This is a fun dive spot that you can access from shore. Dive N Stay Vacation Packages - Compass Point Dive Resort - Cayman Islands (1st January 2023 - 31st December 2023) We offer pre-set Dive & Stay Vacation Packages for 3, 5 or 7 nights, and can also customize your package for any number of nights and for various group sizes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Grand Cayman is the most commercial island, with a lot of resorts, great nightlife, and more tourist attractions. There are lots of other fish and coral. This is also where you will board your liveaboard. Hotel prices are sourced from a sample of U.S. News Best Hotels rates through 2015-2016. "High Season" at the hotels is mid-December to mid-April, so rates will be higher then. So, what are you waiting for? The course includes a 2-hour pool and theory session, and an . It is easily possible to visit all 3 of the Cayman Islands in a single dive trip and be able to enjoy the diversity they provide. 4. Our mission has been to do this with the best crew, using the best equipment while offering the most competing Cayman Islands dive packages. During the day rays, turtles, the occasional barracuda and plenty of reef fish mean theres a lot to keep divers engaged. Babylon- Grand Cayman Island is surrounded by a wall, but what makes the Babylon site special is the pinnacle with a canyon cutting the north wall. If you want to escape the crowds of cruise ship passengers, the East End is the place to go. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. This wreck is the only Russian warship that can explore in the Western hemisphere. 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. I would like to mention 2 points though, one that it is a bit expensive, both the accommodations and the diving, and secondly, it looks like they allow open water divers to do the deeper wall dives, where you can be as deep as 100 feet, just an FYI, in case youre not comfortable at that depth. Best Dive Sites in the Cayman Islands for a Magical - pickyourtrail I like the idea of being able to dive off both islands while staying on one. The 6 Best Dive Sites in the Cayman Islands - PADI Blog Top 12 Beautiful Places to Visit in the Cayman Islands Little Cayman, best time of year for diving | Page 2 | ScubaBoard Trinity Caves is a popular dive site that is located off the coast of West Bay in Grand Cayman. Sharks and turtles are frequent visitors as are snappers, groupers, and grunts. Cayman Islands, as well as our suggestions for the best places to Click the link below to read our article where we explain the difference between Deep Stingray City and Stingray City Sandbar: Macabuca is located in West Bay in Grand Cayman. All the information you need to plan your dive vacations anywhere in the world. The months of January and February are the coldest, with average lows in the low 60s. Cayman Islands | Maduro Dive | Exclusive Scuba Diving Packages [What You Need to Know]. Living The Dream Divers Diving Packages | Grand Cayman However, as we just mentioned, diving in the Cayman Islands is possible all year round. The Best Time to Visit the Cayman Islands in 2023 | Travellers The 5 Best Dive Sites In Grand Cayman - DesertDivers The Cayman Islands hosts one of the best dives in the World: Bloody Bay Wall on Little Cayman. The boat dives were offered mostly in the mornings, and we were on our own in the afternoons. There is a lot of soft coral here, which makes for an interesting experience. Book your next cruise vacation on one of these floating megaresorts. Aside from taking photos at the solid bronze emblem at one of its 5 decks or at the stern with the propeller, penetration can be done with the USS Kittiwake courtesy from multiple sunlit entries and exit points. In general, the best time to dive in the Cayman Islands is between January and April, when the water temperature is warm and visibility is excellent. For big animals - you can find a good number of turtles and groupers, tarpon, nurse sharks, great barracuda, and stingrays. As for temperature and weather, the Cayman Islands are tropical, meaning it's warm 365 days a year. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content. As a diver, with a PADI account you can access your eLearning along with many more tools to help you on your adventures. to save My Ideas for later. Diving in Little Cayman | PADI Occasionally, a nurse shark rest on the sand. Purposely sunk in 2011, she now sits upright in the sand at 18 meters (60ft) and is a teeming artificial reef encrusted with coral. If you want to go a little more remote, try Little Cayman. Corals and sponges are plentiful. The Cayman Islands-- Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac--have been attracting scuba divers for decades, including beginners! Besides the thick black corals, keep an eye out for tarpon, large yellow tube sponges, and ginormous barrel sponges. [CDATA[ The Cayman Islands has also designated four special areas for protection such as marine park zones, replenishment zones, environmental zones, and no diving zones. North Wall 2. stingray city 3. You will find the Cayman Islands to be very diverse, from quiet Little Cayman, to bustling Seven Mile Beach 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. Divers of all levels can explore the engines, pistons, and pieces of the wreck that are scattered at 18m/60ft. Access to tools and resources at your fingertips, curated to enhance your diving experience. But these aren't the only good and bad times. Which Cayman island has the best diving? | ZuBlu Cayman Brac offers a good mix of wall, wreck and reef diving for all experience levels. Three Fathom Wall is a popular night dive when eels, lobsters, and reef squid make an appearance. Cayman Islands has an average water temperature ranging from 26 29C (78 84F). You need to take a boat to reach this area. Elkhorn corals adorn the tops of the ridges while large gorgonians, tube sponges, and hard corals occupy the gullies. Seven Mile Beach is considered the most popular tourist area in the Cayman Islands, thanks to its stunning white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters. Its a very easy and fun dive, we saw some angelfish and eagle rays. This is an especiallygreat time to visit clear, calm waters are perfect for snorkeling, diving, sailing and fishing. You need to protect your fingers from the eager snappers though. Use Add to ideas + to collect your trip ideas, share with friends or make Along the drop-off, crevices and canyons cut through the reefs face. My wife and I are traveling there in February 2015 and are PADI AOW and Nitrox certified with ten years of recreational experience diving. Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands: an experience of a lifetime Bloody Bay Marine Park is a particularly popular diving destination as it is home to 12 different dive sites, gorgeous coral, and diverse marine life. Ocean Cabanas Dive Resort: Great views, amazing stay - See 33 traveler reviews, 112 candid photos, and great deals for Ocean Cabanas Dive Resort at Tripadvisor. The water is about 12-feet deep here. When diving through the cut itself, look under and in crevices, plenty of little critters make homes for themselves here. The amazing diversity and dive sites for all levels are just one of the reasons why the Cayman Islands is also one of the top dive destinations in the Carribean. All levels of divers can enjoy the site as there is plenty to see at shallow depths or at deeper parts. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,100],'scubadivegeek_com-leader-1','ezslot_4',120,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-scubadivegeek_com-leader-1-0'); By descending down to 15 meters (50 feet) deep, you will arrive at what divers call the hanging garden which is a vertical limestone wall filled with black corals, barrel sponges, and purple sea fans. Diving in the Cayman Islands - Bluewater Dive Travel If you're looking for great diving and hotel prices, the best time is between March and June when the rates all drop. The best time to visit the Cayman Islands is between March and April. We have put together a comprehensive collection of packages to suit your needs. Most dive operators will take you there. I am a scuba diving newbie, a Project Manager by profession, and an entrepreneur at heart. There are actually around two dozen dive sites within the bay, with Bloody Bay Wall top of the list. The Cayman Islands is a world-class diving destination famous for its reefs, wrecks and rum. The winter and early spring months are the most popular time in the Cayman Islands. Cracks in the ceilings let in plenty of natural light making it easy to search the nooks and crannies for the many crustaceans and other marine creatures that occupy the tunnels. Still great for diving with great walls for all levels of divers and the walls and the Russian destroyer 356 aka Russian destroyer. Through this site,my intent is to be able to sponsor the new chapter in my life as a scuba diver. 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. Scuba diving in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac | ZuBlu If you plan to do some land-based explorations on your trip, you'll have to choose between the busier warmer months (like April and November) or the cooler, but generally cheaper, months in between. While the Cayman Islands are famous for its encounters with stingrays in Stingray City where the rays are said to be almost tame, there are many more sites that the islands offer. Get certified to scuba dive. We'll whisk you through the security queues (where available). Located just a short walk from George Town, the Sunset House Hotel is home to Sunset Divers, and both resort and dive center are favorites of divers. In a nutshell, its an island full of land and water adventures. Grand Cayman's North Wall plunges deeper than 1800 metres/6000 feet and offers beautiful wall diving with opportunities to see spotted eagle rays and sea turtles. Theres good diving, with great Walls and of course stingray city, where you can see and feed stingrays. 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. Many divers who have been diving in this area said that this is really an up close and personal experience with stingrays as they are literally touching and surrounding you. It does not make the product pricier for you. dive in each month of the year. Closer to the reef, turtles, groupers, horse-eyed jacks, and an over-abundance of lionfish make this colorful site even more interesting. Ghost Mountain Grand Cayman is another great spot for wall diving where you can further reach a protruding limestone that silhouettes like a ghost from afar. You will need little more (and some prefer less) than a 3 mm full length wetsuit. September can bring rougher waters if there is a tropical storm, and that is also the month with a higher chance of a hurricane, although hurricanes are not common. The highlight of the dive is the photo opportunity with this Cayman reefs most famous resident. He is the author of four books about cruising in the Caribbean, Alaska and Mexican Riviera. Cheeseburger Reef is located in George Town, Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman also offers accessible shore diving on great coral reefs with little to no current. Exploring this site requires you to descend to a depth of 18 meters (60 feet) where the entrance of this elaborate tunnel system starts. Our Exclusive Dive-only Packages in the Cayman Islands - Ocean Frontiers 310-915-6677 Often you can see massive tarpons, barracudas, and schools of silversides. We understand that diving the best Grand Cayman Dives is the primary goal of your Grand Cayman Dive vacation. 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. Divers can observe the bow guns and go along the rails to make some great photos. 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 wreck was specifically set up for safe penetration, giving divers many interior rooms to explore. Cayman Turtle Centre. Hop to the other islands by hiring a private boat operator, or better yet, arrange for a liveaboard tour and explore as many Cayman Islands diving sites as you can. September is the worst month of the Caribbean hurricane season, which officially goes from June through November. Head to the turret guns for a superb photo opportunity and keep your eyes peeled for barracuda, bright sponges, and schooling reef fish. Rum Point Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned diver, Grand Cayman has a dive site for you. The protected Bloody Bay Marine Park lies in Little Cayman and offers magnificent marine life, great visibility, and spectacular bioluminescent corals. Head to around 30m/98ft for some of the best wall views. There is a lot of marine life among the coral and resident angelfish and groupers are found at the stern of the ship. Once you decide which route you want to go, it's time to get in the water! Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman house over 300 dive sites, making up the breathtaking Cayman dive map. From the mooring, divers often descend through a cut in the reef and out onto the wall. The most interesting topside activities for us were exploring the island in a rental car and driving on the left side of the road. 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. It is because of the sometimes extreme temperatures and rainfall that the Caymans have distinct spikes and dips in the number of tourists who visit each month. Our DSD is $99 USD per person and includes all equipment needed and a fantastic shallow dive to a max depth of 40ft. Scuba Diving the Cayman Islands | Scuba Adventures in Plano Best Time to Visit The Cayman Islands are mostly sunny and warm year-round, but it may be best to visit between March and June when the hotel rates drop. Grand Cayman Monthly Weather: Rain, Temperatures, Grand Cayman Vacation Tips: Hotels, Attractions, Weather, Cayman Islands overnight visitor statistics; Caribeez.com. This is really a divers paradise. Enjoy the comfort of an airport lounge with free drinks and snacks, even if you're flying economy. Sea temperature varies little, from a high of 86F/30C in August/September to a low of 80F/26.5C in February. U.S. News rates the cheapest travel insurance options, considering expert and consumer recommendations. Courtesy of Sunset House Resort, Grand Cayman. May through November, and especially September and October, are the riskiest months to visit. Navigate forward to interact with the calendar and select a date. Cactus coral, sea fans, great star coral, and tube sponges blanket the reef and provide refuge for a variety of sea creatures. It is possible to go scuba diving in Little Cayman all year round and the water temperature only varies from 21-27 degrees. This is a wreck worth a dive or two. Pinterest I am the father of the best two children in the world and husband to the most patient woman on this planet. Situated not far from the north point on Grand Cayman, Ghost Mountain is probably named for the behemoth mushroom-like pinnacle that suddenly emerges from the blue as divers near it. Here youll find more than 50 dives sites including the famous Bloody Bay. Some resorts offer "Hurricane protection". Generally, the off-season is the cheapest time to visit Grand Cayman, from May through November. Diving in the Caymans offers something for everyone, whether divers are taking their very first fin stokes or have years of experience under their weight belts. The wreck of the Captain Keith is unusual it is the only Soviet-made warship that divers can visit in the western hemisphere. In 2017, Tropical Storm Nate shifted the Kittiwake from her original position. 10 Best Things to Do in the Cayman Islands Top Cayman Islands The units are privately owned and furnished, but they have 21 accommodations available for rental use. For diving, the reefs are easy to reach from many dive operators and offer a diversity of schooling fish, sponges, turtles, rays, and even sharks. Grand Cayman is the most visited island in the Cayman Islands by Scuba Divers. For us divers, the financial self-sufficiency of the Cayman Islands is only the icing on the cake. Also, check out our article where we review the top 25 things to do in Grand Cayman. When diving the Cayman Islands you can see a lot of large sponges, some good macro, and some tiny fish. It is 330-feet in length, and was sunk in Cayman Brac in 1996. . Honduras coast hosts the Bay Islands which is a compilation of eight islands and 53 small cays and these islands are one of the best scuba diving places in the world. Frugal travel planners can look for good deals during these months while keeping an eye on the 10-day weather forecast. The wall drop is not for the light-hearted as it can reach over 6500ft (2000 m), but along the drop, you can see yellow tube sponges, black and wire corals and waving sea fans. Twitter Aside from tourism promotion, marine conservation is in place in all the dive sites in the Cayman Islands. 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. The resident goliath grouper is a popular dive buddy at this Cayman dive site. The main gateway to the Cayman Islands is through Grand Cayman. If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. After being intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef, this former 76 meter (251 feet) long naval vessel now rests at 18 meters (60 feet) deep near the world-renowned Seven Mile Beach. Black coral and colorful sponges decorate the near-vertical face and the shallows are dotted with large coral heads teeming with marine life. Great views, amazing stay - Review of Ocean Cabanas Dive Resort, West Some of the nicest dive resorts in the Caribbean are in the Cayman Islands, and many of them have great shore diving and boat diving. Most of them are located around the Grand Cayman but a little over sixty sites stay around Cayman Brac and the Little Cayman. You can spot eagle rays, reef sharks, sailfin blennies, tilefish, peacock flounders, garden eels, or yellow-headed jawfish. The North Wall is one of the most visited diving sites and plunges to a depth of 6000 feet (1800 meters). Three long, wide tunnels, accessible to the majority of divers, extend from the sand flats to open out onto the reef wall. Learn to dive in the Cayman Islands by Living the Dream Divers For deep divers, we highly suggest you explore the elephant-ear sponge laden reef of the Orange Canyon or go cave diving in Bonnies Arch. It was then sunk in Grand Cayman in 1980 to make a new dive site. There is slightly more rain during the summer months. You will find Nassau gropers, triggerfish, and other unique marine life at the Bloody Bay Wall. They are located in George Town in Grand Cayman. On Grand Cayman, I stayed at hotels on the west end along Seven Mile beach. I have lived in the corporate world for a few years now with very little excitement in my life. Find the best travel insurance for you with these U.S. News ratings, which factor in expert and consumer recommendations. From these locations, I was able to dive the west end and also the North Wall. So, either way, the experience is well worth the money. It is rich with tunnels, chutes, cervices, and beautiful reefs. If you don't feel comfortable using my referral links, you can always go directly to their site and bypass me. Bloody Bay Wall- Most scuba divers will say this is their favorite dive site in the Cayman Islands. With regards to transportation, you have to take note that there are no taxis in Little Cayman and the best way to explore the island is by renting a bike. 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. 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. When to go Best time Low season Off season Where to go when It also does not lack of options to go visit some museums, art galleries, go on walking eco-tours or historical tours, do some shopping and even have a blast at some amazing festivals. The Kittiwake wreck as well as other wrecks in the close vicinity add variety and interesting structure which I really enjoyed. Stingray City has very large, friendly stingrays. Flights to Grand Cayman arrive at Owen Roberts International Airport. at any point on your diving holiday) has to offer. Having a less touristic crowd, Cayman Brac still has several tourism facilities like Cayman Brac Dive Resorts that are scattered along its narrow coast. . The heat may be less of an issue for anyone planning to spend a week there mainly on the beaches during the day and shopping or having fun in the cooler evenings. Little Cayman, Cayman Islands. Choose your design and prove your PADI certified diver status across the world with a recycled plastic card, eCard or both. 2. Clearly Cayman Group Specials - Big savings on 7-night stays! The famous diver and explorer Jacques Cousteau said that Bloody Bay Wall is one of the top dive sites in the world. Find a Liveaboard -Practical Information - Book a Trip. Both are wonderful underwater. . The wall dive also has several other topographical features including swim-throughs and tunnels. 4. Lemon Reef is a mini-wall dive site located on the North Wall in Grand Cayman. We did see some nurse sharks, sea turtles and a few rays. Swim throughs, ledges, overhangs, and an average depth of 12 meters (40ft) make this a Cayman dive site for all experience levels to explore. Manage Settings Find & Book Adventures Book your fun dives, snorkelling trips and courses online with thousands of PADI Dive Centers. This site is my attempt to live the adrenaline my life is missing and be able to live real-life storybook stories with my wife and children. Cayman Islands Diving | Silver Thatch Water Sports | Breakers