Grand Cayman for unimpressed newbies?

[Doc Harry]

Cur is sand beach entries which I find easier than a boat ladder

My wife had a terrible time in Bonaire. The waves and that final sand hump at the wave break was too much for her. She'd get knocked down by the waves and the floundered like a turtle on it's back.

Now I have a bad knee, and my friend has bad knees. I have concerns with shore diving. Is the shore diving on Cur significantly easier than Bonaire?

 

[ROUS]

Grand Cayman is seeminly ringed by about 500 dive sites. At least one of those should impress them. I've dived all over the Caribe and I'll be spending next week in the Caymans. Your mileage may vary.

 

[L13]

Diving isn't for everyone. They may end up unimpressed regardless.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Diving isn't for everyone. They may end up unimpressed regardless.

Anywhere will look more impressive to them than Nassau and a quarry. This whole story is sort of sad. The interesting underlying question is where in the Caribbean can one find a balance between impressive things to see and ease of diving? People who seem to enjoy these sorts of exercises in choosing a destination, such as @drrich2 , might have suggestions.

 

[Jake 10]

Too difficult for older divers. My knee couldn't handle it.

shore dives south of town like The Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Salt Pier are easy entry shore dives and beautiful coral and lots of fish

 

[Lorenzoid]

shore dives south of town like The Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Salt Pier are easy entry shore dives and beautiful coral and lots of fish

In Bonaire, there's also that pesky Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease and the marine park's measures to attempt to control its spread to contend with, though I understand SCTLD is all over the Caribbean. I was in Roatan recently, and learned and saw for myself how SCTLD had thoroughly destroyed certain species of coral in the last few years.

 

[L13]

Anywhere will look more impressive to them than Nassau and a quarry. This whole story is sort of sad.

I love diving. I love diving the Caribbean. I love diving the Great Lakes wrecks. But I also love diving so much that I go to the quarry 3 hours away at least twice a month, because I can't stand a longer surface interval.

Not everyone is that fanatical about diving.

Many never do another quarry dive after their cert.

I have met people in Cozumel who are certified, but can't be bothered to do a dive because they want to hang out at the pool and they have already dove Cozumel once or twice.

Not everybody is cut out to love the things I love, and vice versa.

 

[Altamira]

Grand Cayman is excellent for your diving/playing desires. I highly recommend Just Dive, owned by Mike Painting, who I have dived with for many years, and have never been disappointed. He is great with divers of all skills and experience levels.

Edit: Curacao is also excellent, and as others have said, the sheltered entry/exit points for most shore dives are pretty benign. However, if you have really bad knees, even the shallow, gently sloping beaches can be more difficult than getting back in a boat if you doff your equipment in the water. The downside of boat dives in Curacao is the winds, which can sometimes make getting back in the boat a bit sporty, with or without equipment. Grand Cayman and Curacao would still be my best bet for you.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I love diving. I love diving the Caribbean. I love diving the Great Lakes wrecks. But I also love diving so much that I go to the quarry 3 hours away at least twice a month, because I can't stand a longer surface interval.

Good attitude! I'll dive in quarries and whatever now, too, just to stay wet, but I don't think I would have stuck with diving as a hobby if those had been my only options in the beginning. Come to think of it, I didn't dive locally after getting certified because the water was too cold. Fortunately for me, the reason I got certified was so I could experience the Great Barrier Reef on an upcoming trip to Australia. If not for seeing the GBR as a wide-eyed new diver, I may not have stuck with diving as a hobby. On the topic here, I'd say the new divers are in real need of seeing how cool the underwater sights can be, or they may lose interest.

 

[L13]

Good attitude! I'll dive in quarries and whatever now, too, just to stay wet, but I don't think I would have stuck with diving as a hobby if those had been my only options in the beginning.

I'm even more twisted. I love diving the quarry. I just love the other diving more, and do it whenever I can afford it (time and money).