Newly Certified Recreation Diver looking for some advice to plan an upcoming Honeymoon Diving trip.
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My pleasure! Since you are interested in Nitrox Certification, I wanted to mention that the 3 Clearly Cayman resorts (on Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman) are having an anniversary sale this fall and winter that includes free Nitrox certification and free Nitrox upgrades, see the link below - most Cayman dive ops charge extra per tank for Nitrox, usually $10 per tank, and there is usually a fee for Nitrox certification dives.
These are 3 small, all-inclusive dive resorts and the pricing might work for you, but there isn't much to do besides diving on Brac and Little Cayman. There is plenty to do on Grand Cayman, but their Cobalt Coast resort is located "off the beaten path" so you would have to rent a car and drive on the left side of the road - car rental is usually priced pretty reasonably on GC, but other things can get expensive quickly in Cayman!
I know that you are planning to travel in Oct and this Nitrox promotion runs from Nov to January, but you could ask about it; they have already extended and expanded the promotion dates a couple of times - maybe they will offer the Nitrox cert and upgrade as a wedding present?! It doesn't hurt to ask.
I realize that it is not my business, but I tend to worry about Zika when I read that young newlyweds are heading into the tropics, that's why I am pushing Cayman at you so hard! But you will figure out what makes the most sense for both of you.
Good luck and congratutions!
Reef Divers
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Something to consider as new divers - Cayman diving is DEEP. Most of the walls start around 100'+ and in some case the moorings are at about 50-60' and chosen in barren locations so as not to damage the reef.So hanging around the mooring is boring.
Standard dive profiles are 1st dive to 100' on a wall/pinnacle, 2nd dive shallower.
So if you're not willing to go deep - and as new divers burn thru your air quickly - they'll assign a DM to shepherd you around shallow. But at sites like Big Tunnels that mostly means hanging in blue water waiting for something to pass by - which often happens.
Also most of the shore dives there are rougher entries - ladders/stairs provided but you have to have nav skills to hit your exit point - from the water the ironshore cliffs are 10-20' above you and it all looks pretty much the same. You literally can't climb out without getting shredded except at the exit point.
On the flipside, Eden Rock is an easy dive - beat-up from decades of cruise divers who port 100' away. Even has stairs into the water.
Sunset House has a couple nice dives - the Mermaid at 55' the small wreck at 70'
There's also the Kittiewake - a dive cleaned wreck - if you have your AOW by then you can dive most of it with the DM. Otherwise I believe it's the top two decks.
And Stingray City is literally the most fun dive you'll ever do in 14'.
The water is super clear compared to the quarry like swimming in a heated pool with fish. They'll warn you to watch your depth - off the North Wall there's almost no frame of reference - a lot of it is 2-300 feet or more below you and so clear you don't see a single particle - it's like diving in air. You can get vertigo trying to look down into the blue and see the bottom - some places it's thousands of feet down.Most you won't dive though...lol
If you stay in a decent place and eat out in any of the better restaurants - don't plan on having much change back from your $5K - esp. if that includes flights,..
Standard dive profiles are 1st dive to 100' on a wall/pinnacle, 2nd dive shallower.
So if you're not willing to go deep - and as new divers burn thru your air quickly - they'll assign a DM to shepherd you around shallow. But at sites like Big Tunnels that mostly means hanging in blue water waiting for something to pass by - which often happens.
Also most of the shore dives there are rougher entries - ladders/stairs provided but you have to have nav skills to hit your exit point - from the water the ironshore cliffs are 10-20' above you and it all looks pretty much the same. You literally can't climb out without getting shredded except at the exit point.
On the flipside, Eden Rock is an easy dive - beat-up from decades of cruise divers who port 100' away. Even has stairs into the water.
Sunset House has a couple nice dives - the Mermaid at 55' the small wreck at 70'
There's also the Kittiewake - a dive cleaned wreck - if you have your AOW by then you can dive most of it with the DM. Otherwise I believe it's the top two decks.
And Stingray City is literally the most fun dive you'll ever do in 14'.
The water is super clear compared to the quarry like swimming in a heated pool with fish. They'll warn you to watch your depth - off the North Wall there's almost no frame of reference - a lot of it is 2-300 feet or more below you and so clear you don't see a single particle - it's like diving in air. You can get vertigo trying to look down into the blue and see the bottom - some places it's thousands of feet down.Most you won't dive though...lol
If you stay in a decent place and eat out in any of the better restaurants - don't plan on having much change back from your $5K - esp. if that includes flights,..
That is not quite correct, many wall dives around Grand Cayman start at around 50 or 60 feet, with good corals and animal life near the top of the wall. The maximum depth set by the divemaster is usually 100 or 110 ft, but that doesn't mean that you have to go that deep. And there are lots of nice shallow sites that are popular as second and third tank dives and as night dives.
But if you are looking for very good, shallow diving, Little Cayman's walls start SHALLOW, some at 15 to 30 ft, but the maximum depth on the wall is still usually set at 110 ft - and the walls are some of the best in the Caribbean IMO. But again, there's not much to do on Little Cayman besides relax, dive, and enjoy nature.
Compared to some other popular but deeper destinations, like the Turks and Caicos, Cayman has a wide range of diving depths available that are only a short boat ride away, but so do some other popular Caribbean destinations.
I think that shore diving Grand Cayman is easier than many popular sites on places like Bonaire and Curacao - unless you are diving the house reef at the resort. Most popular shore dives on GC have dive shop facilities on site so you are not dragging your gear distances down cliffs, over rocks, and across undergrowth and beaches. You can rinse your gear, shower off, and change clothes after diving, too. Another nice thing about shore diving in Cayman is that you generally do not have to worry about having your car broken into and stuff stolen while you are out diving - unlike places like Bonaire, Curacao, Mexico, and Hawaii. Flights to Cayman are usually cheaper and easier, too. The OP's budget is $6,000 so that is do-able but it can be easy to exceed your budget - whatever it is!
If you try to shore dive during rougher weather then you do have to worry about the ladder and the rocks, but a stationary ladder it still usually easier IMO than trying to grab the swinging boat ladder after diving in rough seas.
But the OP is planning to travel in the Fall and that can be a windy time of year and that could make shore diving more challenging in many Caribbean destinations. The Sunset House shore dive on the south side, and the dives around George Town on GC are usually easier than the shore dives north of Seven Mile Beach like Cobalt Coast, Turtle Reef, Coconut Bay, and Lighthouse Point.
@Aquathack, another place we like is St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, the Fredricksted Pier is one of the best, easiest, shallow shore dives we have ever done, and there are nice reefs for boat dives around the island, too. St. Croix was hit hard by hurricanes last year but I understand that they are busy rebuilding. Theft can be an issue in St. Croix, too; but you may be able to leave your stuff at the nearby dive shop where you get the tanks.
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My wife and I are both divers. I'm PADI Divemaster, certified originally in 1986, she's PADI AOW, originally certified in 2001. For our wedding, we chose Couples Negril, Jamaica for a number of reasons. First, Jamaica is a wonderful island with lots of activities, such as waterfalls, inland excursions, and the like. Second, Negril is a laid back section of the island, home of the Seven Mile Beach. Finally, the diving is easy, and the reefs around Negril are healthy and inviting. We will be going back for our fifth (or sixth) trip next year and will be diving with the excellent on-site dive shop at Couples Negril. They are very professional and have excellent equipment (we dive our own, though). I would expect a week there to be well within your budget.
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As Kathy stated - Many second dives start around 50-60' after the first deeper dive is done. You can either do the deeper stuff or sit on the boat since they're two tank dives.
I will conced the theft issue on Bonaire - it's certainly still a problem. Not so much on Curacao as about 2/3'rds of the dive sites have on-site concessions/dive shops - one even offered to watch our vehicles in the parking lot they could see from the front counter. Also Curacao Tourism has security at some of the more popular public sites like Porto Mari. We were warned about the remote Gnip sites - but then we were warned on Maui also.
Then you've never been to Curacao and dove off their 50+ sandy beach entry dive sites - some with dive docks. I agree about Bonaire - climbing over the iron shore just to get to the water can be a challenge.
Exactly - so why are your hyping Cobalt Coast and the Caymans in general where that frequently happens during the fall vs. the ABC;s where it almost never does?
I will conced the theft issue on Bonaire - it's certainly still a problem. Not so much on Curacao as about 2/3'rds of the dive sites have on-site concessions/dive shops - one even offered to watch our vehicles in the parking lot they could see from the front counter. Also Curacao Tourism has security at some of the more popular public sites like Porto Mari. We were warned about the remote Gnip sites - but then we were warned on Maui also.
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bringing this back around to the OP's needs - no ziplines on Cayman and the only cool outdoor activity is probably kayaking in the sound/mangroves on GC or hiking the caves on Brac.
I'd go to Belize personallly. If you can afford it - Hamanasi is very nice and has everything you want. Might push the budget a little though. All inclusive which helps. Discover Hamanasi Resort | Award Winning Resort in Belize
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