Grand Cayman East Side - Recomendations and Advice

[JW13]

On the east side Ocean Frontiers will pick you up and drop you off. They have a very nice dive operation and there is no crowd. It is windier on the east side which will create higher waves. Usually the east end dive operators will go either to the south or north side of the island, depending which direction the wind is coming from. Dive conditions under the surface are quite good with plenty of swim throughs (if you like them) and fairly healthy reefs.

I wasn't aware Ocean Frontiers "will pick you up and drop you off". I thought you had to transport yourself to Compass Point. Anyone know for sure?

I do agree they are a very good dive op.

 

[shurite7]

I wasn't aware Ocean Frontiers "will pick you up and drop you off". I thought you had to transport yourself to Compass Point. Anyone know for sure?.

Indeed they will. I used to work for OF. They offer pickup and return from any resort on the east and west side. On the west side they will only pick up in the morning and return around lunch time. They do not offer pick up for afternoon dives for the west side. They will pick up and drop off for both morning and afternoon if you are staying on the east side of the island.

 

[mi000ke]

And for some local cuisine, check out Vivene's Kitchen. You order at the back door of Vivene's house, the food is cooked in her kitchen, and you sit at a picnic table in her back yard overlooking the water. Ignore the menu and just get the fried catch of the day. And just as most of the posters have suggested, pretty much everyone I know on the island who dives the east side goes with OF.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Several years ago I worked for Tortuga/Red Sail. A few things have changed since then.

Tortuga/Red Sail has gear lockers on the dock but it is up to each diver to get their gear to the boat and set it up. OF will store gear from day to day and put it on the boat for you.

Tortuga/Red Sail are on site at Morritts and leave right from the dock on premises. That can be quite convenient for those staying at Morritts or the neighboring Reef Resort. However they do not, as far as I know, do pick ups like OF does.

Both OF and Red Sail/Tortuga now use Aluminum 80s. There was a time when Tortuga used 72s but those have been replaced. You may find some old comments referencing the tank size but that is no longer an issue.

For those diving on nitrox OF can blend on site with their compressor. I cannot speak to how true they are able to hit 32%. Tortuga/Red Sail cannot. They get their nitrox from a commercial supplier on the west side so need to order ahead. Though they order 32% it frequently measures as 31%.

Both dive essentially the same sites, weather depending. Both typically offer two tank morning dives with the first dive as a deep, approx 100ft, dive along the side of the wall. Second dive is usually set in a bit from the wall and a max depth of 50 to 60ft depending upon site. For relatively inexperienced divers I would recommend arranging at least one shallow dive (60ft max) before doing a wall dive. You really want to have your weighting and buoyancy control dialed in before a wall dive.



As to food... I second the option for Ms Vivine's. Good local stuff. And nearby also in the Gun Bay area is Big Tree BBQ which is nice as well. Check their sign for which days they are open. Tukka is an Australian themed restaurant and though they serve a Kangaroo steak you can find a varied menu including local lionfish appetizers.

 

[Joneill]

Several years ago I worked for Tortuga/Red Sail. A few things have changed since then.

Tortuga/Red Sail has gear lockers on the dock but it is up to each diver to get their gear to the boat and set it up. OF will store gear from day to day and put it on the boat for you.

Tortuga/Red Sail are on site at Morritts and leave right from the dock on premises. That can be quite convenient for those staying at Morritts or the neighboring Reef Resort. However they do not, as far as I know, do pick ups like OF does.

Both OF and Red Sail/Tortuga now use Aluminum 80s. There was a time when Tortuga used 72s but those have been replaced. You may find some old comments referencing the tank size but that is no longer an issue.

For those diving on nitrox OF can blend on site with their compressor. I cannot speak to how true they are able to hit 32%. Tortuga/Red Sail cannot. They get their nitrox from a commercial supplier on the west side so need to order ahead. Though they order 32% it frequently measures as 31%.

Both dive essentially the same sites, weather depending. Both typically offer two tank morning dives with the first dive as a deep, approx 100ft, dive along the side of the wall. Second dive is usually set in a bit from the wall and a max depth of 50 to 60ft depending upon site. For relatively inexperienced divers I would recommend arranging at least one shallow dive (60ft max) before doing a wall dive. You really want to have your weighting and buoyancy control dialed in before a wall dive.



As to food... I second the option for Ms Vivine's. Good local stuff. And nearby also in the Gun Bay area is Big Tree BBQ which is nice as well. Check their sign for which days they are open. Tukka is an Australian themed restaurant and though they serve a Kangaroo steak you can find a varied menu including local lionfish appetizers.

OF has AL100's too - just reserve in advance.

+1 for Tukka as well: great food and atmosphere. We go out of our way to hit it every trip, even though we stay in West Bay. It's also a great place to see a moonrise, especially from down on their beach seating:

Full Moon Rising at Tukka | Grand Cayman | Cayman Islands

 

[howswedeofme]

OF was good to us when we dove with them. A little hands-off and aloof topside and our surface intervals weren't planned well which limited some bottom time on our three-tanker, but they were good with the gear and our female dive guide was great underwater. I highly recommend Ironshore Gardens dive site. Still one of my favorite to date. Beautiful, beautiful topography and some really nice swim-throughs. They also promised sharks and delivered, which one of the divers in our group was ecstatic about.

 

[shurite7]

For those diving on nitrox OF can blend on site with their compressor. I cannot speak to how true they are able to hit 32%. Tortuga/Red Sail cannot. They get their nitrox from a commercial supplier on the west side so need to order ahead. Though they order 32% it frequently measures as 31%..

When I worked at OF the nitrox was blended on site. O2 K-bottles were brought in frequently so that nitrox could be blended. Blends were generally around 32% +/- a percent. Tanks were analyzed by the crew with the diver right next to him/her so the blend could be verified and the diver signed the nitrox blend.

OF logs all of the dives for each person. At the end of their stay divers can request, at the front desk, a print out of their dives.

 

[grouda]

I had been out of diving for 3 years due to an accident that left me somewhat paralyzed. Beforehand we typically went on live aboards but were reluctant to do so with my disabilities. After much research we decided to stay at Compass Point and dive with OF with their valet gear service. We loved the location away from 7 mile beach where we visited twice before and the accommodations and dive ops were par excellence. The boat crews were beyond expectations helping me in and out of the water. We were so impressed with them we are going back in September for an extended stay.
Second ViVene's and Tukka which happens to be owned by the same person who runs Eagle Rays on site. After diving for 48 years I cannot recommend OF highly enough

 

[tkaelin]

Hi Grouda, glad you are diving. We love OF for the reasons you stated. Away from 7mb but still great restaurant choices. Tukka on fresh fish night where they are cleaning the fish on the deck to be brought to the kitchen for your order is one of our favorites. Over the Edge and even Rum Point on a non cruise ship day are also fun choices. Eagle Rays and now breakfast included are great additions.

Dive services are excellent and so is the diving. OF runs an efficient friendly professional dive operation. They are also particularly pleasant to dive with if you are an experienced diver diving solo without a buddy. You are teamed with the DM but after they see how you dive you are given quite a bit of freedom, space and latitude.

We are returning in June but staying up in West Bay at a condo with onsite shore diving and tanks but primarily because my wife prefers shore over boat. Otherwise I would be back at OF.

 

[releck97]

I tried White Sand once. They were not a first class operation at the time.