Grand Cayman, sell it to me!

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I've been reading the KathyV post. It's a lot to take in so I'm pacing myself.

We had a lengthy discussion about our trip yesterday.
They are looking at Compass Point, any thoughts?

Has anyone stayed at that particular resort?
 
I've been reading the KathyV post. It's a lot to take in so I'm pacing myself.

We had a lengthy discussion about our trip yesterday.
They are looking at Compass Point, any thoughts?

Has anyone stayed at that particular resort?
Several people (including myself in the very first reply) have suggested Compass Point, it's popular and can be found discussed on many Cayman threads on this board. Great place and op, as long as you're good with being on the quieter end of the island further from a lot of other stuff. What specifically do you want to know?
 
Try posting your question in the Cayman forum you might get more responses from people who have been there like Damelsfish
 
Several people (including myself in the very first reply) have suggested Compass Point, it's popular and can be found discussed on many Cayman threads on this board. Great place and op, as long as you're good with being on the quieter end of the island further from a lot of other stuff. What specifically do you want to know?


Years ago I worked at Compass Point or more accurately Ocean Frontiers (OF). They are very keen on customer service, which you'll enjoy. The diving is a bit better on the east end vs the touristy west end. It definitely isn't as crowded as the west side. The rooms at Compass Point are quite nice. Be sure to get a rental car so that you can drive to the west side. It is about a 45 minute drive.
 
Compass Point: I like the relative isolation, not for someone who wants/needs SMB... Packages all include car, breakfast, 2 dives/day. Restaurant on site, several close. Very nice rooms, all with kitchen, we do some cooking by choice.

Ocean Frontiers: simply best land-based operator I've used. You can do 4-5 dives per day by adding afternoon and night dives to your package. Option of north, east, or south sites, depending on conditions

This is not the right choice for everyone, for some of us, It's perfect.
 
I haven't stayed at Compass Point because we stay up in the West Bay area to be able to get in a bunch of afternoon and night shore dives, but diving with Ocean Frontiers is great. We try to do a day trip out there when we're on GC because the East End diving is worth the trip if you aren't staying out that way. If you aren't trying to do a lot of diving while you're there, the East End might be a bit boring or you'll need to drive the 45ish minutes to get somewhere else on the island. Or, you might be a lazy group who just wants to stick around the resort and then that wouldn't matter much.

I also think GC is an ideal choice for newer divers. We haven't done Cozumel yet but when we first started traveling for diving, I didn't want to go there because I personally wasn't ready for drift diving. We picked GC as our first trip when I started diving because there is little to no current, great visibility, varied topography, and varied yet abundant sea life. We have now dove with 5 different ops on GC and they're all top notch both service- and safety-wise. I thought I'd only want to dive every other day when I first started and
there are also a lot of topside activities if you don't want to dive your faces off (but soon you'll be with the rest of us trying to dive your faces off!).

For our most recent trip, we rented a house with another couple and for 7 nights of lodging and 5 mornings of two tank boat dives it was $1,200 pp for the house, car rental, and mix of boat/shore dives (we wound up with 11 boat dives and 6 shore dives on the week). We don't go out to eat much except at Sunshine Suites (the BEST breakfast and lunch) so the bulk of our food monies are spent on groceries for the week (around $400 total for four people) and a few post-night dive evenings at Macabuca. Also, if you do plan to do any decent amount of shore diving, I recommend carrying on some weights so you don't have to rent them. My husband and I usually toss 10-12 pounds each into our carry on bags. We also don't care about going to the beach which is why we rent a house in the West Bay, but I agree with the other posters about staying at Sunshine Suites. If you do want to be on the beach for part of the time, you are going to want to stay somewhere with beach access because the sun can be unforgiving and there is little to no shade unless you are on private property. If you aren't staying at that property, you will be promptly shooed away. We go to the public beach on the far north end of SMB for our one beach afternoon (and only because our friends like the beach) and that's good enough for us.
 
...2. They will charge you for weights. Sometimes a daily fee ($5-$6). Sometimes a per pound fee ($0.50 - $0.75)...

I believe that the Eden Rock shore dive charges for weights but most of the places we shore dive do not, like the Turtle Reef at Macabuca, a lovely shore dive. It's $15 US for a tank and weights.
 
Thanks UNCFNP, we just had a great trip to Grand Cayman and another wonderful week on Little Cayman - I already wish that I was back there, it's cold in Chicago!
I got a little worried when I didn’t see you post for several days! Good to hear you had another wonderful trip.

I’ve got another conference planned there for April. Starting out at Sunshine Suites (learned my lesson on traffic last visit!) then switching to Ocean Frontiers and Compass Cove the second half.
 
I've just returned from our 8th trip to the Cayman Islands, we have been taking recreational vacation dive trips for a long, long time - primarily in Florida, Bahamas, and Caribbean and Central America, but we have also ventured to a few other areas like Hawaii, Red Sea, and Baja - I wish that we had traveled further into the Pacific but alas, so far we have not.

Cayman is one of our favorite destinations, but it wasn't always that way. We loved the diving but money was tight and it is an expensive destination, plus we didn't care for all the touristy stuff that we found on Grand Caymam. We kept resolving not to go back but we kept going back, every several years. It wasn't until our 3rd trip that we gave in and decided that we really love the Caymans - but that's when we discovered that there are actually 3 Cayman islands! And that Grand Cayman offers some lovely places to stay away from the crowds and expense of George Town and the Seven Mile Beach.

I now love all 3 Caymans Islands! Since the OP said that this trip was primarily for diving I want to suggest that he also consider the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman - fabulous diving but not much else to do. Or take a look at a liveaboard trip on the Cayman Aggressor - that gives you the chance to dive the best sites off of all 3 islands - and absolutely nothing else to do!

A liveaboard seems like an expensive option, but it includes everything except tips and airfare. And the Cayman fleet is offering their Anniversary special right now, so you get 34% off each trip but you have to book quickly (by Nov 24!) and you have to travel by the end of April, but the OP was talking about May so that might be an option.

A liveaboard easily gives you 4 to 5 dives per day and includes specialty dives like night dives and the Kittiwake, and sting ray city. And if you wish, you could plan to stay a couple of days extra on GC, to enjoy the beach and the amenities. Some people love LOBs and others do not, it is a personal preference. I always feel that LOBs give you the easiest, best diving but the living accommodations can be cramped and limiting! But who cares? You are there to sleep, eat, and dive!

One word of caution, the Cayman Aggressor has a rather different venue then most other liveaboards, many of the dive sites they visit are accessible from shore. The advantage of the LOB is that you can do a lot of great diving off all 3 islands. However, the Aggressor will not make the crossing from GC to the sister islands if the weather is bad. In that case, you will be stuck on a boat off shore of Grand Cayman wishing and that you were in a bar on shore! They do make the crossing most of the time, around 75% I think, but they aren't always able to make it.

Here's another (land-based) option. The Clearly Cayman (Tibbetts Family) Resorts are offering specials through mid April at their resort on all 3 islands, so there are many opportunities right now to dive the Caymans at more reasonable prices.

When we are on Grand Cayman we usually stay in Bodden Town at the Turtle Nest Inn. It's lovely and reasonable and the price includes a car rental. It is centrally located and not too far from anything. Bodden Town is not a resort area, more residential, but it is on the beach (not the Seven Mile Beach!) but very nice with good snorkeling right outside. But you have to be willing to drive on the left side of the road!

Nowadays we mostly snorkel and shore dive on GC and wait to get to either Brac or Little to focus on boat dives - but if you want to do a lot of boat dives, you could stay on the East End at Compass Point, or you could stay on the West Side, north of 7MB and dive North and West with many of the island's dive ops.

When we go to the sister islands of Brac or Little we usually stay and dive with the Clearly Cayman resorts. Very nice, all-inclusive (except drinks). You only get 3 boat dives a day on Brac or Little but they offer night dives a couple of nights per week, and they will rent tanks if you have the energy left to shore dive, but you will need a car. Their resort on Grand Cayman (Cobalt Coast) offers 2 boat dives per day and unlimited shore dives on the house reef but sometimes they get winded out for the shore dives. You will also need a car for CC.

Anyway, there are lots of options with the Caymans - and they aren't all ridiculously expensive, and if the weather cooperates you can find some wonderful diving!

Take a look at the links below and let us know if you have questions!

The differences (for a diver) between the 3 Cayman islands - Cayman Islands Forum - TripAdvisor

7-Night New Year Dive Vacation Starting at $1,395*
The base prices are for 2 daily dives and 2 meals, but you can upgrade

Aggressor Fleet's 34th Anniversary - 34% OFF - Book before 11/24!
 
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