Another lodging question

[KathyV]

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

They offer 2 bedroom suites at Cobalt Coast, see below. They also have some stand-alone cottages but I think that they are 1 bedroom? The shore dive at Cobalt Coast has a tendency to get winded out in winter and that might extend into March, I am not sure.

@Todd C. I see that you are from Colorado so I wanted to mention that Cayman Airways is offering non-stop flights from Denver to GCM, starting in early March, so that would make your journey easy, even if you decide to continue on to LC, see link below:
Welcome to Cayman Airways

You haven't mentioned budget and if that is not a concern then that's great, and you can have your choice of Cayman properties; but taking 4 divers to Cayman and doing exclusively boat dives can get very pricey, especially if you want to do a lot of diving. Shore diving is a good way to cut diving costs on GC and it is very convenient when you are staying at a place that offers an onsite dive op that includes shore diving - like Lighthouse Point, Coconut Bay, and Cobalt Coast.

Feeding a family of 4 is also expensive, on Grand Cayman there are many choices and price ranges for places to eat and well-stocked grocery stores, so a condo that will allow you to prepare some of your meals is a great venue.

Staying at a small, diver-dedicated all-inclusive resort is another good option, especially on the sister islands of Brac and Little Cayman where restaurants and grocery stores are limited, and it can also help to control costs. The Clearly Cayman Resorts including CCGCR, CBBR and LCBR (and The Club at Little Cayman) are popular options.

GC has by far the most topside activities for a family but it is also the most developed destination. The north end of 7MB and the West Bay area north of 7MB are not too far from the popular spots but still quieter and less developed, but you will need to rent a car.

You haven't mentioned if your family likes white sand beachfront accommodations? If they do then a condo on 7MB is a great option but it can get pricey - but there are ranges - and you would have to take your gear to a shore diving site like Turtle Reef if you want to supplement your boat dives with shore dives.

Lots of good choices are available, but again, March is still the high season and Spring Break is a very popular time of year so don't wait too long!

Cobalt Coast 2-Bedroom Suite

• Ocean view rooms with one bedroom with 2 full size beds and ensuite bathroom
• Second bedroom with 1 king or 2 full size beds plus second bathroom with door that opens into bedroom and hallway from lounge
• Lounge area with small refrigerator and full sleeper sofa
• These rooms are a combination of a 1- bedroom suite and a garden view lock- off room
• Room safe

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Spot on comments for the most part, but I do feel I need to clarify a few things....

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.

The north wall can be good, but I would not say it's often stunningly clear. Often it's quite the opposite. I do enjoy diving on the north wall, but I would say there are maybe 40 days a year where the north wall has what we'd consider great conditions. The tidal outflow from the North Sound (aka the Green Monster) often makes visibility less than stellar up there, and sometimes downright awful.

A story I've told many times, we had a large group from a midwest dive shop. The trip leader insisted all we dive was the north wall, so we obliged. We had choppy seas, and pretty crappy vis the entire week on the north. The Wednesday of their week, we took the group to dive the Kittiwake, and when we arrived in West Bay, the guests all stared at the flat turquoise water and 100 foot vis. Several of the guests asked "why haven't we been diving here all week?" They had a meeting with their trip leader and that was the end of North Wall diving for that group.

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.

Big Tunnels, Orange Canyon and Trinity are some of my favorite sites, but I really try to caution guests about recommending or requesting dive sites. I've posted about this many times here - people will read about a dive site online or in a magazine somewhere, and then get it in their head that they must do this particular site. When we are unable to fulfill their request they get disappointed.

Case in point is Ghost Mountain - it's a very beautiful but small pinnacle on an otherwise boring section of the main wall. It's often plagued with current. Many customers request it, and are then disappointed it did not live up to their expectations. There are other pinnacles just as nice, on better sections of the wall.

My advice, is let your boat crew pick the sites that are best for the conditions of the day, based on their local knowledge. 2 things to remember: 1) we are diving the site with you, and we'd like to have a good dive as well. 2) much of our income depends on tips, so we want you to have the best dive and best experience you can.

Tony

 

[EastEndDiver]

Could not agree more with Tony.

Usually the people who post that you should request a specific dive site have not done many of the 365 sites around the island also the boat crew needs to take in to account the experience level of all on board

Todd.... Caydiver,Mike,Tkaelin, Kathy ,Tony either live own or visit the Island on a regular basis so theirs is NOT hearsay it's accurate up to date personal information in regard to Grand Cayman.

 

[Alucard]

I think a lot depends on what you want to do during your surface intervals, how much you want to dive, and how comfortable you are shore diving without a dive master. Only you can really answer those questions.

Condos are a good way to have a lot more space to spread out, with nice private family areas. It also allows you to keep the costs down. Three condo complexes in West Bay have shore diving right off the site - Coconut Bay, Bonnie's Arch, and Lighthouse Point (I'm not sure where "Hepp's Condos" are). Coconut Bay and BA have 2 and 3 bedroom condos and a pool (CB has two) - not sure what Lighthouse Point offers. Coconut Bay has a dive station with tanks and weights for rent, Lighthouse Point has Divetech right on site, and for Bonnie's Arch you would rent the tanks and weights from elsewhere (like Diver's Supply). All sites have really nice mini wall dives (Hepp's Pipeline for CB, Bonnie's Arch for Bonnie's Arch and Lighthouse Point with the statue) that should be well within the Junior OWC limits.

For any you would need a rental car, but with that you are within 10 minutes of a very large well-stocked grocery store that lets you load up on breakfast, lunch foods and snacks, which keeps the costs a bit more under control. You are also within 20 minutes of most of the main attractions on the West Side of the island, and close to the bypass to get you into George Town and out on the eastern side of the town if you want to explore out that way.

If shore diving off the property is less important, but you want to be right on a beach, then condos on the northern end of SMB are definitely an option. You still have publicly-available shore dives at Macabuca, Lighthouse Point, Sunset House and Eden Rock (the last two in George Town) all of which have tanks and weights on site.

I am also a proponent of letting the dive ops pick the site. Buoys are "first come, first serve" so you may not always get the exact site you want anyway, and conditions can vary. Give the dive op your parameters (like the important fact that you have 2 Junior Open Water divers in your group) and they can tailor your experience for the conditions. I can vouch for the fact that most dive ops don't just pick the site that is closest to the dock. A good example of conditions is Ghost Mountain - it's right around the corner from where the boats go from but I have been able to dive it exactly twice in 12 years - it's in a strange location, currents can be an issue, and it's often greened out. That is my experience with it, anyway - and I really, really wanted to go back there for personal reasons. But anyway, it's way beyond Junior OWC depths, so kind of academic.

If there is specific stuff that you or your family want to try to see, let the DM know - some people like the big stuff, some like the very small stuff. That may change site selection, but it will also inform the dive master of things they need to point out.

(Full disclosure: I own rental property in Coconut Bay. I try to provide balanced information based on my and others experiences.)

 

[divezonescuba]

Cayman Brac all the way.

Rent the condo from Sue and Dave on SB, get a minivan, and dive with the Brac Shack. Not too expensive if you bring some food and go to the grocery a bit. Your choice of only boat diving, only shore diving, or a combination of each. You can shore dive all day all week for like $200.

Non dive activities abound. Get a copy of the Adventurers guide to Cayman Brac

 

[cgills]

Two young teens? I would definitely opt for somewhere along the 7Mile Bch corridor, extending up into the NWPT area,LHPT, Coconut Bay,etc.Save the sister islands for a future trip, when the lads are a bit older and liable to be happy just diving all day.

Make the most of any site your boat captain & crew select .Current, visibility, weather, site availability, all play a role in their decision. I have dived from one end of the island to the other, and have had excellent dives and not so great dives on all fronts. Although the North Wall offers some breathtaking topography, after a few days of diving there, I'm anxious to return to the West Side where I feel the marine life is more prolific and diversified. Teach the boys how to hunt/ look for marine life, as opposed to pedaling over the reef awaiting something to cross their path. They will find their dives are far more rewarding and less disappointing. Doing the same site twice in a week? Different day, different dive.

What is nice, is the fact, the dive ops always have someplace here to dive,(with rare exceptions), having a leeside of the island to turn to, each has it's beauty and charm !

 

[caydiver]

I agree with most of what diversteve said but would add that most (not all ops) will happily go to sites like Ghost Mountain when conditions are good and the mooring ball is actually there. Some of the bigger ones that are on a tighter schedule can not get there in back on their schedule. The Kittiwake is deeper now. You pay extra to go and if someone has to hang back with your junior it might be worthwhile to wait a year rather than wasting the money. Again most ops go to The Kittiwake. Some have dedicated times but there is more than one mooring and like all dive sites, they are first come first serve. A few get around this by leaving 1/2 hour earlier or 1/2 later than the throng, so they get whichever sites they want based on conditions. Depending on the time of the year you might want to take a look at historical weather conditions. Winter on the windward side of the island can be difficult and even here on the west side where conditions are not as affected, we can still get Nor’Easters etc that can send all our boats south for a day or a week which puts a big limit on any shore diving, snorkeling or even swimming. It would be a shame to plan a whole holiday and then find out you picked the ideal place at the absolute wrong time!!! Couldn’t agree more with same site different day equals different dive—we have even done back to back on the same site if it has been amazing. Whether it’s free swimming moray time, oceanic triggers protecting their water column, schools of squid, it is constantly changing!!

 

[FindingMenno]

Although the North Wall offers some breathtaking topography, after a few days of diving there, I'm anxious to return to the West Side where I feel the marine life is more prolific and diversified.!

I think @cgills hits the nail on the head here.

In my view the North Wall has as it's attractions the sheer vertical walls and the chance of seeing some bigger life (sharks, Eagle Rays). On the downsides the surface conditions are usually choppier, more wind so colder on the surface interval, chance of currents, chance of low viz, and a longer boat drive.

The West side offers more in terms of number and variety of marine life, and more interesting topography with canyons, swim-throughs, big sand chutes. The only real negative I'd say is there is a smaller chance of bigger life, although it is certainly not unusual to see Eagle Rays or Nurse Sharks.

We have the somewhat (un)fortunate situation in the Cayman Islands (like a lot of popular diving destinations) that we get covered in many diving magazines and websites. So a journalist/diver finds itself needing to pump out an article, does one or two specific sites and does a gushing write-up on it as that is what they are paid for (ever read a negative destination article in a magazine?). That gets recycled over and over to become 'internet truth'. It's good publicity for the islands and diving, but leads a lot of divers to focus on specific dive sites whereas I would say there's little to choose between the sites - they're all pretty good! As result we spend a lot of time explaining the real situation to interested divers, and these can often be difficult conversations as people can be stubborn on this...

As Tony mentioned, we're in the water with you and we prefer a good dive too!

 

[caydiver]

I just totally agree with Menno I would add that everyone has a different budget, different skill level (even those who think they are masters of local or dive holiday dive vacays). I did many outstanding dive holidays here and many elsewhere. My kids did many certs here. Professionalism was more important than budget when it came to the kids. I just don’t believe in cheap being the big factor. All the dives are good great awesome.

 

[DawgFan]

I have two teen boys and they got certified along with my wife and I a couple of years ago so we’re still new divers. We’ve done 3 trips to Grand Cayman and really enjoy it there. Stayed in a condo on Seven Mile Beach each time. It’s pricey and that’s the biggest downside.

On days when we do morning dives, can be back at the condo, eat lunch and out on the beach by 1:30pm. We usually have lunch in the condo but there are places to eat within walking distance or short drive if we want a change of pace. We always rent a car and places like Camana Bay with restaurants and movie theater are a short drive and make for good evenings.

So I’m another vote for condo and Seven Mile Beach. That being said, we’re generally a condo preference wherever we go. We’re trying out Coz for the first time in a few weeks and won’t be in a condo there so that will be new for us. Spring Break this year will be dedicated to a college search for my Junior but we’ve already booked the GC condo for our summer vacation.