However, there are large coral canyons that provide exciting swim-throughs for divers. Once you decide which route you want to go, it's time to get in the water! Eden Rock & Devils Grotto are two dive sites that are next to each other. 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 USS Kittiwake is an ex-US Navy ship that was purposely sunk in Grand Cayman to create a new dive site. It is 330-feet in length, and was sunk in Cayman Brac in 1996. Best Time to Dive Cayman Islands. Stingrays and turtles are known to swim here.
Black coral and colorful sponges decorate the near-vertical face and the shallows are dotted with large coral heads teeming with marine life. The water drops over a hundred feet. No worries, the diving is world class on Bloody Bay Wall. 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. Drop us a comment below and tell us your favorite site! Discover these empowering women's history destinations selected by the U.S. News travel editors. It lays at 60 ft (20 m) and scuba divers are able to explore all five levels of this 250 ft (75 m) vessel. Macro photographers should keep an eye out for the neck and decorator crabs who make their homes here. The Cayman Diving Season The islands are very much a year round diving destination. Away from the reef, divers can look around the LCM David Nicholson wreck. Purposely sunk in 2011, she now sits upright in the sand at 18 meters (60ft) and is a teeming artificial reef encrusted with coral. From Grand Cayman, you can transfer to Little Cayman or Cayman Brac. These Florida Keys resorts are ideal for family getaways and romantic retreats. Grand Cayman is a sophisticated Caribbean island with great nightlife, great resort options, and the wonderful attraction of stingray city, and very good wall diving. 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. GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT DIVING IN CAYMANS?
50 Best Scuba Diving Places in The World - Thrillophilia Only ten miles long and one mile wide, this is a place where you can truly focus on your opportunity to relax. If you want to get rid of the tourist crowd in Grand Cayman and explore a dive site that is remote and that the diver to fish ratio is 1 to a million, then we suggest you head out northwest of Grand Cayman via a Cayman Liveaboard vessel in a site called Babylon. You will need little more (and some prefer less) than a 3 mm full length wetsuit. Erwin Poliakoff, Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA Nikon D7000, Tokina 10-17 zoom, Nikkor 60mm, 85mm, and 105mm macros, Nauticam housing Stingray City- You can thank the local fishermen for this dive site as they used to clean their catch here that attracted the rays to the site. Topside, the community is expanding with ongoing construction. It is an amazing sight, and a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. You need to take a boat to reach this wreck. If wall diving is your thing, check out diving in Turks & Caicos. 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. PADI Dive Resorts for all budgets, in the best dive locations around the world. Booming in the sense that Little Cayman has over 15 dive sites that have attracted divers from all parts of the globe, and sprawling since all the dive sites are teeming with marine life. Bloody Bay Wall is located in Little Cayman. Water temperatures are usually low 80's F. Marine life is plentiful and varied. If you don't feel comfortable using my referral links, you can always go directly to their site and bypass me. Sidetrip: Grand Cayman is the biggest island and it is where most accommodations and restaurants are located. As for temperature and weather, the Cayman Islands are tropical, meaning it's warm 365 days a year. You will see a lot of tarpon at this spot, as well as coral and other fish. Bloody Bay Wall is considered the epicenter of scuba diving in this marine park. 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. The best diving depth at this Cayman site, between 30 and 40 meters (98-130ft) means its best for deep certified advanced divers. They became my favorite focus on the reef. With world class conditions and a robust dive industry, the Cayman Islands is one of the best places to learn how to dive. This is also where you will board your liveaboard. Average rainfall jumps to more than five inches in May, June and July. Our DSD is $99 USD per person and includes all equipment needed and a fantastic shallow dive to a max depth of 40ft. December to April is also the busiest time of year for tourism, so it's important to book your dive trips in advance. This spot is about 20-feet deep, and has a lot of coral. Interested in diving the Cayman Islands? If you want to go a little more remote, try Little Cayman. 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. It seems the dive guides hunt the lionfish and then feed the groupers, so they joined us right away each dive. Wilderness Wall starts at 15 meters (50ft) before plunging down into the depths. From April to October water temperature are at least 27 o C (81 o F) and can . As of 2023, you can renew your passport online. Best Time to Dive in Little Cayman. Before she was decommissioned in 1994, the USS Kittiwake was a Navy Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel. 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 islands are warm year-round with average highs. The dive boat did make the excursion across to Little Cayman's Bloody Bay wall one day which is very achievable from Cayman Brac. Grandview Condominiums are located on the south end of 7 Mile Beach in George Town on the scuba diving island of Grand Cayman. [What You Need to Know]. Fiji: Dive the Soft Coral Capital of the World. Little Cayman was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503. September and October are the riskiest months to visit Grand Cayman because of the higher than normal amounts of rain. Divers in the Caymans visit Kittiwake for the wreck itself. We highly advise you ask your local dive shop on the dos and donts in diving a particular dive site. With virtually no currents and outstanding underwater visibility, Cayman has amazing wall dives, coral reefs and wrecks for you to explore and discover. StingrayCity. Hotels, resorts and cruise ships dont like unsold rooms and cabins, so they are more likely to offer discounts to attract customers. Over 200 permanent boat moorings are installed to avoid damaging corals with the dropping of boat anchors.
If hot temperatures are an issue, it is better to visit the islands from December through April when they average in the upper 80s Fahrenheit. Around the coral fingers, stingrays, eagle rays and yellowhead jawfish rest on the sandy patches.
Grand Cayman is the most commercial island, with cruise ships visiting, but it has some wrecks and the wall dives are close boat rides. The Eden Rock Dive Center has everything you need for an unforgettable day underwater in the Cayman Islands.
Best Resorts in the Cayman Islands | Islands 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. Elkhorn corals adorn the tops of the ridges while large gorgonians, tube sponges, and hard corals occupy the gullies. Most of them are located around the Grand Cayman but a little over sixty sites stay around Cayman Brac and the Little Cayman. May through November, and especially September and October, are the riskiest months to visit. However, the Cayman Islands can be impacted by hurricanes primarily between June and November. Head to around 30m/98ft for some of the best wall views. As a diver, with a PADI account you can access your eLearning along with many more tools to help you on your adventures. Click here to learn more. 5. You can dive from shore because they have ladders that you can use to enter and exit the water. This is an especiallygreat time to visit clear, calm waters are perfect for snorkeling, diving, sailing and fishing. The Kittiwake wreck as well as other wrecks in the close vicinity add variety and interesting structure which I really enjoyed.
Best Time to Visit Cayman Islands - tripbirdie.com Choose from private or single rates, we will find you the best possible option to help you enjoy the famous Cayman Stingray City. The protected Bloody Bay Marine Park lies in Little Cayman and offers magnificent marine life, great visibility, and spectacular bioluminescent corals. Despite the name, there arent actually caves here. Also, check out our article where we review the top 25 things to do in Grand Cayman.
Diving the Cayman Islands - SCUBA Travel The Cayman Islands has also designated four special areas for protection such as marine park zones, replenishment zones, environmental zones, and no diving zones. For us divers, the financial self-sufficiency of the Cayman Islands is only the icing on the cake.
A First Timer's Guide to Grand Cayman Island - AFAR Media Instagram, My Ideas
Dive Into the Cayman Islands | Cond Nast Traveler The chart to the right using data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization shows that March is the most popular month of the year to visit followed by December and July. But they are sometimes the cheapest months to visit. He is the author of four books about cruising in the Caribbean, Alaska and Mexican Riviera. You can go hiking in the Mastic Trail where it has really nice views from the harbors and the beaches. It exceeds six inches in August and jumps again to more than eight inches in September and October. The best time to visit Grand Cayman is March and April. The amazing strawberry sponges were in abundance there. 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. Otherwise, it is clear that December through April are the best months of the year to visit Grand Cayman, especially early April. The top is at 15m/50ft but the bottom is around 90m/200ft so diver ought to watch their depth gauges carefully as they circle the mountain. The entire experience is about 3 hours long from the time we pick you up from your hotel or condo along Seven Mile Beach to drop off. 1. From classic wide-brimmed hats to water-repellent trucker hats, find your ideal style. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. This dive site first became popular in the 90s when it was featured in the film The Firm, starring Tom Cruise. The largest among the three islands, Grand Cayman is highly popular among SCUBA divers from all over the world. 10 Go Scavenger Hunting At Seven Mile Beach.
Diving in the Cayman Islands - Bluewater Dive Travel Best Times to Visit Cayman Islands | U.S. News Travel Which Cayman island has the best diving? | ZuBlu 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. Overall it is a place worth seeing. Everything here is very low key and there is a small local population. 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. A shallow dive site, the colors here really pop making it a good choice for photographers. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Occasionally, a nurse shark rest on the sand. Dive Shop and Front desk is open 7 days per week | 7am to 6pm and can be reached directly on (345)-640-7500 The wreck was specifically set up for safe penetration, giving divers many interior rooms to explore. There is decent shore diving from their dock.
Cayman Islands Snorkeling: Discover The Best Spots in this Complete Guide September is the worst month of the Caribbean hurricane season, which officially goes from June through November.
Diving in the Cayman Islands - Bluewater Dive Travel Lionfish have become an invasive species and some of the dive operators offer culling excursions. Though Kittiwake is a very popular diving site on Grand Island, the shallow and crystal-clear waters of the site make it an equally amazing snorkeling spot as well. The islands are warm year-round with average highs holding steady in the 80s. Drift dives are possible here depending on your operator. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Of course, the Soviets didnt call her Keith Tibbets, she was renamed for a local dive operator after the Cayman government purchased the wreck for dive tourism. This world-class scuba destination is colorful, bright, and teeming with life. The Cayman Islands-- Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac--have been attracting scuba divers for decades, including beginners! Although the rays who made this site their home permanently have moved on, there is still a good chance of spotting them here. Courtesy of Sunset House Resort, Grand Cayman. Courtesy of IreneCorti/Getty Images/iStockphoto. Eels, rays, sharks, and turtles are frequently seen. December rainfall drops back down to about three inches. Theres also Little Cayman thats the least developed of the 3 islands. Bloody Bay Coral Reef Wall - one of the most beautiful dive sites in the Cayman Islands It's time to head back underwater for another jaw-dropping location: the Bloody Bay Wall. Theres plenty to do if you are not diving. The depths start at around 12m/40ft and end at 30m/98ft. The highlight of the dive is the photo opportunity with this Cayman reefs most famous resident. Grand Cayman is the most visited island in the Cayman Islands by Scuba Divers. Divers can observe the bow guns and go along the rails to make some great photos. In effect, there are more registered businesses in Cayman Island as compared to its local population. 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. Three Fathom Wall is a popular night dive when eels, lobsters, and reef squid make an appearance. The winter and early spring months are the most popular time in the Cayman Islands. The best time to visit the Cayman Islands is between March and April. View Map. 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. Along the drop-off, crevices and canyons cut through the reefs face. Great Wall is the kind of dive that makes you feel like a tiny speck in the ocean as you hang near a wall that drops dramatically to more than 1,800 meters (6,000ft). Greenhouse is a nice medium-depth reef dive with plenty of grooves and gullies to explore. I've stayed at hotels and used independent dive operators and I have stayed at dive resorts with on-site dive operations. My wife and I are traveling there in February 2015 and are PADI AOW and Nitrox certified with ten years of recreational experience diving. On top of being generally warm, the waters are clear with underwater visibility running from 18 30 meters (60 100 feet). Theres good diving, with great Walls and of course stingray city, where you can see and feed stingrays. Click the link below to read our article about Macabuca: Tarpon Alley is located at the North Wall in Grand Cayman. It is rich with tunnels, chutes, cervices, and beautiful reefs. The best dive site is either Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman or the USS Kittiwake in Grand Cayman. Apart from the elephant ear sponges, keep your eyes peeled for blacktip Carribean reef sharks in the blue. Its a very easy and fun dive, we saw some angelfish and eagle rays.
Best 5 Dive Resorts In Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Trip101 During this time, you can expect to see a variety of marine life, including turtles, rays, and a wide array of tropical fish. With over 365 dive sites, clear waters, coral reefs and abundant marine life, the Cayman Islands are one of the best diving spots in the world. Roberts Wall is located on the North Wall in Grand Cayman. The wall dive also has several other topographical features including swim-throughs and tunnels. Get certified to scuba dive. ScubaDiveGeek.com is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Resident Nassau groupers often keep divers company and if you look closely, you may be rewarded with seahorses and lettuce-leaf slugs. Click the link below to read our article about the USS Kittiwake: Wilderness Wall is located on the south-side of Cayman Brac.
Best Time to Dive in Cayman Islands - Original Diving MV Capt. 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. . 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. The dive schedule would include a deep wall dive followed by a shallower reef or wreck. For water sports lovers, there are great spots for snorkeling including night snorkeling with bioluminescence, options to go sailing or on a catamaran cruise. We understand that diving the best Grand Cayman Dives is the primary goal of your Grand Cayman Dive vacation. On Grand Cayman, I stayed at hotels on the west end along Seven Mile beach.
5 of the Best Scuba Diving Sites in the Cayman Islands It is only a 10-minute walk from the cruise ship port in George Town to Eden Rock.
The Best Time to Visit the Cayman Islands in 2023 | Travellers 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. [CDATA[ Instead, they pass through the vicinity and bring heavy rains and wind to the island. 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. Enjoy the comfort of an airport lounge with free drinks and snacks, even if you're flying economy. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Closer to the reef, turtles, groupers, horse-eyed jacks, and an over-abundance of lionfish make this colorful site even more interesting. Scott S. Bateman is a professional journalist who has traveled widely throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. 1. Youtube+ Replace or update your card, buy a Special Edition or Project AWARE version of your PADI certification card, or go digital with the purchase of a PADI eCard.
But these aren't the only good and bad times. Originally coined 356, this wreck is now called the M/V Captain Keith Tibbetts after a well-known Cayman Brac politician. Watch your buoyancy and head out into the blue, look back to really appreciate the Great Walls sheer size and impressive drop-off. Its also the historical rainfall patterns. While the upper part of the reef is already teeming with corals, it becomes denser as you traverse the vertical limestone where it is now intermixed with sponges and sea fans. From our 24hr helpline to our expert local guides and selection of handpicked reading lists. Enquire 3. Here, you can take diving lessons, go on a guided dive, or rent tanks and gear. Out in the open, expect schools of Nassau groupers, turtles, and snappers. With a PADI Travel account, you can favourite dive operators to come back to later on any device or computer. you are in the right place at the right time to see the very best 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. If you have time, you should also take a flight to Little Cayman from Grand Cayman, and dive at Bloody Bay Wall. It should not be a surprise that January through April also happen to be popular months to visit the islands via western Caribbean cruises because of their ideal combination of cooler temperatures and low rainfall.