New diver seeks advice for August 2012 Trip

[mikeintx]

My fiance, daughter, and I are completing our NAUI OW certifications this month. We are going to Grand Cayman in August for 6 days. We are staying near the Seven Mile Beach area. We are going have a wedding ceremony on the beach.

Can anyone give me some advice on what dive operator to use?

I would like to go to SRC. My daughter and I snorkeled there while we were on a cruise. So know she wants to dive it.

I was thinking about doing a couple of days of shore dives but not sure where.

Any suggestions on restaurants etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[EastEndDiver]

There are several dive ops that will pick you up either on the beach or at yout hotel in that area some are DNS Diving,which I highly recommend,Ambassador,Wall To Wall,Indigo and many more.All are good.

For shore dives there is:

Eden Rock slightly south of the cruise ship terminal.Dive this on a day with NO cruise ships in otherwise it gets crowded.It is a little beat up but still lots of marine life and an easy dive

Turtle Farm at Cracked Conch Restuarant north of 7 mile beach in West Bay.Probably the best shore dive for marine life,lots of huge Tarpons to see.

For food there is :

Eats - a dinner type restuarant,good selection and prices

Chicken Chicken - a Boston market typw wanna be

Lone Star - BBQ place

Cimboca - small menu good food,cheap breakfast

Lots more on the 7 mile beach area.

 

[t-mac]

I second EED's recommendations for shore dives. Devils Grotto/Eden Rock is suprisingly good, despite its popularity. Turtle Reef at Cracked Conch is a wonderful mini-wall and not very crowded (this is my favorite). In my experience, there tends to be a little current -- nothing even a beginniner couldn't handle, but enough to affect air planning. Lots of good dive ops. Pick one that visits the sites you want to see (pretty much all go to SRC).

Have a blast.

 

[tkaelin]

I agree with the recommendations. We were in GC in April and shore dove at Turtle Reef/Crached conch, Lighthouse PT/Divetech and Eden Rock. At Turtle reef you head straight out to a mini wall. Take a left, go along the wall and in about 5 minutes you come to a large cave filled with tarpon. There is also a large reef coral outcropping island to your right which you should circle which brings you back to the wall. Try lunch and a beer at the Cracked Conch, the casual bar, the one you walk thru to get to the dive entry.

Definitely hit Eden Rock on a non cruise ship day. You can find the schedule on line. I think there is usually no ships on a Sunday. We enjoyed it so much we went back on a week day and got there just as Eden Rock opened and before people starting getting off the cruise ship. It was fine but definitely more croweded downtown.

Everyone in our group loved Chicken Chicken. If you are going to have a fridge, get the large family meal. It will provide dinner and lunch the next day. Enjoy.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Here is the Ship schedule:

http://www.caymanport.com/shipschedules.php

Just put the month in don't worry about logging on.




I wonder if a Moderator could make this a sticky for the Cayman forum?

 

[mikeintx]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!

 

[Insta-Gator]

I totally agree with all previous recommendations. As new divers, I'd start my shore diving experience at Eden Rock / Devil's Grotto. It's more shallow. Just take a compass heading before you go out so you know how to return. Or you can surface swim back if unsure. You won't be that far from shore. It's a fun dive, day or night.

Turtle Reef is one of our favorite dives and we love hanging at the Cracked Conch. Food is good, but like everything else on GC, it's expensive. We've packed lunch to take with us, then stayed for dinner at the Cracked Conch at the end of the day.