Cayman diving advice

[icouldcarelessbutdont]

We're looking at Cayman as another destination for diving and have some questions for those experienced in it. Here are a two things to consider though:

1. We believe Bonaire is the absolute gold standard for divers, we adore shore diving because all we do is boat/drift diving here in South Florida, so we're always up for doing mostly shore diving if possible. In 10 days we did 47 dives in our most recent trip to Curacao, we dive.

2. We do not like the idea of "valet" service, any part of it. We don't mind you loading and unloading our gear from the boat, but no one sets our gear up, no one else rinses it, and we store all our own gear. Yes, we bring all our own gear.

That being said, is there a ton of shore diving in the Cayman Islands? If so, is there equivalent to drive and dive type packages you find in Bonaire and Curacao? If not, what is a better boat operator who won't get twisted with divers who refuse the "valet" part of the service? Where is the better place to stay for peace and quiet? We don't care to hang out with other tourists after diving and we generally prefer to cook our own food since we're on strict diets for training, which means accomodations that are like apartments or places with a kitchen/kitchenette.

Thanks in advance.

 

[NachoMan]

Are you looking at Grand Cayman only or would you be open to Little Cayman? While there is certainly some great shore diving in GCM, a significant number of the total sites are not accessible by a swim. Little Cayman may be more to your liking and closer to the Bonaire drive and dive experience.

 

[icouldcarelessbutdont]

Are you looking at Grand Cayman only or would you be open to Little Cayman? While there is certainly some great shore diving in GCM, a significant number of the total sites are not accessible by a swim. Little Cayman may be more to your liking and closer to the Bonaire drive and dive experience.

Haven't actually thought of it, still in the exploratory phase right now, we'll look at little Cayman now

 

[tkaelin]

Shore diving is limited in the Caymans and not like Bonaire or Curacao in that regard. You might want to post your thread under the Caymans and not the Bahamas subforum.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @icouldcarelessbutdont

You might want to take a look at Cayman Brac. I discovered that Cayman Brac has quite a lot of shore diving when I visited in 2017. Unfortuneately, I have not had the opportunity to return there yet. I have looked into staying at the Alexander Hotel, they have kitchettes and a meal plan. Brac Scuba Shack supplies tanks for shore diving and also has boat diving. @divezonescuba knows quite a bit about the shore diving off Brac and recent experience. You can search for his posts in this forum.

Thread 'Shore diving on Cayman Brac?'

Oct 31, 2017

I recently made my first visit to Cayman Brac. I knew nearly nothing about shore diving on the Brac before my visit and had arranged only boat diving. I missed one day of diving due to Tropical Storm Philippe so went exploring with one of CBBR's bikes. I stopped at Scuba Shack and picked up a great resource, Shore Diving Guide to Cayman Brac, published by the Sister Island Tourism Association. Twenty six shore diving sites are listed in the guide, along with directions to the site, a dive map, and helpful hints. A dive flag is required for shore diving. As it is not drift diving, it can...

• scubadada

• 

Thread 'Alexander Hotel Cayman Brac First Impressions'

Jun 4, 2023

We are currently in Cayman Brac staying at the Alexander Hotel. This is the once closed hotel located on the crossroad between the north and south shores of the island. We were very excited to hear that covid was over for the Cayman Islands and that the Alexander was again open for business. We vaguely recall seeing for sale signs just prior to Covid.

The rooms are very nice. There are comfortable beds, a kitchenette, and showers with two built in seats. This makes it easy to remove wetsuits, boots, and socks.

The internet connection is strong, fast, and accessible from the rooms...

• divezonescuba

• 

EDIT: Good idea from @tkaelin moving this to the Cayman Islands forum

 

[icouldcarelessbutdont]

Hi @icouldcarelessbutdont

You might want to take a look at Cayman Brac. I discovered that Cayman Brac has quite a lot of shore diving when I visited in 2017. Unfortuneately, I have not had the opportunity to return there yet. I have looked into staying at the Alexander Hotel, they have kitchettes and a meal plan. Brac Scuba Shack supplies tanks for shore diving and also has boat diving. @divezonescuba knows quite a bit about the shore diving off Brac and recent experience. You can search for his posts in this forum.

Thread 'Shore diving on Cayman Brac?'

Oct 31, 2017

I recently made my first visit to Cayman Brac. I knew nearly nothing about shore diving on the Brac before my visit and had arranged only boat diving. I missed one day of diving due to Tropical Storm Philippe so went exploring with one of CBBR's bikes. I stopped at Scuba Shack and picked up a great resource, Shore Diving Guide to Cayman Brac, published by the Sister Island Tourism Association. Twenty six shore diving sites are listed in the guide, along with directions to the site, a dive map, and helpful hints. A dive flag is required for shore diving. As it is not drift diving, it can...

• scubadada

• 

Thread 'Alexander Hotel Cayman Brac First Impressions'

Jun 4, 2023

We are currently in Cayman Brac staying at the Alexander Hotel. This is the once closed hotel located on the crossroad between the north and south shores of the island. We were very excited to hear that covid was over for the Cayman Islands and that the Alexander was again open for business. We vaguely recall seeing for sale signs just prior to Covid.

The rooms are very nice. There are comfortable beds, a kitchenette, and showers with two built in seats. This makes it easy to remove wetsuits, boots, and socks.

The internet connection is strong, fast, and accessible from the rooms...

• divezonescuba

• 

EDIT: Good idea from @tkaelin moving this to the Cayman Islands forum

Checking it out now, thanks.

 

[tkaelin]

We have been diving Cur Bon and Caymans for a number of years and we prefer shore diving over boat diving. Shore diving is limited on GC and the handful of sites have a dive op where you are required to rent tanks from the onsite dive op which has not been a negative for us. The sites are Turtle Reef at Macabuca in West Bay, Lighthouse Point West Bay and Grotto/Eden Rock in Georgetown (which we only dive on a weekend day and when no cruise ship). Our favorite shore dive is Hepps but the access is at Coconut Bay Condos and the access is for their guests only. On site dive op for tanks. We stay at CBC when we want to shore dive and dive Hepps. Turtle Reef/Macabuca next door and Lighthouse Point 5 mins. by car. We enjoy it but we don't mind diving the same sites multiple times per day. There is nothing on GC like Bon where you rent a truck and dive package and drive around the island hitting marked shore dives.

As Scubadada points outs there is shore diving on Brac. We recently learned of shoring diving on Brac and we have planned a short stay next year to check it out staying at the Alexander Hotel (combined with a trip to Little Cayman where we will be boat diving and staying at SCC).

Unaware of shore diving options on LC.

Have fun planning

 

[scubadada]

Divetech runs the Cobalt Coast shore and boat diving site on Grand Cayman in addition to Lighthouse Point. However, the resort and restaurant have changed significantly from the old Cobalt Coast Resort.