Grand Cayman, sell it to me!
- Thread starter Crazybaldarcher
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OMG I so miss that wee little beastie!Popped out of a swim-through at Columbia deep this morning and had an LC flashback.BTW, @uncfnp , Millie says hi (actually she didn't say hi cause my dive boot was in her mouth, the little @#*$).
, sorry...play on.
Have fun! You should try adding on another week (or 5 days) to visit Cayman Brac or Little Cayman - they are offering hotel, food, and diving specials through mid-April!
The base price listed is usually for 2 dives and 2 meals per day at LCBR and CBBR, but you can add on lunch and a 3rd dive for an extra charge if you wish. I think that the round-trip air is about $150 per person, be aware that the Wait to Fly After Diving rule does apply, so you have to take that into consideration.
7-Night New Year Dive Vacation Starting at $1,395*
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Kharon
Contributor
Every place my club dove (admittedly probably the worst choices - my bad for not having my own car) charged. I think it's the places where the cruise tourists go. My experience on GC was extremely limited and didn't give me a fair impression. I so wish I had gone alone and had the option to dive the sites I researched. Unfortunatley the absolute proscription of solo even with the card prevents me from ever trying GC again.
mcohen1021
Contributor
SPOILED SPOILED SPOILED!
It just comes from being old geezers, the years and the trips start to accumulate!
I am sure that is true, because Eden Rock is a popular site with cruise ship divers and I know that they charge for weights.
There's been a lot of discussion about solo diving on Cayman on SB and the conclusion seems to be that most dive ops prefer to follow the guidelines (not regulations) against solo diving, probably because of concerns about liabilty - but not all of them.
Shore diving on Cayman Brac has been getting more attention lately. I have never tried it but you can ask @vincent54 about it, and recently a member posted that the Brac Scuba Shack dive op are pleased to accommodate solo divers if they are certified and carry a secondary air supply, see the link below.
Shore diving on Cayman Brac?
I think that you might like Brac, it is absolutely NOT a touristy place and the cruise ships never go near it - and the diving is very good IMO, and you don't have to worry about someone breaking into your car while you are diving!
As I mentioned, we didn't really care that much for Cayman until our 3rd trip, that's when we discovered the Sister Islands of Brac and Little, and realized that there are also lovely places on GC away from George Town and the Seven Mile Beach. Before that we liked the diving and the convenience, but not the culture, but we have learned that there are more options and it has now become a good fit for us, especially at this time of our life.
The Caymans are expensive, no denying that, but there are ways to better manage the expenses and sometimes you get what you pay for IMO, so maybe you should take a look at Cayman Brac?
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Kharon
Contributor
Expensive and Brac requires additional travel. Not sure how much but that is becoming a complication for me. Probably won't be going back to Bonaire because, though I can get there in a reasonable time with only one stop, the return trip takes 20 to more than 40 hours with 2 to 3 stops and extended flight times - (Bonaire to Huston (sometimes to Chicago) to Newark to Albany). I'm just not willing to endure that.
I'm going to be looking for places that I can get to easily, with decent to good diving, that have a house reef, and resign myself to diving from boats - oh, and expense is a consideration.
Understandable, but we've only paid around $150 or $160 US Roundtrip for the connecting tickets to Brac and Little and the flights are only about a half hour, it's a pretty easy connection, and sometimes you can find good routes and airfares to GC because it is a popular Caribbean destination, especially now since they were lucky to be missed by all the hurricanes of this season!
Good luck to you on all your travels!
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Doctorfish
Contributor
It is certainly possible to do Grand Cayman on a budget by
1) travelling shoulder or off season
2) staying at a condo with a group eg Calypso or a less expensive hotel like Sunshine Suites
3) staying at an AI, Cobalt Coast,while they have a sale on
4) breakfast and lunch with grocery store bought foods
5) dinners at less expensive places like Coconut Joes, Lone Star, Eats as well as some of the Jerk spots
6) doing a combo of boat and shore diving The shore dives at Turtle Reef, Lighthouse and Cobalt are excellent day or night.
With this sort of strategy, It's certainly possible to enjoy GC diving without blowing the budget.
On the other hand, spending a week at Brac Beach or LCBR isn't much more expensive.
I agree with KathyV, there are cheaper places to go in the Caribbean, but eventually, you get what you pay for. The Cayman Islands provide a high level of safety, convenience from N America, quality food, drinkable tap water, few mosquitos, excellent diving, access to a very good chamber and hospital if required. Definitely a first world experience. No matter where else our family goes on our dive travels, somehow, we always include return trips to the Cayman Islands.
1) travelling shoulder or off season
2) staying at a condo with a group eg Calypso or a less expensive hotel like Sunshine Suites
3) staying at an AI, Cobalt Coast,while they have a sale on
4) breakfast and lunch with grocery store bought foods
5) dinners at less expensive places like Coconut Joes, Lone Star, Eats as well as some of the Jerk spots
6) doing a combo of boat and shore diving The shore dives at Turtle Reef, Lighthouse and Cobalt are excellent day or night.
With this sort of strategy, It's certainly possible to enjoy GC diving without blowing the budget.
On the other hand, spending a week at Brac Beach or LCBR isn't much more expensive.
I agree with KathyV, there are cheaper places to go in the Caribbean, but eventually, you get what you pay for. The Cayman Islands provide a high level of safety, convenience from N America, quality food, drinkable tap water, few mosquitos, excellent diving, access to a very good chamber and hospital if required. Definitely a first world experience. No matter where else our family goes on our dive travels, somehow, we always include return trips to the Cayman Islands.
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