nwflyboy
Contributor
OK, here's the deal: me and Mrs nwflyboy are itching to do a dive trip. Due to work and other constraints, we are limited in when we can go. Basically, we have a week (maybe a little more) in the middle of October. I'm thinking Little Cayman, and Little Cayman Beach Resort. Tell me if I'm crazy...
About us: we're moderately experienced divers (me: probably 100+ dives, she, probably 50-75 dives). We've done a few trips to Cozumel, and liked it a lot (although the cruise ships take some of the shine off it for me, since my first trip there was back in the 1980s when the cruise ships weren't quite so much of a presence). Cozumel is the only Caribbean diving that the Mrs has done, although I've been around a little more. Our last dive trip (fall 2007) was to Bali and Sulawesi...which really spoiled us. We know that we're unlikely to get the same kind of underwater critter diversity anywhere in the Caribbean (compared to Indonesia), but we also know that the Caymans are great by any standard. Since we've never been to the Caymans, I'm tempted to try and get in a few of the "signature" dives on Grand Cayman (e.g. Stingray City, etc.), but with limited time, I'm thinking that we should just skip Grand Cayman entirely (except for the airport) and enjoy (what I assume will be) the better diving (and lack of cruise ships and their crowds) on Little Cayman. The wife will be a little sad to miss the famous dives on Grand Cayman, but I figure we would have to give up too much to do that (I figure if we're going to split our time between two islands, we would lose 2 days of diving: one day offgassing before flying, then one day getting from Little to Grand Cayman). So even though I would enjoy the Stingray City experience (despite the crowds that I would expect to find there), I guess it doesn't seem like it's worth it to mess up two days that we would otherwise enjoy on LC. Is this a reasonable assessment?
I'm thinking we should stay at Little Cayman Beach Resort, since there seems to be more or less universal agreement on it being the nicest place to stay on LC. We like comfy and we like good food, so LCBR sounds like a no-brainer. We have zero interest in "nightlife" or rowdy partying - a beer or two after a nice dinner is all the "scene" I need. And I'll admit that I'm pretty turned-off by what I see as mass tourism....so I'm thinking that overall I'd enjoy the sister islands more than Grand Cayman.
Our travel dates are pretty inflexible - we'll have a week or so around the middle of October. I know this is in the hurricane season, but I'm assuming that the risks of a big storm hitting where we are when we are there are probably fairly low...and since we can't change the timing of the trip, I'm figuring it's worth that risk.
So....am I crazy to contemplate this trip to this place at this time? Opinions and advice welcome.
Thanks.
About us: we're moderately experienced divers (me: probably 100+ dives, she, probably 50-75 dives). We've done a few trips to Cozumel, and liked it a lot (although the cruise ships take some of the shine off it for me, since my first trip there was back in the 1980s when the cruise ships weren't quite so much of a presence). Cozumel is the only Caribbean diving that the Mrs has done, although I've been around a little more. Our last dive trip (fall 2007) was to Bali and Sulawesi...which really spoiled us. We know that we're unlikely to get the same kind of underwater critter diversity anywhere in the Caribbean (compared to Indonesia), but we also know that the Caymans are great by any standard. Since we've never been to the Caymans, I'm tempted to try and get in a few of the "signature" dives on Grand Cayman (e.g. Stingray City, etc.), but with limited time, I'm thinking that we should just skip Grand Cayman entirely (except for the airport) and enjoy (what I assume will be) the better diving (and lack of cruise ships and their crowds) on Little Cayman. The wife will be a little sad to miss the famous dives on Grand Cayman, but I figure we would have to give up too much to do that (I figure if we're going to split our time between two islands, we would lose 2 days of diving: one day offgassing before flying, then one day getting from Little to Grand Cayman). So even though I would enjoy the Stingray City experience (despite the crowds that I would expect to find there), I guess it doesn't seem like it's worth it to mess up two days that we would otherwise enjoy on LC. Is this a reasonable assessment?
I'm thinking we should stay at Little Cayman Beach Resort, since there seems to be more or less universal agreement on it being the nicest place to stay on LC. We like comfy and we like good food, so LCBR sounds like a no-brainer. We have zero interest in "nightlife" or rowdy partying - a beer or two after a nice dinner is all the "scene" I need. And I'll admit that I'm pretty turned-off by what I see as mass tourism....so I'm thinking that overall I'd enjoy the sister islands more than Grand Cayman.
Our travel dates are pretty inflexible - we'll have a week or so around the middle of October. I know this is in the hurricane season, but I'm assuming that the risks of a big storm hitting where we are when we are there are probably fairly low...and since we can't change the timing of the trip, I'm figuring it's worth that risk.
So....am I crazy to contemplate this trip to this place at this time? Opinions and advice welcome.
Thanks.
