Dive Ops in Grand Cayman

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Ocean Frontiers has the options of going to the north side, staying on the east end, or going to the south side. This gives them great flexibility, depending on conditions. I have been there twice, once in the fall and once in the winter. In the fall, we did most of the dives in the north. In the winter, most were in the south. Both were excellent dives. Generally, best chances to see Reef Sharks are at sites off the SW corner.

Ocean Frontiers is the best land based operator I have used. The full kitchen condos at Compass Point give you flexibility for meals. Breakfast is included. We generally made lunch, split dinners beween eating in and going out.

Enjoy your stay


Thank you. Yes we have reservations/dive package at Compass Point. Good to know that they won’t just cancel due to the eastern winds but instead will take you North or South.
 
Tha


————
Thank you. We have solid reservations on the East. Lighthouse is holding for me until Thursday when I expect to have an answer from my dive buddy (dive buddy leaning towards keeping original plan on East—I am leaning West).

My concern is whether the winds will be too much for us on the East in late March. I will keep asking around.

I appreciate your help.


It's easy to second guess choices as you get closer to departure, I do it too, it's an important decision. You just have to weigh your options and make your best decision. I think that you will be fine either way. I love the East End but I am not a big fan of 7MB.
 
@KathyV - great job as usual in providing great info about different areas of the island(s).



The time of year may make a difference. Have been on the East End in summer and winter. When we were there in June of 2010, snorkeling at the pier of Morritt's Tortuga Club was my first close up encounter with a reef shark - tropical fish were around, probably due to the fact there is a restaurant on their pier. My wife and I used info I'd found about entry points for shore dives, found an off road area we could park along the north coast, and found a large beach area that we snorkeled in several places (saw some cuttlefish or squid amongst other things) - it wasn't great snorkeling but we didn't go very far out. Starfish Point beach (near Rum Point) is a unique place to snorkel if visibility is good. Haven't snorkeled at Rum Point, but have heard there were some decent places, such as Cayman Kai Beach, around there. Rum Point is also close to the bioluminescent bay - not sure if you can find an entry spot on your own and snorkel in or if it's regulated in some way for tours only, which is how we did it. Was in GC just a few winters ago (staying at Compass Point) and didn't attempt any snorkeling in the ocean (except for in bioluminescent bay and at the Turtle Farm lagoon the prior week) as the diving was rough enough! Enough about snorkeling on the East End.

If you were on the East End for the week, things to do include Crystal Caves, the botanical garden, Kaibo Beach Bar BBQ on Tuesday, Stingray City from Kaibo Beach or Rum Point, and sightseeing (blowholes, ten sails, Mastic Trail hiking.) A day to go into Georgetown or a ferry from Kaibo Beach to Camana Bay for shopping/dining is also an option. Plenty of restaurants on the East End, including 2 favorites - Big Tree BBQ and Kurt's Corner on Frank Sound Rd (between Crystal Caves and the botanical garden). We're going back to stay at Morritt's in April and I'm hoping the daily specials at Kurt's are as good as a few years ago!

Not trying to sell it (just sharing info), but just saying a person could stay busy for a week on the East End, especially if you add diving to the mix.



Compass Point and Ocean Frontiers (pretty much the same people) will be one of the best diving experiences you have as long as it's not winter - they will take care of your gear (if you have your own) from the moment you arrive from carrying it from your room when you arrive to having it dry and back at your room before you leave. They have a schedule for the week of dives that they do. Lot's of friendly, knowledgeable staff.They have an instructional pool, as well as a separate pool with a hot tub. The restaurant is pretty good also. It is iron shore, but they have a sandy area to sit, relax, and watch the dive boats leave and come back - if you're not on it.

We booked through, I think, hotel.com (it's in a trip report somewhere here on SB.) Compared to Compass Point's online deal, even with rental car and diving, we did better piecing it together ourselves.

Bottomline - you'll like wherever you wind up!


Yes. Thank you. We booked directly. They look fantastic. My only concern is the wind. I have stayed in the East end before...but as a snorkeler—and had to drive West (every day) for good sites (due to the winds on that trip in April). Probably sticking with Compass Point as long as we are taken out (North, South, West) if the East is too windy.


Much appreciated.
 
Weather and getting out should not be a problem at OF. Been there a number of times. Only time they canceled was due to heavy morning rain squals that so Iimited surface vis that safety was an issue with divers in the water and that would have been the case anywhere on the island where the squals were occurring.
 
Actually OF have their guests diving on the West Side this week. Their boat is over here. Tortuga has its guests over here as well. They no doubt send them with Red Sail. They are hoping to be able be up and running from their own docks by Saturday by right now there are no boats running out of the EE do they don’t have the option of just going north or south. The conditions are too rough.
 
Good to know caydiver. At least they are getting out. Weather must be crap.
 
We took friends to Stingray Sandbar yesterday. Didn’t even get off the boat. To be honest this is an unusual spate of crappy weather!!!
 
Arrived here Saturday, and while the wind has been up all week, the west side off SMB has been like a lake. I'm looking at the ocean now (diving west side this afternoon) and while it's still windy, the ocean is flat and I can see 8 moored dive boats from my porch.
 
I’m late to the party, but for people reading this. Especially if your by 7 mile beach, give “Turtle Divers” a call. Excellent people with modern equipment to include the boat and van. They do full valet service, will pick you up and drop you off, works with small groups and the price point is less than most on the island. As a plus, at the dive shop there is a full bar on the back side of the property. We have used them twice now and we were there last week for 6 days.

If you bring your own equipment they can keep your BCD, regulator and fins onboard if your doing multiple dives. We dove 3 days and it was nice just bringing our masks and camera gear for diving.

Very upbeat and friendly staff. Chad who is the skipper also dives and takes professional photography. Fredricca is a dive master and is just awesome. The other staff are on point as well.

Glenn
 
I think that for divers without a lot of dives under their belts who want to do other things during their overnight surface intervals, and want a more "go with the flow" dive experience, you can do a lot worse than staying at one of the locations in West Bay that provide shore dives on site.

These would be Bonnie's Arch, Lighthouse Point, Coconut Bay, and Cobalt Coast. For Bonnie's Arch you would need to get tanks from Divers Supply, but the others all have tanks on site for shore diving. You are close to West Bay Dock which has many, many excellent dive ops going out of there (I have been out with Cayman University Divers and InDepth Watersports, both excellent ops). They will usually pick you up from your condo so the rest of the folks travelling with you can use your car while you are gone.

This tends to be far more cost-effective than staying directly on Seven Mile Beach, where you pay a premium for being beach-front. It allows you to have groceries in the place for breakfasts and lunches and you have plenty of options for dinners within easy reach.

Disclaimer: I own rental property in Coconut Bay
 
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