Hey folks, should have posted first, but two questions: How is the diving off of Compass Point (East End) on G.C. and also, what the hell do non divers do when they're on GC???? Any tips greatly appreciated! I'm already booked for late October...Let's all cross our fingers and hope for no hurricanes! Thanks again for any help!
Compass Point Grand Cayman
- Thread starter divermatt
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Damselfish
Contributor
East end diving is IMO the best diving on Grand Cayman.
For non-divers, there's not a heck of a lot on the east end. Snorkel, swim, sit on the beach with a book. It's a drive to almost anything. On the other end of the island there's lots of shopping, water activities and boat tours, the turtle farm, golf, mini golf. There's a botanic garden sort of nearish the middle of the island and a few other misc sights.
Note that it's better to post your thread in just one forum, not multiple (I saw this at least 3 times.) People will see it. Things get messy otherwise.
For non-divers, there's not a heck of a lot on the east end. Snorkel, swim, sit on the beach with a book. It's a drive to almost anything. On the other end of the island there's lots of shopping, water activities and boat tours, the turtle farm, golf, mini golf. There's a botanic garden sort of nearish the middle of the island and a few other misc sights.
Note that it's better to post your thread in just one forum, not multiple (I saw this at least 3 times.) People will see it. Things get messy otherwise.
divermatt:
The diving? Best on the Island, IMHO. Dramatic walls, drift dives, sharks, coral in great condition, 100' + viz - you get the idea. Non-divers? Most of the attractions are in George Town (45 minutes away from Compass Pt.) or the 7 Mile Beach area (an hour away). The best advice I can give the non-diver is "rent a car." There's lots of duty free shopping, the Turtle Farm, Sting Ray City, the Botanical Gardens, etc.
The diving is excellent, but remember that it is primarily boat diving. There is little shore diving around East End.
janeandjay
Guest
Diving is amazing on the east end. Walls are incredible...it was my first time to dive on a wall that deep. The swim throughs are super fun too. Ocean Frontier's dive shop, which is right next to Compass Point, is a real class act. They are very professional and will spoil you in many ways. They handle and clean your gear the whole time and treat you with much respect.
We wasted a couple of days at the beginning of our trip doing shore dives on the west end. We stayed at the Reef Resort near Compass Point. Better beach and pool...may let you use it since they may be affiliated??
Driving around a little is fun...just to see the island and do the "wrong side of the road" thing. Didn't have energy for much else so we relaxed on the beach and entertained ourselves.
We wasted a couple of days at the beginning of our trip doing shore dives on the west end. We stayed at the Reef Resort near Compass Point. Better beach and pool...may let you use it since they may be affiliated??
Driving around a little is fun...just to see the island and do the "wrong side of the road" thing. Didn't have energy for much else so we relaxed on the beach and entertained ourselves.
East End diving is THE BEST on Grand Cayman! I've been 4 times in 3 years, pre-Ivan and all trips were to Cayman Diving Lodge. The one year we were on the island in mid-Oct was the only time we stayed in the Seven Mile Beach area and there was no diving North or West for 1 day because of a tropical depression. We headed out to the Lodge and dived with them that day. Weather was fine on that side.
The wall dives are spectacular. You start out over a nice reef, then head into a swim through or cut that are very dramatic enterances into the deep blue on the wall. Three Sisters, Jack McKenny's (might be sp that wrong), Babylon, River of Sand and The Maze are favs for wall dives. There are also lots of really nice reef dives that also have neat swimthroughs and lots to see. Grouper Grotto, Tarpon Taproom, Top of The Maze, Cinderella's Castle, Fantasy Land...and the list goes on for great reef dives.
I saw Compass Point when it was almost complete, and I've never heard anything bad about Ocean Frontiers. Since Ivan didn't spare the Lodge and I'm really missing EE, we're thinking of Compass Point for the spring. One thing to know though is that you are about a 1/2 hr drive from Georgetown and morning and pre-dinner (end of the work day time) traffic can get heavy. But, with EE having been hit hard, that could have improved with less people out there. Being out of town and away from Seven Mile Beach, I think is a good thing.
The wall dives are spectacular. You start out over a nice reef, then head into a swim through or cut that are very dramatic enterances into the deep blue on the wall. Three Sisters, Jack McKenny's (might be sp that wrong), Babylon, River of Sand and The Maze are favs for wall dives. There are also lots of really nice reef dives that also have neat swimthroughs and lots to see. Grouper Grotto, Tarpon Taproom, Top of The Maze, Cinderella's Castle, Fantasy Land...and the list goes on for great reef dives.
I saw Compass Point when it was almost complete, and I've never heard anything bad about Ocean Frontiers. Since Ivan didn't spare the Lodge and I'm really missing EE, we're thinking of Compass Point for the spring. One thing to know though is that you are about a 1/2 hr drive from Georgetown and morning and pre-dinner (end of the work day time) traffic can get heavy. But, with EE having been hit hard, that could have improved with less people out there. Being out of town and away from Seven Mile Beach, I think is a good thing.
kimkc1971
Registered
divermatt:
We stayed at the Reef a few weeks ago and dove with Ocean Frontiers. We loved being on the east end - everything was very quiet and relaxed. Ocean Frontiers was great as well as the diving. They do treat you very well. The deep wall dives are guided and the 2nd tank reef dives are unguided, however they will guide you if you'd like. We saw a couple reef shark, barracuda, etc. Everything about it was great. The swim-thrus were my favorite.
In my opinion, it is a must to rent a car if you want to do anything more than sit at the pool or beach after your dives. We drove into Georgetown a few days for dinner or shopping. Still not a lot to do in town, but it kept us busy. The town does shut down at 5pm and nothing seemed to be open on Sunday. We walked down 7 mile beach one day, but were glad we stayed on the east end. We did do 2 shore dives at Eden Rock in Georgetown. Not as much to look at, but the swim-thrus were cool. Big school of tarpon. Rum Point was nice. We went at sunset one evening and walked down the beach. Get there earlier though if you want to use the watersports or eat. By 6:30, the place was deserted. The mosquitos got bad too. Near the Reef and Compass Point there was always a nice breeze, so it feelt cooler and we didn't notice any bugs. Also, stop and see the Blow holes near Bodden Town. Was actually really cool.
I would also check the port authority website before you go into Georgetown so you know when cruise ships will be in town. We stayed out of Georgetown on those days to avoid the crowds. The traffic was only slightly bad around 5pm going back out to the east end.
Have fun! When we go back we'll stay at the Reef and definitely dive with Ocean Frontiers on the east end.
nipi
Contributor
Weds. is the worst day for cruise shippers filling George Town.
JustAddWater
Guest
I too, highly recommend the East End. I dove most often with Ocean Frontiers and a couple of times with Red Sail Sports at Rum Point, and had terrific experiences with both outfits. There are some nice restaurants on the east. Lounging around Rum Point is also nice. In fact, the worst time (and it wasn't so bad) I had at Grand Cayman was the day we went to Georgetown- and it wasn't even cruise ship day. The worst part about recommending the East End is the fear of it becoming more popular and commercial.
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