Honeymoon trip

[howswedeofme]

You won't regret choosing the East End for your week on GC. The diving is really great and you have a better chance of seeing sharks out that way, as well. In the winter, some of the dive sites we really like in the West Bay area have a chance of being a little blown out but we've had really good luck with the conditions when we do a day out on the East End. If you take Dive Tech up on the UV dive, you could do the Kittewake that day but also get in a shore dive or two at Turtle Reef/Macabuca or Lighthouse Point which are much, much better shore dives than you would have gotten at Sunset House so you'd get the best of all the worlds. It would make for a long day, but you'd get to fit in all the West End/SMB dives it sounds like you were interested in.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Jake

There is a much higher probability of seeing Reef Sharks off the east end than other locations. We have had some rather long, leisurely encounters, especially at a few of the sites on the southeast corner, Scuba Bowl, Jack McKenny's Canyons, and The Maze.

 

[jonhall]

What did you think of the turtle farm? We read reviews on Trip Advisor and there are a lot of bad reviews about the treatment of their animals.

This was my TripAdvisor review on what is now called the Turtle Centre: "There are 2 price points for entry. One, the cheaper one, allows you into the park to see the turtles. There are several holding areas with different sizes of turtles and iguanas. The higher price gets you into the "water park" area which has a swimming pool with a big slide, a shark feeding area (for the staff to feed them), Turtle Lagoon, which is a snorkeling area, a nature trail, and a beach area with lounge chairs. The Schooner Restaurant is on the grounds and has pretty good food.
Life vests are provided for snorkeling. The snorkeling is as close to being in the ocean with many varieties of fish and sea turtles as you can be without being in the ocean. Having paid for snorkeling trips on many different islands where you may see a few fish, the turtle lagoon guarantees a great sightseeing adventure of sea life."

The questions for you or anyone traveling to GC is do you want to spend time at the biggest attraction on GC to see what it really is and do you want to just spend the time to see turtles or make more of a day of it and pay extra for the pool and snorkeling area? In 1998, my first time to GC, there were only a handful of tanks to view turtles and a small restaurant.

The "bad" reviews mostly stem from the debate that some of the recent SB posters referred to after you posed the question, "What did you think of the turtle farm?" and not about the physical attraction itself. My take is different. I don't think any animals should be harassed but am not against touching them. I don't really want to mess around with a snapping turtle though. Some of the turtles get held a lot in the holding tanks, but whose to say if they like it or not. Other types of sea turtles are endangered and not allowed to be touched. As far as turtle meat, it is legal in GC, but I wouldn't eat it (my wife and I got a sandwich in 1998, both took a nibble, and threw the rest away.) I'm pretty sure it's not on the menus of restaurants we have eaten at more recently. I have to believe the Turtle Centre has done a lot of good for the conservation of the sea turtle overall.

Thought of another activity we did several years ago that was really fun if you're into jet skis. Through Fat Fish Adventures (not sure they're still in GC) we did a jet ski tour that started in a mangrove, stopped at Stingray City, stopped and snorkeled another area, stopped at a beach bar, and was supposed to stop at starfish beach which we skipped. It was great fun. You're going to have a great time.

 

[AggieDiver]

Jake,

I will give you the same warning we were given 23 years ago when we took our honeymoon to the Sister Islands. Ours was on Cayman Brac, but our first day on the boat was the day it was scheduled to go to Little Cayman...and our first dive (also our first non-training open water dive) was on Marilyn's Cut. The warning we were given was that by going to the best diving in the Caribbean first, we were spoiling ourselves and would never be satisfied diving anywhere else. It was said tongue-in-cheek, and I mean it the same way, but be careful down there...you might get spoiled and never want to go anywhere else. My wife and I will likely be doing our 9th trip to LCBR this year and it gets harder every time to want to go some place else. I have my eye on some Pacific locations eventually, but for a week long trip from the US, LCBR is really hard to beat. It is the perfect island to relax and do nothing except eat sleep and dive.

 

[Doctorfish]

Shhhh Aggie. Don't tell another soul.

 

[caydiver]

Hi all-

We're considering the Cayman Islands for a honeymoon on rough dates of 2018-12-28 (arrival) to 2019-01-05. That gives us 7 full days for diving and other activities. I wanted to see if I could get some recommendations for the trip, as I've searched the Internet for help but can't quite make heads or tails of the geography and the best way to approach it.

Some notes:

1. We're both skilled divers. A wreck dive would be cool, but not necessary. A decent shore dive at the hotel or close to it would be a plus.
2. We'd prefer an all-inclusive, but that's not required either.
3. Relatively close proximity to stuff to do on land (hang at the beach, excursions, etc) would be nice.

I think my biggest question is mostly about where, geographically, we'd mostly want to look. I'm not sure what the benefits or downsides are to the different places in the country.

Thanks!

I would definitely look along yhe west side especially northern SMB. Winter winds can inhibit diving east during the winter. Check out places now. There will be plenty in walking distance the more central you are. For diving everyday I would avoid Rum Point, Boddetown etc.

 

[KathyV]

After reading through everything and contacting various resorts, I think we're leaning towards a week on Little Cayman and then a week at Compass Point on the east end. Both look to have great diving operations and accommodations without destroying the budget.

On that note though, I have a question: it looks like the drive from Compass to the city is 35-45 minutes. If we did want to pop over and do some city stuff, is that an accurate drive time? We're mostly looking to dive and relax so I don't think it would be an every day thing.

@Jake just wanted to mention that while you are staying on the East End of GC, if you want to visit the Seven Mile Beach on the West Side of the island but don't care to drive back and forth, take a look at the round trip ferry rides available between Kaibo/Rum Point and Camana Bay - see link below.

There are some nice restaurants in Camana Bay, or you could take a short cab ride from CB to some of the popular restaurants on 7MB or in West Bay. But be sure to make reservations in advance and be careful of the time, because you while be traveling during the busy holiday season and because the Ferry runs on a schedule.

Once again congratulations - and please tell us about the trip after you get back!

Set Sail to the Eastern Side of Grand Cayman | Camana Bay

 

[Jake]

Hello again. Thanks for all the great info everyone provided.

My trip is a month out and I'm starting to think about gear and logistics. A few more questions come to mind:

1. Is there much in the way of current?
2. Ordinarily, are we doing safety stops in open water, or on an anchor line?
3. If on an anchor line, are the boats full of enough people that I should consider packing my Jon line?

 

[flyboy08]

Hello again. Thanks for all the great info everyone provided.

My trip is a month out and I'm starting to think about gear and logistics. A few more questions come to mind:

1. Is there much in the way of current?
2. Ordinarily, are we doing safety stops in open water, or on an anchor line?
3. If on an anchor line, are the boats full of enough people that I should consider packing my Jon line?

1. Not that I recall, but that can change day to day.
2. Nope, ST at 15 feet without an anchor line. This can change too I guess if current is a beast?
3.?

 

[howswedeofme]

1. Typically, no. Most of the time the dive ops will skip a site if there's any current.
2. Without an anchor line. I've done many dives around GC and it's never been an issue to not have an anchor line.
3. It depends on who you dive with, but most boats aren't very full and everyone doesn't surface at the same time even if they are. You won't need your own line. GC diving is very low stress, typically.