Worth diving (or snorkelling) in Keys after diving in Grand Cayman?
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Trigger-F
Contributor
I would think you're going to see the same stuff(marine diversity wise, probably w/ less vis in the Keys). Never been to the Cayman Islands, however, I assume the Keys have better wrecks (Spiegel Grove, Vandenberg, Duane, Eagle, Bibb etc..), depends what you want to do. Also good diving in Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon(plenty of options).
jimw
Contributor
I used to live up north but now in SE Florida. Keys up to Jupiter= good but not as good as Grand Cayman and especially not as good as Little Cayman. If you are spending the same amount of treasure, the Caribbean might be of greater value.........
I have a relative in Key Largo I can sponge off of, and have for many years. I've enjoyed diving KL and somewhere in the Caribbean back to back, but it is worth considering whether or not it's worth it!
I expect you will enjoy both--lots of wrecks in Broward and Palm Beach counties as well as the great wrecks in the keys. The Benwood wreck off KL is shallow and always loaded with fish...
I have a relative in Key Largo I can sponge off of, and have for many years. I've enjoyed diving KL and somewhere in the Caribbean back to back, but it is worth considering whether or not it's worth it!
I expect you will enjoy both--lots of wrecks in Broward and Palm Beach counties as well as the great wrecks in the keys. The Benwood wreck off KL is shallow and always loaded with fish...
PatW
Contributor
I have dived Jupiter, West Palm, Pompano, Key Largo, the lower keys, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
In Key Largo, I prefer diving the shallow reefs but I like fish diversity and corals. In the Cayman Islands, you typically get exceptional visibility often at 100' plus. Also because you are diving at or near walls, you can often go as deep or as shallow as you want. The fish populations are very good. You see a bunch of turtles. Also, you see Nassau groupers which are pretty rare any where else.
At Pennecamp, I see even better fish populations than the Caymans. But even here there is fishing pressure even deep within the marine sanctuary. My wife always comes back to the boats with a few hundred yards of fishing line and numerous hooks. I rarely see turtles here. The visibility is decent but it has a marl bottom which gives a milky cast to the water. It depends on what you like. We went out on a boat and the captain took us to a patch reef he knew. It was in 32' of water. It was about 60' long and 40' wide. As I descended, it just looked like rubble. I thought, "What am I getting into?". But as I got down, I started to see really interesting things. My wife and I went slowly and saw one neat thing after another. It took us an hour to just do the perimeter of the reef. Diving is an individual sort of thing, what one person likes, another may not. In the right times, you can see jacks, grouper, and snappers ripping through bait balls. It is really cool.
In Key Largo, I prefer diving the shallow reefs but I like fish diversity and corals. In the Cayman Islands, you typically get exceptional visibility often at 100' plus. Also because you are diving at or near walls, you can often go as deep or as shallow as you want. The fish populations are very good. You see a bunch of turtles. Also, you see Nassau groupers which are pretty rare any where else.
At Pennecamp, I see even better fish populations than the Caymans. But even here there is fishing pressure even deep within the marine sanctuary. My wife always comes back to the boats with a few hundred yards of fishing line and numerous hooks. I rarely see turtles here. The visibility is decent but it has a marl bottom which gives a milky cast to the water. It depends on what you like. We went out on a boat and the captain took us to a patch reef he knew. It was in 32' of water. It was about 60' long and 40' wide. As I descended, it just looked like rubble. I thought, "What am I getting into?". But as I got down, I started to see really interesting things. My wife and I went slowly and saw one neat thing after another. It took us an hour to just do the perimeter of the reef. Diving is an individual sort of thing, what one person likes, another may not. In the right times, you can see jacks, grouper, and snappers ripping through bait balls. It is really cool.
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The Caymans have nothing like the Spiegel Grove, the Duane, the Bibb, the Eagle in the northern keys. The Kittiwake and the Capt Keith Tibbitts are not in the same league. There are probably more fish in the Keys than in most sites in Grand Cayman. You didn't say where you will be spending your time on Grand Cayman, I'm fond of the East End, but I do like the North Wall.
If you really want to see a bunch of fish, go drift diving in Boynton Beach
If you really want to see a bunch of fish, go drift diving in Boynton Beach
100days-a-year
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Dove both,love both.The Keys are more practical for us as we...
A.Live in Florida
B.Have a boat
C.Take extended vacations
A.Live in Florida
B.Have a boat
C.Take extended vacations
EL Pistoffo
Contributor
I've dove Grand Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel, Grand Turk and St. Thomas. I saw more fish at Pennekamp in Key Largo than all those other spots combined. I've showed my videos from those various Caribbean dives to others and they all ask me where the fish are, apparently they're at Key Largo.
RickI
Contributor
Yes, dive both. Different spots, are just that. The morphology of the reefs in Cayman can be very different from the Keys. Visibility may well be better in Grand Cayman although it can be quite good in the Keys as well at times. The wrecks are definitely different with some of those in the Keys being much larger and numerous. Each has its pluses as others have described. If you are from out of the area and are a motivated diver, I would dive both areas. Living in SE Florida, I go to the Keys about five or more times a year and the Caymans when I can make it down there.
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