Taking wife to cayman, need help

[bluejaykaren]

When we go to Grand Cayman, we go for the snorkeling and the diving. We can eat at wonderful, expensive eating establishments every day back home. Last summer we stayed on East End for 2 weeks at the Morritts and the only eating out we did was subway,once.With that said, we also ate great. Morritts has a full kitchen and bbq grills. We fly directly from Tampa and we carry a cooler of frozen steaks, roast, and chicken. On Caymans tourist webpage they tell you how to do that. Morritts has deep sea fishing boat and we picked up a couple of freshly caught tuna and mahi from someone who caught more than they could eat. We got a grouper from another fisherman. We went to the fresh food markets and bought local fruits and vegatables. I have learned to really enjoy things like breadfruit,mango and coconuts right off the tree. We ended up with so much food left over we had to give it away the day we left. Never got to that grouper.

We mostly shore dive but do 2 days of boat diving each year. The first year we did Kittiwake and the UV night dive. Last year we did 2 days of wall diving. I like underwater photography and spent countless hours snorkeling right at Morritts taking photos. Its great for me as I don't use anything but a point and shoot so the lighting is geat at 10 to 15 feet. The shore dives are mostly under 50 feet and us 3 can go and spend as much time as we have air wandering around and no one has to wait for us. If we want to spend 10 minutes watching two hermit crabs battling it out for a shell then we can. We went in June and dove with the silversides on several shore dives and in 15 shore dives we only saw other divers at the entry,exit points or way off in the distance. Unlike the boat dives where you are always grouped together. One of the best things about Grand Cayman is that it feels safe. You don't have bars on the windows or warnings about wandering off to an unsafe area. For 3 women thats a big consideration. We are going back this summer for 2 weeks and are doing it exactly the same way. It works for us.

The breadfruit was cooked so not really just off the tree. We had it baked, grilled and cooked it like potato chips. Thanks to the housekeepers for instructions on that.

 

[ianr33]

I've stayed at Cobalt Coast a couple of times. Works for me as I like to do shore dives and I don't mind swimming out to the walls. Staff are the best. Food is OK ,but not as good as it thinks it is.Not inexpensive. Would not be my first choice for a recreational boat diving trip.

Never stayed at Sunset, but have dived there a few times. Understand the rooms are nothing special. IMHO it's too close to town,too busy and I hated the dive shop. Would not even consider staying there. (Personal opinion only)

Diving the East End with Ocean frontiers is stunning. Absolutely the best recreational diving you will find on Grand Cayman. Condos look nice.

Might consider staying just down the road from OF at Morritts. Weeks there can be had pretty cheaply Morritts Tortuga Club 1 Bedroom Ocean Front for 2014 | eBay

 

[richard65]

I won't go into the relative merits of each resort as they are fairly well covered here. Another option is to stay somewhere like Sunshine Suites on Seven Mile Beach and use one of the small I dependant boat operators. I see Off The Wall divers have been mentioned but also look at Cayman Diveshuttle or Epic Divers.

This option allows you to enjoy the best part of Grand Cayman as a tourist (don't be fooled into thinking George Town is the best place to be as it's closed once the cruise ships have left).

Another option is to rent a car, shore dive, there are seven shore dive sites, to your hearts content and throw in a couple of boat dives with operators like Don Fosters (near George Town), Oceanfrontiers (in the East End and therefore more likely to see some reef sharks etc), Red Sail on Seven Mile Beach or Dive Tec at Cobalt Coast.


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[navi_jen]

Icculus...it really depends on what is more important...a big wide beach and plenty of fancy places to eat...or great diving. And how much diving do you want to do (and your dive experience) will play into this. To me, your options are:

1. First off, IMHO, I think Sunset house is terrible. I haven't stayed there, but I've eaten there and dived the house reef. You can get SOOO much better on GC. Avoid it, please...you'll thank us later. Also, IIRC, a lot of cruise ship day trippers dive here. Blergh.

2. Staying on/near SMB and diving independent. If beaches and food are a higher priority than diving...or you are a newbie diver, would suggest staying here. There are a ton of dive sites off SMB, but IMHO, they are pretty unspectacular. Lots of sandy bottoms, day trippers, some artificial reefs, and few fish. And, boats are far less likely to go to East or North Wall sites, which is where the really great diving is. And you have to get picked up, schlepped off to the public beach for mooring, etc. To me, given GC is so expensive, I don't recommend it.

3. West End. Pretty easy driving distance to SMB for dinner, etc, and with some decent shore diving right from Cobalt coast. Food at Cobalt is excellent, there are a couple of good restaurants within a 5-15 minute drive, and the rooms are very sparsely, but lovely furnished, in IKEA like style. Really nice dive ops...and you don't have to schlep your crap. You can also use public transport to get around..which can save you some bucks (it's very safe and pretty cheap). But absolutely no beach. And in the winter, diving the north wall is a possibility, but no assured due to the wind. But it's closer to the North Wall than the East End....so you have a better shot at it.

4. East End. I like this end of the island the best...because it's the most unspoilt. But it's a solid 45 minutes to an hour to SMB, so you are committed to being there...and you'll have to factor in a car rental. I've stayed at both The Reef and Ocean Frontiers. They are only a 5-7 minute drive apart, but I prefer the condos at Ocean Frontiers...because it's more secluded. Morrit's and the Reef are stacked on top of each other, but you can walk across the road for some groceries and a Subway sandwich (personally, I died a little when that was opened). And, the snorkeling in front of the Reef is very good (and their restaurant/bar is a nice place to hang out) and they have a very nice beach for strolling. Both resorts are condos (altho The Reef does have a MAP option) and you can save money there. Both properties are very well maintained. Not a big fan of Morritt's...too big and but I'm pretty fussy. Dive Ops at Ocean is very good, but if you are newish divers, keep close eyes on your bottom times and profiles, particularly if you are doing quads. They do some reverse profile on mornings and afternoons, since they don't necessarily have the same divers on the mornings & afternoon trips. Not a huge issue, just something to keep an eye on.

Hope this helps. Diving in GC is expensive, but if you cook in or choose wisely, eating out doesn't have to break the bank. Oh, I am now hungry for Seymour's jerk chicken. I must return to GC immediately

 

[ntmainstrm]

Bluejaykaren,
Where is the best shore diving near Morritt's?

 

[Damselfish]

You can't really ask for Cayman with AI diving and food and say you want inexpensive. It's constraining too many variables, these things don't really go together. There are ways to save money but in general it's not a cheap place. There also aren't as many AI dive resorts as you might expect and it sounds like they are all more than you want to spend, unless you are flexible when you go and can catch a deal. Most of them do offer pretty good deals (for Cayman) certain times of year. Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point and Little Cayman Beach Resort are the ones I've seen offer discounted packages most often and they're both great places to stay and dive. (LCBR you have inter-island flights involved. OF/CP would not include food, but CP has full kitchens, which is a good way to save money. You might be able to get a good deal on room someplace like the Reef then dive with OF, but then you'd need to do the dive package and car separately - when they have a good package deal running at OF/CP it will probably be a much better deal than doing things there ala carte.)
I'm not a big fan of Sunset House. It's ok and a good divers hangout, and there's (IMO well-worn) shore diving on site. But even if you're not fussy about other stuff, their boats dive the west mostly and don't get you to much of the better diving that I think is the point of going to Cayman. (If you wind up there, try to get on some trips to the South side.)

It's great to do some shore diving, but for the most part you need to do boat diving to see what Cayman is known for. And realize shore diving there is nothing like Bonaire, you can't grab tanks from your hotel and go jump in the water anywhere. There are sites, but there is also lots of private property between you and the water, or long swims, or other hurdles. Most of it is go to a dive shop on the water that has a shore dive and rent tanks to dive there. Most ops will not let you take tanks off site, there is pretty much one shop (a store not not an op with boats and facilities) that will reliably rent tanks to go. People that live there or visit alot will say they can get to the good wall dives from shore, and while it's true in theory the practicalities are someing else, especially for a visitor on a first trip.

So if you want to do Cayman less expensively, you need to either catch a deal that works for you at one of the dive resorts. Or break this up and forget the AI thing. On Grand Cayman you should be able to find a less expensive place to stay, perhaps off the water, where you can cook many meals in. Research the less expensive dining out options. Ideally stay someplace reasonably convenient for the shore diving options available - you'll need to read up on this too, and in most cases you will want a car. Arrange as much boat diving as you can afford.

 

[BUDMANOK]

The wife and I are taking our 4th trip to GC and for 5 night 6 days we are spending $1100 pp including lodging, airfare, car, gas and food. We stay in West Bay which is a lot cheaper than SMB. We eat reasonably but do not scrimp. We could do it even cheaper if we ate in but we like going to different restaurants around the island.

Wife doesn't dive so my diving for 4 days is usually $380 plus tips could be done a lot cheaper if I did shore dives but it's hard to get buddies when you are a single diver.

 

[ranchonodinero]

Google Cayman Reef resort and find the VRBO listings. Inexpensive for Cayman and actually on SMB. Then go to the Macabuca bar and get gear and tanks and do a shore dive. Lots of shore to explore and the location of the condo at SMB gives access to other shore and boat diving adventures. The condos at CRF have kitchens too so it's not too expensive. If you stay out on the East end, you will have ample snorkeling opportunities, but a little tough to shore dive unless you drive back into Georgetown.

 

[carriemak]

For under $2,500 per person including air fare from Florida you can go to Little Cayman Beach Resort, 3 dives a day, 3 fantastic meals a day and lodging for a week. I have a trip going August 23-30. If you want more details please message me.

 

[releck97]

Through VRBO, we found a 2 bedroom condo on the beach at The Reef for $1622 USD for 8 nights. We love staying in the east end. Our trips to GCM are always very affordable. The Reef also offers AI if cooking is not for you.