First time to Grand Cayman, help please

[Jill Kagley]

Hi divers,
We are heading to the Grand Caymans over Thanksgiving and never been to the island before. I've been a diver for years, but this is the first dive trip for my son who just got his Junior certification. Looking for shallow dives with lots of fish and turtles!!! We are staying on the 7 mile beach, but have a car if we should travel to other parts of the island. I want this to be an awesome experience for my new dive buddy, so any help or advise would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Jill

 

[mempilot]

Angel Fish Reef is pretty cool, and it starts fairly shallow and gradually gets deeper. Pretty much all of the reef off 7-mile beach is this way. I usually use Red Sail Sports for recreational diving while in Cayman, since they come right to your resort with the big pontoon boats to pick up on the beach. Great service! I'd recommend either snorkeling, or diving Stingray City also. It's pretty cool to see all the sting rays. I've seen the most turtles at the north end of 7-mile. If my memory serves me, the turtle hatchery is up that way.

 

[Papa_Bear]

What are your preferences? How long will you be there, where are you staying, what kind of dive package do you want? Do you like shore diving? will you rent a van? Cayman has a lot to offer and I like the smaller operations because they cater to you and not the crowed! Some operators will include unlimited shore diving! How much walking with gear will you do? how much time do you want to devote to diving?

 

[tammymacb]

One of my favorite of all time dives is still one of the easiest!

Drive toward West Bay, across from the Turtle Farm is Lighthouse Reef ( formerly DiveTech-now Sunset Divers), park and step in.

I have yet to do this dive ( and I've done it several times) that it wasn't fabulous. If you have your own gear, you'll only pay 10 bucks or so for air.

Also, ( I'm a West Bay fan) the shore dive from Spanish Bay Reef is lovely. I'm not sure if they have reopened yet, but I know the last time we were in town ( Aug ) we saw some folks park across the road and walk over. Since SBR has been closed a year or so, I'm guessing that site hasn't been overdone lately.

Lastly, I loooooove Grand Cayman, I mean love it! But one site that *really* needs a rest is Armchair. I remember when it was lovely. Now- not so much. It's a boatdive, and I'd recommend you skip it if possible, both for your benefit and the reefs.

Any other questions, let me know.

Have fun!