Recent trip to Grand Cayman

[netmage]

Hey all,

Recently had the opportunity to visist Grand Cayman for a week of vacation - ok mostly diving, and wanted to gush about what an awesome place it is...

Stayed at the Spanish Bay Reef & Resort - which has an awesome reef right there. A large outcropping of huge sandbags kept you from having to worry about the ocean waves/currents as you were getting situated. The near reef averages 45-55', across a sand flat a second coralhead down to 70' leading down to the edge of the wall at 120' where it disappears into the abyss. This was maybe 100 or so yards off shore. I've had longer surface swims at the quarry. Plenty of marinelife, conch, fish, rays right there.

The dive shop is run by Resort Sports Ltd, the resort had unlimited daytime shore diving. Nice folks - very helpful. The only downsides: 1, can only dive when the shop is open - (no shore night dives unless you pay for two instructors with surface support) and 2, last tank leaves the shop at 4pm, so they can close up at 5pm, and 3, the boat dives are run out of the sister resort on 7 Mile Beach, so you have to tote your gear on a bus/van. These are really only minor annoyances.... not real complaints.

Went out for a few boat dives with them as well. The boat crew/dm's are a good bunch. No regiment about time in the water, so we were all free to dive according to our computers/air consumption. (I've been on some boats where they're on a schedule - something akin to "45minutes from when the first person hits the water"... no rushing here. Very relaxed operation out to have safe fun.

The last two days we did a shore dive each with Dive Tech at Turtle Reef and Eden Rock at, you guessed it, Eden Rock. Both are great outfits, drop off yer c-card, grab the tanks and hit the water. Turtle Reef had a moderate/strong current, everything else was like swimming in an aquarium.... Eden Rock has awesome cavern/swimthroughs in 35' of water. Crystal Clear visability and I managed with swimtrunks and a diveskin top picked up at the local Diver's Supply.

Spanish Bay is an all-inclusive resort on the far North West of the island by Hell - kinda remote, we rented a minivan so getting around town wasn't an issue. Apparently this was the off-season and there were maybe 10 other folks there the entire time of our visit. Got to meet a few really nice folks who we ended up running into the whole time. Food was awesome, staff was courteous and care-free. A fun time and I'll definately return the next time the opportunity presents itself.

 

[5615mike]

Sounds like a great trip netmage. We are all wishing we were there with you. Glad you had a good trip.

 

[scubajoe]

How was the traffic? It looked terrible last time I was there. We were on the Aggressor so it wasn't a problem but it sure looked bad.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

including rush hour.

Traffic can be nasty in the morning going into Georgetown from West Bay or Bodden Town. Just as bad or even worse heading out of Georgetown in the evenings.

Fortunately, I never have to deal with traffic jams on East End.

 

[netmage]

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...
including rush hour.

Traffic can be nasty in the morning going into Georgetown from West Bay or Bodden Town. Just as bad or even worse heading out of Georgetown in the evenings.

Fortunately, I never have to deal with traffic jams on East End.

I didn't think the traffic was all that bad - then again I live in Chicago. We didn't really venture into town much. We ran into it twice heading into Georgetown from the West Bay. The problem is the rotaries - they essentially turn the intersection into a three/four way stop. They tended to back things up, but it moved along at a decent pace. When we road the van to 7 mile beach for the boat trip - I don't recall it being horrible - granted this is on the far side of Georgetown. I can imagine on the days the cruise ships come in it being a total disaster.

 

[crispos]

Thanks for helping me decide between Turks and Caicos versus Cayman for my relocation plans. Traffic jams are a non-starter for me. Hey, we've got tons of those in Toronto.

Seriously, how does the diving off Grand Cayman compare with TCI?

:wacko:

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

One difference is the boat rides out. TCI is a 45 minute ride to the best diving. Grand Cayman was a lot less. I still thought the diving was better on TCI. We saw a lot more big stuff and there were days when we never saw another dive op. The only traffic jam we encountered was when there was an accident on the main drag. The locals took rubber necking to a whole new level. IMHO its TCI all the way! Especially if you are flying out of Toronto. Last I knew Air Canada had a direct flight to Providenciales. You might also check out Signature Vacations for good packages.

 

[dtdiver]

is expensive!!!
i'm trying to go feb school break 2004 and tickets go up wards from 700$

i am thinking of booking on hot wire but am afraid of getting nailed on times. i got a good price quote on hotwire and specified one plane switch and no red-eye.
how bad can the flight be with those parameters?

but, do you know of other ways to get there cheaper? (toronto and buffalo are more expensive)

dt

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Hey fellow Rochester diver! I use Hotwire all the time. Go on Travelocity and see what flights are available on the dates you want to fly. If they are all acceptable go to Hotwire and book your flight. It will be one of the ones you saw on Travelocity. I do it all the time. Remember that school breaks are always expensive. I usually go in January. Its cheaper and there are no crowds. You are right though flights to TCI are $550.00 and up even when its cheap. I don't have any keys except to book an air-included package. If you are thinking of doing that then Cozumel is the cheapest. If you don't mind going out of Toronto Air Canada had a direct flight. The cheapest by far is a charter out of Toronto. Check out Signature Vacations they sometimes have good deals. Good luck and let me know if I can help with your TCI vacation. We go once or twice a year for the past ten years or so.