical shore dives - Turtle, Hepps, Cobalt/Dive Tech, Cheeseburger, Eden Rock, Devil Grotto, Soto, Sunset, etc, etc.

 

[ScubaTexas]

There's several sites on the NE side you can get to - Plus I think there's one more on the east side. They're probably on idivecayman Best Dive Sites Grand Cayman - iDive

Testudo's Snorkel Guide lists some NE sites - maybe they're also dives?

Thank you. This is a great interactive website for dive sites. Lots of great info and comments from divers.

 

[Damselfish]

I found that Ocean Frontiers between Gun Bay and East End rents tanks to take off site.

Good to know, I didn't think they did.

 

[caydiver]

So I live here, came several times a year for dive holidays for a few decades and now live here and have an op. To really enjoy diving north boats are the way to go especially with the Sargassum mess by the shore. I have a very dear long time friend that runs a NorthSide op and love diving with them when conditions warrant. Don’t short change yourselves limiting to shore diving. I have had years of excellent shore dives but in reality they don’t compare to the short trip on boat dives. Apples to oranges or better yet Bentleys to upscale Toyotas, simply different levels. It’s your hard earned holiday enjoy it to the fullest instead of trying hard to make it happen.