Divetech or Sunset House?

[laningham23]

My girlfriend and myself will be in Grand Cayman the 2nd week of July. We are pretty new to diving and just recently got certified. We are going on a cruise with Carnival and are trying to decide on doing the 2 tank dive through the cruise ship or going to either Sunset House or Lighthouse Point with Divetech for some shore diving. I was wanting to get some opinions from everyone on what they would recommend in Grand Cayman. I have did several searches but can't really find what I am looking for. Any help on the subject would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Queen Triggerfish]

If you just recently got certified, I assume that means that you don't have enough dives under your belt to safely and comfortable go at it alone?

Then I think a great option in Grand Cayman would be to look into guided shore dives at either Sunset House or Lighthouse Point. That would cost less, the shore diving at both of those places is good, and you could go at your own pace. Sunset House will be much closer to the pier (walkable, although the street gets pretty narrow as you get closer to Sunset House so you would need to be cautious - or just grab a cab) and also has great on-site lunch. You could also browse in Cathy Church's photography studio on site. The perk to Lighthouse Point though is it COULD give you the experience of two different dives - if the current isn't bad, you could go one direction on one dive and the other direction on the second dive. It is further away (and you might fight quite a bit of 7 Mile Beach traffic).

I'm sure the boat dives would be terrific too, but I think shore diving with a dive master would be a nicer pace. I've probably done more than 200 dives in Grand Cayman and only a fraction were boat dives.

Just my two cents. Perhaps others will chime in with different opinions.

 

[diversteve]

For new divers Turtle Reef might be another option. It's an easy dive, shallow, it bottoms out into sand around 50' and the mini-wall there is covered with stuff. Turtles swimming around and Tarpon hide out in the shadows there. Twice we've seen large flights of Eagle Rays overhead. Same distance as Lighthouse Point essentially - about a 1/4 mi. further north on the same road. SunDivers is onsite for rentals, they work with Happy Fish Divers if you want a DM escort and the dive stairs are literally off the Cracked Conch restaurant deck. Macabuca Tiki Bar is 30' away also. http://www.crackedconch.com.ky/turtlereef-shorediving-snorkelling.php

I don't think there's anything at Lighthouse Point besides the dive shop and the condos so you'd have to go elsewhere for lunch. Probably could walk to Macabuca actually - but IDK for certain.

Check out the dives here:

Turtle Reef « iDive Global Locations
Lighthouse Point « iDive Global Locations

The cruise dive is going to be with Don Foster's downtown. Welcome to Don Foster's Dive Cayman Come Dive with Us Another cruise boat dive option is WalltoWall or Deep Blue thru the Lobster Pot - also walking distance downtown. They'll dive with smaller groups than Fosters. I like WalltoWall and recommend them often. The Lobster Pot Dive Center Grand Cayman - Located in Sunny Cayman Islands

I like Sunset House also. Not sure I'd want to walk there hauling gear. It's a good shore dive option from a cruise due to all that Queen mentioned above. We had a very pleasant two dives/lunch/ then visit with Cathy Church there. My Bar is a divers bar. And the Mermaid is 55' to the base. Cayman Islands Scuba Diving Resort

 

[pndldy]

I have been to sunset house to shore dive, and it is easy shore diving. Nice set up when I was there, some cruise ship people were also diving for the afternoon. It is a busy place. We has to ask ahead of time for 80 tanks, the norm was smaller. We had abit of a surprise on one dive, the Atlantis Submarine was within 30' of us and people were pointing at something behind us, we looked and realized they were pointing at us! We laughed so hard we flooded our masks.
There is a resturant on site that is a partial covered/outdoor type, has great chicken fingers and fries! swim pool and lockers.

We also did some shore diving at Lighthouse Point with Divetech. It was a great setup, and well run. Shore diving was a nice wall, easy and simple to navigate. Seen lots of turtles and big fish. Reef was in beautiful shape. I was there in july 2012, and a resturant was not on site, may be different now. They have all size tanks for you to use, 80 were the norm. We did 2-75 min dives, and also a night dive. Not sure how that works with your ship.

I dont think you can go wrong either way. We did boat dives with both places too.

 

[billinwilliamston]

There is a small resturant at LIghthouse Point called Salt Cafe. Salt Cafe | Casual Restaurants I think we might have gotten a sandwich there once. No adult beverages last time we were there.

 

[hroark2112]

Look into Eden Rock as well. They're right where the cruise ships come in and their guided tours are amazing. We did Devil's Grotto & Eden Rock with a guide and loved them.

 

[releck97]

Look into Eden Rock as well. They're right where the cruise ships come in and their guided tours are amazing. We did Devil's Grotto & Eden Rock with a guide and loved them.

Personally, having dove many of the shore offerings in the Georgetown area, I can think of little reason to choose Eden Rock over Sunset House or Cracked Conch other than it's right off the South Cruise Terminal.

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree with releck. Eden Rock would not be on my list. There are many better sites with fewer divers. Being close to the cruise dock is a disadvantage, not an advantage. Sunset is only a few minutes away by cab and you could walk there if renting rather than carrying gear.