Cayman possible border reopening without quarantine by April or May!

[Jake 10]

Your guess is as good as mine…I’ll find out but I doubt it.

please keep us posted on this finding

 

[KathyV]

Cayman dive business setting up shop in Turks and Caicos - Cayman Compass

 

[tridacna]

As suspected, there is no shore diving at East Bay Resort.

 

[tkaelin]

I may be thinking of Grand Turk as far as a dive resort with shore diving.

 

[Doctorfish]

Looking forward to Tridacna's report.
GC was already off my list because of population, traffic, crime, drunk drivers, high prices, and Stony Coral.
I thing Reef Divers / Clearly Cayman made a very smart move here. As a consumer, it's always good to have another good Caribbean diving option.
I've dive Grand Turk and Provo but never South Caicos. I assume the diving would be very similar.

 

[Jcp2]

Looking forward to Tridacna's report.
GC was already off my list because of population, traffic, crime, drunk drivers, high prices, and Stony Coral.
I thing Reef Divers / Clearly Cayman made a very smart move here. As a consumer, it's always good to have another good Caribbean diving option.
I've dive Grand Turk and Provo but never South Caicos. I assume the diving would be very similar.

And here I was thinking that GC was one of the higher end Caribbean dive islands.

 

[Doctorfish]

It used to be.
As I mentioned above, GC has deteriorated over the years for many reasons. Add in Covid restrictions and Stony Coral Disease and IMO, time to go elsewhere. Brac and LC so far have not had the same reef deterioration and other issues, and are still great Caribbean dive destinations.

Just scan the Cayman Compass for a while and you will learn about violence, crime, over development, traffic accidents, DUI problems and more. I used to love this island but now I just pass through on my way to the Sister Islands.

 

[drrich2]

And here I was thinking that GC was one of the higher end Caribbean dive islands.

To be fair, let's consider the competition (other Caribbean islands).

1.) Grand Cayman joins Providenciales in a reputation for being expensive Caribbean dive destinations (though airfare and car rentals on G.C. trips may be well-priced, at least when I looked in the past).

2.) 7 Mile Beach is a nice offering, and they've got 'brand name' resorts like the Westin, etc... That can be a comfort to some tourists.

3.) The same cruise industry that swamps Georgetown with tourists also helps provide a market for topside excursions. So there are dolphin encounters, the Turtle Farm, etc... If shopping or eating out are your thing, you can do that.

4.) It's got some shore diving, which puts it on a short list of Caribbean destinations (e.g.: with Bonaire, Curacao, Cayman Brac and St. Croix).

5.) From what @KathyV has posted before, the mosquito abatement program is good. I haven't been sick on Grand Cayman; it seems to have a rep. as a 'first world' level place, so if I were bringing a 'sickly' (or very young) loved one on a trip, that'd be a big 'pro.' over, oh, say, Bonaire.

6.) A number of Caribbean islands have 'dirt under their rug' in terms of crime. ABC journalist Anne Swaney was murdered in Belize (not an island, I know, but in the region), and reporting indicated odds of murderers getting caught and convicted in Belize were...scary low. Home break-ins in Bonaire have been a concern. I've read scary things about St. Thomas. The Bay Islands seem to have a decent safety rep., unlike mainland Honduras, whose city San Pedro Sula was referred to as the 'murder capital of the world' a few years back.

I'm not saying Grand Cayman is 'better' than Little Cayman or Cayman Brac, but it probably is for some people. If we're going to knock it, to be fair we need to compare against other destinations with a fairly large (by Caribbean standards) city with lots to do topside. Maybe Cozumel (San Miguel) and Curacao (Willemstad)? I imagine Cayman Brac feels 'safer' (if you don't need a large hospital very close - no offense to Faith Hospital), but that's a different kind of vacation topside.

 

[Doctorfish]

It all comes down to your reason for the trip. If you come primarily to dive, the destination choice might be very different than if you come to holiday and maybe add some diving. Dricch's extenuating points have merit for some travelers, but for me personally, there is no good reason to go back to GC. Turtle Farms, dolphins, big hotels, cruisers, shopping centers and pretentious restaurants are reasons for me to actually avoid the island and seek out quieter places with more pristine reefs.

I'm just sayin that GC like many other places in the Caribbean, ain't what she used to be.

 

[caydiver]

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