Kittiwake Dive Recommendations

[KathyV]

We will be heading to the Caymans again soon and we hope to dive the Kittiwake, is it worth the price? About how much should we expect to spend?

We have never dived the site, we had planned to do it when we were there last year but Hurricane Rina got in the way.

Any recommendations on dive operations for the Kittiwake and/or best days/times to dive it? We will have a car and can drive to various locations on the island.

Do the cruise ship divers tend to pile up on the wreck when they are in port? Anything else we should know?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[EastEndDiver]

Kathy are you staying at TNI again? Dusty at DNS dives it ,usually in the afternoon check his website for pricing.I would think if you do it late enough in the afternoon the cruise shipers will not be there.I have dove it a few times and always enjoyed it.Let me know if I can be of any help.

John

 

[conman]

I would recommend wall to wall diving. Can't remember the price that I paid last year. It was a two
tank dive, the Kittiwake was the second dive as it is mostly shallow. Took my family of four. My son and I are divers, and my wife and daughter snorkelers. When I go to Cayman I dive with these guys. Small groups and excellent service / dive guides. Enjoy.

 

[scubadivingsteve]

Another for Wall to Wall, they were great. If you like wrecks it's good not a lot of growth yet. They only allow 1 boat per mooring so it won't be packed and you can start at a uncrowded section. The Kittywake requires a fee, but you get a token to keep.

 

[Sunny2012]

We will be heading to the Caymans again soon and we hope to dive the Kittiwake, is it worth the price? About how much should we expect to spend?

We have never dived the site, we had planned to do it when we were there last year but Hurricane Rina got in the way.

Any recommendations on dive operations for the Kittiwake and/or best days/times to dive it? We will have a car and can drive to various locations on the island.

Do the cruise ship divers tend to pile up on the wreck when they are in port? Anything else we should know?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Great dive, well worth the $75US, which includes park fee. A bit more growth and schools of fish now on the wreck. I dove Kittiwake with Don Fosters and Sunset House in April and May 2012, most all the dive ops offer this dive. Good wreck to penetrate and take photos in and around. Also, some nice macro shots if you take your time looking in the nooks and crannies and holes.

Enjoy Cayman and safe diving!

 

[KathyV]

Kathy are you staying at TNI again? Dusty at DNS dives it ,usually in the afternoon check his website for pricing.I would think if you do it late enough in the afternoon the cruise shipers will not be there.I have dove it a few times and always enjoyed it.Let me know if I can be of any help.

John

Yes, we are staying at TNI again while on GC and then we go over to CB to stay at Brac Reef Beach Resort. Thanks for the info and offer!

---------- Post Merged at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:33 PM ----------

I would recommend wall to wall diving. Can't remember the price that I paid last year. It was a two
tank dive, the Kittiwake was the second dive as it is mostly shallow. Took my family of four. My son and I are divers, and my wife and daughter snorkelers. When I go to Cayman I dive with these guys. Small groups and excellent service / dive guides. Enjoy.

Another for Wall to Wall, they were great. If you like wrecks it's good not a lot of growth yet. They only allow 1 boat per mooring so it won't be packed and you can start at a uncrowded section. The Kittywake requires a fee, but you get a token to keep.

Thanks for the info, now I just have to hope for good weather!

---------- Post Merged at 07:37 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:33 PM ----------

Great dive, well worth the $75US, which includes park fee. A bit more growth and schools of fish now on the wreck. I dove Kittiwake with Don Fosters and Sunset House in April and May 2012, most all the dive ops offer this dive. Good wreck to penetrate and take photos in and around. Also, some nice macro shots if you take your time looking in the nooks and crannies and holes.

Enjoy Cayman and safe diving!

sounds like a great dive, thanks!

 

[diversteve]

You can see who does it when here: The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - Schedules

 

[KathyV]

You can see who does it when here: The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - Schedules

Thanks for the link!

 

[EastEndDiver]

Kathy if you dive with DNS just ask Dusty to do it whan you prefer ,he usually will arrange it for your convenience.

 

[indigo_dc]

Just came back from Grand Cayman this past Sunday, thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I can DEFINITELY recommend Indigo Divers, we used them for all our boat dives, including the Kittiwake and a dive trip to Stingray City. Fantastic service.

For the Kittiwake itself though... personally I didn't enjoy it. Seeing the ship itself, looming in the water, was spooky and exploring it inside wasn't particularly pleasant either. Granted it was my first ever wreck dive, but I only really felt comfortable out in the open water. Looking back and putting the fear I felt behind me though, from an objective standpoint I actually think it was quite boring - it's only just started to get marine life colonising it (some blennies, tiny amounts of coral) so in essence we were touring a large number of empty rooms, looking in the shadows for interesting things... and finding nothing.

For those who enjoy the thrill of exploring absolutely empty, picked clean wrecks it's probably ace. But when compared to the epic wall and reef dives, I'd easily prefer to do another one of those and it's put me off wrecks for life I think.