Another lodging question

[Todd C.]

I'm planning a trip in March with my wife and 13 & 15 year old sons. The boys were certified earlier this year & we've done one Cozumel trip together since then. My wife & I have been diving for years, but mostly in Cozumel & Central America. Looking forward to trying The Caymans.

Reading tons of threads here combined with what's still available has led me to the following 3 places:

Compass Point
Lighthouse Point
Little Cayman Beach Resort (at The Club condos)

Since the kids have started diving with us (awesome) we know that easier diving will be a requirement. Nothing too deep either. The extra plane ride to LC is a negative to going there, but we'll suck it up if the diving is that much better (given our depth & experience limitations). Bloody Bay Wall has always been on my to do list. But maybe it's best to wait until the kids are older?

Thanks for any tips you have. I know there's no clear answer, but your experiences will be helpful. I'm pretty sure there's no bad decision among them.

 

[KathyV]

It depends on what else you want to do on vacation besides diving. Lighthouse Point is just north of Seven Mile Beach and George Town on Grand Cayman so with a car you will have easy access to restaurants and other amenities. I believe that you get unlimited shore diving at Lighthouse Point so that would give you more, convenient diving opportunities, without the extra expense. If I am remembering correctly, the reef is quite close to the shore at Lighthouse Point so it is easy shore diving. There is no shore diving at Compass Point or at the Club at LC.

You can also find 3 bedroom condos with an onsite dive op and shore diving at Coconut Bay which is a bit north of Lighthouse Point.

Compass Point is a great option and there is very good diving on the East End but it a good 45 minutes to an 1 hour drive to many of the restaurants and popular venues, so keep that in mind. But there is life on the East End, contrary to popular opinion, so it should be fine unless you want to spend much time in the more developed areas of the island. Traffic is easy on the EE but it can be bad around GT and 7MB during rush hours - and you will be driving on the left through the roundabouts.

I have stayed at LCBR but not at The Club condos, but it looks like a nice option for a family and you will have access to the amenities at the (small, quiet, pleasant) resort, but there is not much else to do on LC beside relax, dive, and enjoy nature. That's fine with me but not with everybody. The extra flight to LC is not a big deal, about a half hour and $150/pp roundtrip. But you will be flying small, twin otter planes so luggage is limited - and sometimes delayed.

There are many good diving options on all 3 Cayman islands, and the 3 you are considering are excellent properties and dive ops, so you need to decide what will work best for your family. I think Little Cayman has the best diving, but if the weather doesn't cooperate you will dive the south side of LC and it isn't as good IMO. On GC they usually have more good choices if the weather conditions aren't the best, and more things to do topside.

If there are depth restrictions for your younger divers, you can usually stay near the top of the walls in Cayman and I think that should be fine. The walls start quite shallow in Little Cayman so that is especially nice.

March is a very popular time because of Spring Break Family Vacations, so don't delay too long in making reservations. Also reserve a rental car in advance if you decide to stay on GC. If you pick Little Cayman then book your interisland flights soon, because sometimes you are able to find accommodations on LC but you can't get flights - they use small planes that only fly during daylight hours.

Good luck making your decision but it should be great whatever you pick!

 

[caydiver]

Your 13 year old is a junior and will be limited to 60 feet. We often have families with juniors and it is never an issue. The only issue with dive resorts is that they are not on the beach so if that is something you your family wants to include you should stay at a condo. My kids grew up diving but they wouldn’t have wanted to dive every morning and afternoon every day and have options that didn’t mean they had to be driven to go any place besides in the water. I would look at condos on northern Seven Mile Beach. You will have lots of room and will save a bundle on preparing some meals and snacks.

 

[mi000ke]

As @caydiver mentioned, you might want to consider renting a condo. We have a place on SMB and March is a very popular time for families (we tend to get a lot of visitors staying with us in March). The kids can hang out on the beach or swim in the pool, relax in the jacuzzi - and there often are other kids around that age to hang out with. There are usually outdoor grills at many of the condos, and we see lots of families grilling and eating outdoors along the beach. You will have a kitchen and the ability to make some of your own meals, if you get tired going out to eat all of the time. And you'll usually get a lot more room for the same price.

There are lots of dive ops that will pick you up anywhere along SMB. Most of the dive ops do a deep wall dive followed by a shallow reef. You can buddy up and stay to the top of the wall during the deep dive, but If you are concerned about the deep dive there are some dive ops that do two shallow dives. I know that Red Sail does a double shallow afternoon dive, and as I recall, Living the Dream does as well. But if you contact a few of the other shops they can tell you - or maybe someone here can chime in about that.

Have a great stay.

 

[tkaelin]

Have you thought about coconut bay condo and shore diving there and nearby sites

 

[caydiver]

We often do double shallow when guests request it. I am sure our colleagues do the same.

 

[scubaNYC16]

The diving is much much better in Little Cayman and it’s some the best diving in the Caribbean. It’s an easy short flight and much more chill than GC. I dove in Grand Cayman but felt but it’s too touristy and built up. I’ve been to Little Cayman beach resort twice over the summer and going back over Christmas. I haven’t seen the condos but the resort itself is great and you could get 2 rooms right next to each other. If you stay in the condos, you would eat your meals and do the diving through LCBR. It’s easy diving with no currents and if you stay on the top of the wall, it’s not too deep. The only difference there is the DM will guide the group for the first half hour and then head back to the boat so you could follow them and stay near the boat or return on your own. It’s really easy and there’s plenty to see under and near the boat mooring.

Here’s some video-

 

[tkaelin]

You have received some good advice and responses so far. Having been to GC many times and having been in your shoes I will offer some more. We are a family of four divers and started diving together in 2009 when my two kids were 12. and 15. We started out in Bonaire which was perfect for all of us. Still would be except for the unreasonably high airfares.

The kids will soon be turning 22 and 25. We did a family trip to GG this past June and stayed and dived at Coconut Bay. This was our second time there and it has the best shore diving on the island with a good set up on the property for divers. Turtle Reef, another popular and very good shore dive site, is next door. Most of my divers prefer shore diving and it is much less expensive than boat diving. You can shore dive a week for what it might cost you for one two tank boat dive.

You listed three places. Given your kids age I would pass on LC and wait until your jr. cert can become a regular cert. Never stayed at Lighthouse but the units look very nice, they have full kitchens and have shore diving on site. Compass point/Oceanfrontiers is wonderful but no shore diving. Of the three I would recommend Lighthouse. It has shore diving on site, easy access to a boat dive if you prefer and the shore diving sites at coconut bay and turtle reef are minutes away by car.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[EastEndDiver]

To add to what Tkaelin said you also have Cobalt Coast a short distance away also a very good shore dive you basically have 4 very good shore dive locations in that area with tank and weight rentals on site ...also gear rental if needed

 

[diversteve]

Compass Point and the East End might be kind of quiet for two teenage boys. There's just not a lot out thee to do. Good boat diving with Ocean Frontiers on-site - my buddy dives with them..

Lighthouse Point is about 10mins. from anything. As Kathy mentioned, you'll need a car. Their shore dive starts shallow off their dock and you can swim out to the main wall drop-off from there.

I'd look at Coconut Bay condos also, it's near Turtle Reef which is an easy, shallow dive. Macabuca is there for lunch and Cracked Conch for better meals. Almost across the street is the Turtle Farm/Boatswains Beach attraction.

You might also look at Hepp's condos - a smaller complex also north of SMB. They have a ladder they deploy for guests to access the Hepp's Wall and Arch sites but it's a decent swim out. I see the condos on vrbo.

North SMB is pretty quiet south to about the Ritz then it gets more congested to downtown. Lots of condos in that area but no diving off the beach - the reef is too far out. Most of the dive operations pick up there - boats are often at one of two marinas a few minutes away. Ours even dropped us for lunch between dives.

Stingray City is 15' deep. You're the rays best friend till the squid is gone. It's a lot more fun than it sounds like. One of Psycho's (moray) descendants lives in the patch reef nearby - otherwise it's a lot of sand. Our dive was called at 45min.

Georgetown can have multiple cruise ships in daily so best to avoid that mornings. There's a few good restaurants worth the drive. Also Eden Rock/Devils Grotto are two shallower shore dives with the cruise port 50 yds. away. They're the 4pm dive when the cruisers are queueing up to leave.

And further south is Sunset House, Walk-in's welcome. There's 2-3 dives there - a small wreck at arpimd 70' and the Mermaid stature in about 60' and the tourist sub goes by in the mornings. Also the Cathy Church photo school/gallery and My Bar is a good place for lunch. Two easy entries to the reef there - off the dock or the saltwater pool, open to the ocean on one end.

Still further south is Smith's Cove, a public beach with a shallow dive. Rent tanks at Eden Rock or Diver's Supply as there's no facilities there.

I'm suggesting all these shore dives as with 4 divers you're looking at 2 tanks/$100 each for boat dives so that will get pricey fast. Definitely worth it though - as others mentioned, usually first dives are deep followed by a shallow 2nd dive. The water off the North Wall is often stunningly clear - some operations warn you to watch your computer as you drop as there's no particles in the water for reference.

Some boat dives to ask about - Big Tunnels (deep) Orange Canyon, Trinity Caves. If you stay at Lighthouse,. Divetech goes to Ghost Mountain - arguably one of the best but the swim through is deeper. Aquarium on the west side was among the better shallow dives.Scuba Diving Videos, Guide to Best Grand Cayman Dive Sites lists over 300 sites - many with videos.

Also the Kittiwake is a dive cleaned wreck that all can do. The first couple levels are open with access cut into the sides. It's so shallow it's even a snorkel - a recent storm tore the wheelhouse roof off. Most shops dive it by appt. so call around to find one that fits your plans.

You might also look for one of the smaller operators - usually their boats are bigger anyway and they limit trips to 6-8 divers max - with 4 you'd have some input on site selection. Try Wall to Wall, Ambassador Divers, Neptune's Divers or Stingray Watersports at Coconut Bay - the owner also owns a rental condo.