Anaconda40
New
Just returned from a week trip to Grand Cayman, Aug 4-11. My wife and I had an absolutely fantastic vacation and wanted to post a trip report.
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has posted about GC previously, as that was how we planned out trip. The advice and tips I found on this forum were awesome. In return, I wanted give back to any who are looking at going to GC in near future.
Lodging. First off we stayed on Seven Mile Beach at Comfort Suites. Since we were diving almost every day, the extra frills offered but some of the more upscale resorts would have been wasted money for us. Our room had a small kitchenette with a sink, microwave, fridge and dishes. The hotel was clean, the staff courteous. It does not sit directly on the beach but is only about 60 yards away (and you don't have to cross the street). The bar and grill was great for when we didn't want to go out too far to eat.
Getting around. The food prices were high. My wife and I generally ate for about $40 dollars after drinks and tips. If you are on Seven Mile Beach and wish to travel anywhere on the beach or to Georgetown, the bus system is the way to go. $2CI for a one way trip, but they come by every 5-10 minutes.
Dive Operation. Based on the information I had read on this forum, we dove with Neptune's. Casey and Keith were fantastic, as well as their staff. They were accomodating to all levels of divers. They lead some great dives, but allowed the salty dogs to dive on their own. And more importantly (to us), they assisted and kept an eye on the inexperienced divers. In a boat with several different sets of diving skills, nobody felt like they were short changed and were able to have great dives.
Neptune's only takes out a maximum of 8 divers per boat. However, there were usually only 4 or 5 divers, not counting staff. Both boats were big enough to move around and not be cramped. And both were clean and comfortable.
I can't say enough about Neptune's. They were awesome and exceeded my expectations.
Dive Conditions. Water clarity was unreal. The anchors to the bouys that were 50 - 60 feet were usually visible standing in the boat.
The water temps were around 84 degrees. Except for the first dive, nobody wore wet suits. After the first dive, the wetsuits were quickly stripped off a bagged up.
Lots of sea life and coral. Almost anything you could name and we saw it, with the exception of sharks. I caught a glimpse of one reef shark in the distance on one dive. We didn't see turtles daily, but almost.
Lessons Learned. If I had do it over, my first stop would have been to the grocery store to buy sandwich foods and the like. Not only for the cost savings, but we did get tired of eating out all the time.
The other thing I'll do next time, is plan for both the A.M. and P.M. trips and do four tanks a day, rather than two.
But we are already planning our trip for next year, same basic time, and with Neptune's. Hope this is useful to someone.
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has posted about GC previously, as that was how we planned out trip. The advice and tips I found on this forum were awesome. In return, I wanted give back to any who are looking at going to GC in near future.
Lodging. First off we stayed on Seven Mile Beach at Comfort Suites. Since we were diving almost every day, the extra frills offered but some of the more upscale resorts would have been wasted money for us. Our room had a small kitchenette with a sink, microwave, fridge and dishes. The hotel was clean, the staff courteous. It does not sit directly on the beach but is only about 60 yards away (and you don't have to cross the street). The bar and grill was great for when we didn't want to go out too far to eat.
Getting around. The food prices were high. My wife and I generally ate for about $40 dollars after drinks and tips. If you are on Seven Mile Beach and wish to travel anywhere on the beach or to Georgetown, the bus system is the way to go. $2CI for a one way trip, but they come by every 5-10 minutes.
Dive Operation. Based on the information I had read on this forum, we dove with Neptune's. Casey and Keith were fantastic, as well as their staff. They were accomodating to all levels of divers. They lead some great dives, but allowed the salty dogs to dive on their own. And more importantly (to us), they assisted and kept an eye on the inexperienced divers. In a boat with several different sets of diving skills, nobody felt like they were short changed and were able to have great dives.
Neptune's only takes out a maximum of 8 divers per boat. However, there were usually only 4 or 5 divers, not counting staff. Both boats were big enough to move around and not be cramped. And both were clean and comfortable.
I can't say enough about Neptune's. They were awesome and exceeded my expectations.
Dive Conditions. Water clarity was unreal. The anchors to the bouys that were 50 - 60 feet were usually visible standing in the boat.
The water temps were around 84 degrees. Except for the first dive, nobody wore wet suits. After the first dive, the wetsuits were quickly stripped off a bagged up.
Lots of sea life and coral. Almost anything you could name and we saw it, with the exception of sharks. I caught a glimpse of one reef shark in the distance on one dive. We didn't see turtles daily, but almost.
Lessons Learned. If I had do it over, my first stop would have been to the grocery store to buy sandwich foods and the like. Not only for the cost savings, but we did get tired of eating out all the time.
The other thing I'll do next time, is plan for both the A.M. and P.M. trips and do four tanks a day, rather than two.
But we are already planning our trip for next year, same basic time, and with Neptune's. Hope this is useful to someone.
