Where in Cayman?

[Damselfish]

East End diving is IMO the best on GC, that end of the island is just not anywhere near as developed as the West. The North wall is very good as well. The West is is the most dived area with lots of boats out there and not as good (at least not anymore) although some areas are better than others. All much better than a day at the office. of course!

There are 2 dive ops in the East End now that Tortuga Divers is reopening and the places to stay are Compass Point (at Ocean Frontiers), The Reef (OF picks up there) and Morritts (which has Tortuga Divers.) You would definitely want a car if you do the East end, and probably buy some groceries on the way at least for breakfast and some lunches. You'll have a kitchen at any of those places and there's not a lot of restaurants (and last time I was there nothing open early enough for a pre-dive-boat breakfast.)

Cobalt Coast is a small place not too far from Spanish Bay. It's very nice, the owner is great, and I like Divetech a lot. Divetech has gear lockers at CC. The shore diving there is ok but you have a bit of a swim to get to much and it's a long way to the wall (we did it by scooter a couple times.) I also prefer the shore diving at Turtle cove, close and really nice. Note that Divetech's boats do not leave from CC, they will drive you to whichever marina they are leaving from that day.

You can manage without a car at CC by eating there and begging rides to Turtle Cove, but you'd have a much better time with a car. It's much easier to toss your gear in the car and head over to Turtle cove for some shore dives whenever. Also while you can get a full meal plan at CC I personally wouldn't, the food's not bad but I'd get bored with the menu there. It's not that far to drive to civilization and lots of great restaurants so seems a shame not to.

If you are interested in all-inclusive and LC and like the quiet, it would certainly make sense to consider just going to one of the places on LC.

 

[THX1138]

We have stayed at the Villas De Galleon for many years. Call Kathy Eubanks. They should be open by then. We generally contract with Dive Tech at Cobalt Coast. From what I understand, the best diving is still to the east. We dove with Andy Kitchen, who was a wonderful Aussie. Ask about his blood type tatoo. A good conversation. Hope it helps. John

 

[Pamdiv]

We're thinking about going to Cayman in the middle of Oct for about a week, any suggestions of a good place to stay? Nothing fancy, prefer all-inclusive if the food isn't too bad, good services, and small but dependable dive op. (6~8 person instead of cattle boat if possible).
We've been to GC once(stayed on spanish bay I think) and like the diving, want to dive some more this time and also enjoy the local environ a bit. If stay on GC, will the dive boats go to LC for great wall dives and such? Does the east coast of GC got damaged by the hurricane last year hurt the diving much? Or should just stay at LC and enjoy the tranquility? If all-inclusive is not possible, where to go eat? And what's the average cost of dining?(I know the dining there is expensive).

So many questions, any comments and suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks,
May

Have you considered renting a condo with a kitchen? I believe 7 Mile Beach Resort has some units ready for occupancy and they have their own dive shop right on site. It's close to Georgetown and other shopping areas. Wherever you stay on GC be prepared to see a whole lot of work that still needs to be done. It'll be a long time before she's back to pre-Ivan beauty. Happy vacation!
Pam

 

[Makin Raider]

I would most certainly agree and second Damselfish, I have been to Grand Cayman three times in the past three years. I so prefer the East End, Ocean Frontiers is a high favorite of all the dive ops I have ever dove with. I was there last month with my kids and stayed at Compass Point. The rooms are very reasonable and very equiped, if you are even remotely on a budget. The rooms have a full but small kitchen with all the utensils and appliances one would need for a week. There's a new small restaurant within walking distance, 100 feet from the office. There's no denying the island suffered damage but it's mind blowing on how much has been repaired. Look at the pics they have at the bar at Portofino's and you won't believe they were damaged. The reef's are in amazing shape, the swim throughs are all cleaned out of sand. Oddly enough I'll be back on GC on 5 weeks sans kids and will be at Morritts Grand, this time. Hope to see you on the island.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

LC diving is universally praised, but I've not had the opportunity myself. Little Cayman is a great place to "get away from it all" but there is comparatively little to do topside. It is a great place to read a stack of books while lounging on the beach, take a nature walk, and dive, dive, dive. Unless things have changed, there is only one restaurant on Little Cayman which isn't a part of one of the few dive resorts, so eating away from the resort doesn't come with many options.

The North Wall sports many great dive sites. Some really nice stuff with dramatic drop-offs indeed. East End tends to have a bit healthier coral and more interesting variety for the shallow dives. Hurricane Ivan did impact from the south and east, and some changes are apparent on some of the shallow sites around East End. Still, it's a gorgeous place to dive.

Owing to the island's shape, it is actually an hour drive to go from East End to the resorts in West Bay (such as Cobalt Coast). There are many more shore diving opportunities on the west side of the island (including West Bay, Seven Mile Beach, and Georgetown).

Thanks alot for the reply. Some questions:
Is LC's diving that much better than GC that it's more rewarding to stay at LC instead?
If so, any recommendations as to where to stay and any activities other than diving?
Don't really mind a quiet environ, just one or two nights have a bit different thing to do?

Since CC/Divetech is specialized in North Wall, is that a good dive site? Is it far from east side? I heard East GC has better diving, don' want to spend too much time on boating instead of diving, but that's not really a problem as long as it's not an hour each way.

Thanks, may

 

[Turtle Gal]

Depending on how rough the water is,Boats can leave from the Cobalt Coast/Divetech shop. If too rough the staff will transport you to the boat which is a 4 min ride from CC. Cobalt Coast has some very nice Villas to rent as well.
Andy Kitchen isn't on the Island anymore he and Wife are in the states.
What ever you decide, Have fun. Turtle Gal