You may see hammerhead sharks if you are lucky. The Best Scuba Diving Experiences On Grand Cayman Yes, that is true and get ready since the 333 islands of Fiji will take you into a quintessential South United Arab Emirates: Unspoiled Dive Sites. All levels of divers can enjoy the site as there is plenty to see at shallow depths or at deeper parts. This dive site first became popular in the 90s when it was featured in the film The Firm, starring Tom Cruise. Best Time to Dive in Little Cayman. Top dives include the famous 1000 Steps, the Hilmer Hooker wreck, and Bari Reef. The units are privately owned and furnished, but they have 21 accommodations available for rental use. . It is 330-feet in length, and was sunk in Cayman Brac in 1996. If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. A 2018 poll listed Bonaire as the best dive spot for beginners, conservation, freediving, macro diving, shore diving, and snorkeling. Canyons and drop-offs provide a varied topography making the site a firm favorite with photographers. Discover these empowering women's history destinations selected by the U.S. News travel editors. During winter, temperatures can drop down to the low 70s. Turtles munched on big sponges with no worries about divers hanging about. Explore the top-rated styles for every type of trip to the beach. The Eden Rock Dive Center has everything you need for an unforgettable day underwater in the Cayman Islands. I have traveled to the Cayman islands many times. Find the best and most popular products and review them. I like the idea of being able to dive off both islands while staying on one. There is a separate fee to dive this wreck that goes towards conservation, and you also get a nice yellow diver medallion to keep. PADI Dive Resorts for all budgets, in the best dive locations around the world. Little Cayman was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503. And when it comes to marine life, there is lots to see! My poker stick resembled the dive guides spears, so they followed me closely and would even "show" me where the lion fish were, confused when I didn't feed them. It is Batabano, the countrys biggest festival, which is scheduled for early May each year. Located 8 kilometers (5 miles) east of Little Cayman is another elongated island that is popular with anglers and scuba divers. Through this site,my intent is to be able to sponsor the new chapter in my life as a scuba diver. Another great wall diving site in Little Cayman is Joys Joy. It's the kind of peaceful place where you will make your own fun. Choose from a selection of more than 250 vessels and 18,000 trips worldwide. 6. If you find a good deal on DIVEIN, you click to the retailer, and you buy the product, we get a commission of the sale. Diving the Cayman Islands - SCUBA Travel Aside from being outside the high season which means that Grand Cayman dive resorts all-inclusive hotel prices and Caribbean dive packages are cheaper, this is also the months that the diving parameters are at its best. Best Times to Visit Cayman Islands | U.S. News Travel After exploring the area, here are some of the best dive sites in the Cayman Islands: 1. Grand Cayman has more dive sites than Little Cayman. If you like diving in caves and grottos, Trinity Caves on Grand Caymans west side is the site for you. Here is a list of some of the marine animals you can likely spot when diving the Cayman Islands: There are over 300 dive sites in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is a world-class diving destination famous for its reefs, wrecks and rum. you are in the right place at the right time to see the very best 5. You can see Spotted Eagle Rays flying passed this area from depths of about 30 to 100 feet. The Cayman Islands are home to some of the best spots for scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. When to go Best time Low season Off season Where to go when Great views, amazing stay - Review of Ocean Cabanas Dive Resort, West This is a must-do dive for people vacationing in Grand Cayman. The winter and early spring months are the most popular time in the Cayman Islands. Beginners can enjoy another smaller chimney instead. 1-800-652-1972. Both of these sites are accessible from shore. Income disclosure: We are reader supported, and earn affiliate commissions when you buy via links found on DIVEIN.com: If you find a good deal on our site, you click to the retailer and you buy the product, we get a commission of the sale. Along with the vertical structures of the wall are small cracks and crevices that have become the refuge of marine critters like crabs, lobsters, moray eels and octopus. Both Grand Cayman and Little Cayman have great diving. The wreck of the Captain Keith is unusual it is the only Soviet-made warship that divers can visit in the western hemisphere. From the mooring, divers often descend through a cut in the reef and out onto the wall. Having done a lot of dives in Florida, one thing we did notice was that there were not as many fishes on the reefs in Grand Cayman as in south Florida, but after looking at my pictures after this trip I did notice many small fishes and critters. I've stayed at hotels and used independent dive operators and I have stayed at dive resorts with on-site dive operations. Your dive profile in Stingray City is relatively shallow since your maximum depth is just only 6 meters (20 feet) when you reach the sandy seafloor. This is a wreck worth a dive or two. I am a scuba diving newbie, a Project Manager by profession, and an entrepreneur at heart. The famous diver and explorer Jacques Cousteau said that Bloody Bay Wall is one of the top dive sites in the world. . Megan Johnson|Sharael KolbergMarch 3, 2023, Holly Johnson|Erin EvansFebruary 28, 2023, U.S. News Travel EditorsFebruary 28, 2023, Kyle McCarthy|Catriona KendallFebruary 22, 2023. Located 133 kilometers (83 miles) northeast of Grand Cayman is its little sister island Little Cayman. The wall dive also has several other topographical features including swim-throughs and tunnels. The best diving depth at this Cayman site, between 30 and 40 meters (98-130ft) means its best for deep certified advanced divers. [CDATA[ I created this website to help answer common questions about vacationing in the Cayman Islands, and to help tourists find the best things to do. 1. You can even make a side trip to "Hell", a small area with black volcanic rocks, a few curio shops, and an actual post office you can send mail from with a postmark from Hell. This is a must do dive. You can dive from shore because they have ladders that you can use to enter and exit the water. Another top option for divers, Cayman Brac Beach Resort is, as its name implies, located on the third island in the Cayman Islands: 15-square-mile Cayman Brac. You will find the Cayman Islands to be very diverse, from quiet Little Cayman, to bustling Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman. The islands' location in the western part of the Caribbean shields them from being hit too hard by the annual hurricane season, which lasts from June to November. Although the rays who made this site their home permanently have moved on, there is still a good chance of spotting them here. Eden Rock has lots of coral and fish, and Devils Grotto has underwater caves that you can explore. Not to be confused with the Anchor Point dive sites in Scotlands Loch Fyne, the Solomon Islands, or Sri Lanka, the Cayman dive site is located on Grand Cayman and is characterized by swathes of black coral. 2. With a PADI Travel account, you can favourite dive operators to come back to later on any device or computer. But Little Cayman also has good diving including Bloody Bay Wall dive, which means a Caymans Island liveaboard is the best way to experience all the best Cayman's diving. The boat dives were offered mostly in the mornings, and we were on our own in the afternoons. Over 200 permanent boat moorings are installed to avoid damaging corals with the dropping of boat anchors. This site is a firm favorite among local dive masters, most likely because of the intriguing geological features but there is plenty of marine life here too. We did see some nurse sharks, sea turtles and a few rays. Located in the western Caribbean, just 480 miles south of Miami, Cayman is perfect for scuba diving and snorkelling, boasting some of the Caribbean's best excursions. Penetration is encouraged but to get the most out of the experience, take a torch. You will need little more (and some prefer less) than a 3 mm full length wetsuit. Scuba diving in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac | ZuBlu Exploring its underwater habitats allows you to see an incredible reef that starts at 6 meters (20 feet) deep and slowly slopes down towards a vertical limestone wall that drops down up to 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) deep. We rarely boast about our service but we believe it's what sets us apart and makes us truly original, so please forgive this moment of unabashed self-promotion. They have ladders that you can use to enter and exit the water safely. Plus, along the wall, you can meet triggerfish, eagle rays, turtles, lobsters and many more! Under its 1986 declaration covering an area of hectares (23 acres) are dive sites that are popular to tourists and divers alike. Diving Cayman Islands: Best Wall Dives in the World Sharks and turtles are frequent visitors as are snappers, groupers, and grunts. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content. The best time to visit the Cayman Islands is between March and June when the hotel rates drop. Grand Cayman and Little Cayman are the main diving areas in the Cayman Islands which are recognized as having one of the best wall dives in the world. an enquiry. Sea temperature varies little, from a high of 86F/30C in August/September to a low of 80F/26.5C in February. As well as healthy coral and large pelagic species, you can expect to catch sight of Nassau groupers, stingrays, angelfish, snappers, horse-eye jacks, and turtles. The most interesting topside activities for us were exploring the island in a rental car and driving on the left side of the road. Besides the thick black corals, keep an eye out for tarpon, large yellow tube sponges, and ginormous barrel sponges. Reservations Office is open Monday-Friday | 8:30am-5:30pm Cayman Islands time. 0 However, as we just mentioned, diving in the Cayman Islands is possible all year round. However, the Cayman Islands can be impacted by hurricanes primarily between June and November. Cruise lines can reduce the number of ships that visit Grand Cayman in the fall, but hotels and resorts cant reduce the number of rooms. The non-divers with us were content to lounge by the pool, visit the spa, ride bikes, and go for walks. While Grand Cayman, the most popular island, has a mix of accessible shore and boat diving. Book an introductory scuba diving package to learn the basics of diving from certified PADI instructors. Bert Brothers Boulders is one of the most beautiful dive sites on Cayman Brac. Continue with Recommended Cookies. The most striking and common marine life for me were the brightly yellow colored tube sponges. Most of them are located around the Grand Cayman but a little over sixty sites stay around Cayman Brac and the Little Cayman. Find & Book Adventures Book your fun dives, snorkelling trips and courses online with thousands of PADI Dive Centers. The 20 Best Dive sites in Caymans? And as you might imagine, the coral-encrusted archway makes for a fantastic photo opportunity. Interested in diving the Cayman Islands? While diving is a year-round activity in the Cayman Islands, June to August is considered to be the best time of year to dive Grand Cayman and the nearby islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The worst time is September during the hurricane season. 11 Dive Resorts in the Cayman Islands | PADI Travel Cayman Islands Seasonal Dive Planner The Caymans' hottest period is from May to November. Cayman Islands, as well as our suggestions for the best places to Aside from corals, barrel sponges are sprawling in this vibrant reef that is also filled with tropical reef fish like groupers, butterflyfish, angelfish, moray eels and lionfish which is believed to be an invasive species. You will also notice that this tunnel system has a healthy population of whip corals and sponges that are all tall in size.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'scubadivegeek_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_0',126,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-scubadivegeek_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); Scuba diving in Grand Cayman is not just only about wall diving. The dive boat did make the excursion across to Little Cayman's Bloody Bay wall one day which is very achievable from Cayman Brac. Get forecasts each morning for every major island. Best Diving sites in Cayman Islands - Scuba dive reviews by Divezone 4 Places to Go Shore Diving in Grand Cayman | The Residences With 365 named dive sites, the enchanting Cayman Islands is a year-round underwater paradise. The ship was originally built for the US Army Transportation Corps over 70-years ago. Kittiwake- Though this wreck has been sunken rather recently and has not developed much coral yet, it is still a fantastic dive site for all levels. Cayman Islands Liveaboard Diving | Scuba Diving Earth The protected Bloody Bay Marine Park lies in Little Cayman and offers magnificent marine life, great visibility, and spectacular bioluminescent corals. Situated on a wide beach on the island's West End, the property offers 40 air-conditioned rooms (renovated in late 2015 and featuring soothing Caribbean . DIVEIN.com was founded in 2009 by the two brothers Torben and Nicolai. It is only a 10-minute walk from the cruise ship port in George Town to Eden Rock. Please Sign-in or Register Just south of Seven Mile Beach and approximately 46 feet below the surface are Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto, two of the most popular diving spots on Grand Cayman. Best Time to Dive in Little Cayman - Original Diving May through November, and especially September and October, are the riskiest months to visit. I have been diving in Grand Cayman several times. The Cayman Islands certainly offer diversity without a long trip from the states. 10 Best Dive Sites in Caribbean Islands in 2023 We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Grand Cayman scuba diving is also more popular than on the other islands due to the stingray population there. Jacques Costeau loved diving in the Caymans and its easy to see why. Stingrays, stingrays, and more stingrays is what draws divers to this Cayman site. There is also a restaurant, bar and dive shop at Macabuca. Perhaps because of this, the coral isnt looking a healthy as it could. The 5 Best Dive Sites In Grand Cayman - DesertDivers At night, this popular Caymans dive site is great for spotting octopus, lobster, and shrimp. Along the wall you'll spot black coral bushes, barrel sponges and sea fans where barracudas, turtles, eagle rays and parrotfish like to show up. Babylon is located on the North Wall in Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is a beautiful dive destination with many options for accommodations and for diving. Out in the open, spotted eagle rays are often seen swimming in groups of at least 5 individuals and their passing by is often correlated to the flyby of fighter jets in low altitude. There is a good amount of coral and fish here. Three Fathom Wall is a popular night dive when eels, lobsters, and reef squid make an appearance. Cayman Brac is the last of the islands and also much less traveld than Grand Caymen. Diving in Little Cayman | PADI Yes, that is the Cayman Islands and this is due in part of the tax holiday being implemented that has attracted businesses worldwide. Though scuba diving in the Cayman Islands is mostly known for close encounters with stingrays, it has much more to offer. Dive Into the Cayman Islands | Cond Nast Traveler Dive Shop and Front desk is open 7 days per week | 7am to 6pm and can be reached directly on (345)-640-7500 Along the drop-off, crevices and canyons cut through the reefs face. The primary reason why scuba divers frequently visit the Cayman Islands is to do a different kind of investment: definitely not monetary, but instead fun, enjoyment and great underwater adventures. But which Cayman Island has the best diving? . but the best time to visit is between May and October. A huge pinnacle branches out, creating a corridor-like passageway that is used by large pelagics cruising up from the abyss. If wall diving is your thing, check out diving in Turks & Caicos. Located near a popular resort is a vertical drop off that is filled with all sorts of marine life the North Wall. I guess thats one drawback of guided dives, everyone is constantly on the move, not ideal for photography, especially macro photography. Grand Cayman Island probably has the best diving as it has the North Wall deep drop-off dive and the USS Kittiwake wreck dive. Occasionally, a nurse shark rest on the sand. Butterflyfish, triggerfish, shrimp, snapper, and more hand out in and around the large coral heads that sit nor far from the waters surface. If you don't want to sacrifice weather for a break on hotel prices, plan a trip for the region's dry season, which runs from November to April. Grand Cayman makes a good dive vacation, but for us it was a great stop with plenty of good diving over 3 days on the way home from Cayman Brac. Bloody Bay Marine Park is one of Cayman's best known dive sites and is named after the battles that took place between the British navy and its privateers following the outlaw of piracy. 50 Best Scuba Diving Places in The World - Thrillophilia Cathy Church has a shop at Sunset House where you can often meet her and see her beautiful underwater photos from the area. Dive vacations in the Cayman Islands are a good choice for underwater photographers with their many opportunities to capture the beauty of the place and wonderful visibility, and also for travellers looking for deep dives - you can find many along the Cayman walls. Booming and sprawling are not just words describing the tourism facilities in Little Cayman, but it can also be used to describe its world-class dive sites. Little Cayman, Cayman Islands. The best dive site is either Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman or the USS Kittiwake in Grand Cayman. Scuba diving in Little Cayman - Liveaboard.com Stingray City offers divers the opportunity to fully interact with these amazing creatures. Diving in the Cayman Islands - Bluewater Dive Travel Cayman Islands Diving | Silver Thatch Water Sports | Breakers Learn to Dive in Cayman - Beginners and Refresher Courses In addition, you're more likely to snag a hotel deal during these months. Diving Season: The best time to dive Cuba's Jardines de la Reina is during the dry season, from November to late April, as this time has the most ideal visibility and sea conditions. Cayman Islands Snorkeling: Discover The Best Spots in this Complete Guide Best Time to Dive Cayman Islands. It was quite crowded with dive and snorkel boats when we got there, but it was no big deal once we got in the water. Water Temperatures: Ranges from around 22C (72F) in December to 29C (84F) in July. No diving trip in Grand Cayman would be complete without a dive at the infamous Stingray City. This is a shore dive, meaning that you enter the water from the shore, and then swim to Cheeseburger Reef. The islands are warm year-round with average highs. divemasters and lovers of all things underwater, know the best time Water temperatures are usually low 80's F. Marine life is plentiful and varied. The Cayman Islands are widely regarded as the birthplace of recreational scuba diving, thanks to some pioneering efforts by local operators in the 1980s. Data sourced from the National Climatic Data Center. Located in popular Bloody Bay, Donnas Delight is home to some classic Cayman wall diving: Giant barrel sponges, arching sea fans, and bright corals.