Grand Cayman or Roatan

[jscheier]

I have narrowed down my choices for a summer dive trip to either Grand Cayman or Roatan. Which would you choose and why?

thanks

J

 

[lynnemari]

I think the diving is better in Roatan, but there is not much else to do. Grand Caymen can be good diving also and has more to do so it depends on what you want over all. Grand caymen is more expensive. They are really building more and more in Roatan, and cruise ships have started comming too, so you may want to dive Roatan before the good diving is hurt by the growth.

 

[jlevine]

They are very different islands. What are you looking for?

Grand Cayman has a modern infrastructure and is more modern overall and is a major financial center with all the amenities.

On Roatan you will see things across the spectrum from very nice, to very rustic. I love Roatan with its quirks but you have to accept the quirks. Your power may go out (it's getting better). Phone service can be erratic (but it's getting better). Your internet may be slow (but it's getting better). You will have to deal with sandflies (just wear repellent). I have been to Roatan many times and love it...but some people don't.

 

[jscheier]

Thanks. How is the safety in Roatan? One main reason we are not going back to Bonaire is the petty theft when we did shore dives.

J

 

[jlevine]

In general, tourists do not have issues on Roatan. The major tourist areas (West Bay, West End) and all the larger resorts are pretty safe. Many resorts have nighttime security staff to keep an eye on things. In terms of property crime, I recommend the basics. I suggest locking your luggage in your room or using an in-room safe. I would not bring expensive items. Why draw attention to yourself? I bring diving gear and a small laptop for e-mails and an inexpensive camera. They've never been taken. In Roatan, almost all the diving is from boats so you won't have the same problem as you did on Bonaire. Roatan is part of Honduras, the second poorest country in the region after Haiti. If you leave the resort areas, you'll see the poverty. Having said that, I've met many wonderful Hondurans who have done what they could to show me hospitality. It is a great place. Is it perfect? No. But I do like it. I usually stay at Roatan - Las Rocas Resort & Dive Center, Bay Islands of Honduras. Wherever you stay, ask your resort all the questions. Check out this web site and all the travel web sites. You'll find lots of good info. Also check out Roatan Info - Roatan Hotels, Resorts, Diving, Maps, News, Real Estate, Pictures, Weather, Tours & Chat..

 

[jscheier]

Thanks.

 

[divejay]

I have narrowed down my choices for a summer dive trip to either Grand Cayman or Roatan. Which would you choose and why?

thanks

J

What is really great about Grand Cayman verses Roatan is Grand Cayman has great shore diving that Roatan does not and the deep walls 40' -4,000' in Grand Cayman are breath taking shear. In West Bay, Grand Cayman is Cobalt Coast Dive Resort that has unlimited diving 24/7 for a price of a boat trip in Roatan.

 

[PatW]

I have dived both Roatan (at CocoView) and Little Cayman. I think the diving is better at Little Cayman.

I did the south side of Roatan. Most of the dives are wall dives. The wall can start almost at the surface to about 60' depending on the site. The wall itself is generally about 60'-100' before leveling off and plunging again at depths I don't go into. Roatan seems to have suffered fishing pressure until recently. I saw few large grouper. I think I saw a couple of turtles. I don't recall seeing a shark. I did see a considerable number of angel fish, parrot fish, blue tangs, snappers and so on. I saw more morays than I have seen anywhere else. I think the relative absence of large diurnal predators has given the morays an opportunity that they are exploiting. Also, I frequently saw sea horses.

I was at the resort and never really got off of it. But the people I came into contact with were uniformly cheerful, pleasant and helpful. I saw open evidence of pretty extreme poverty but crime on the island seems to be low (at least for the tourist experience). You see often see another side of things if you are a resident.

The diving I have had at Little Cayman is the best I have seen in the Carribean. I have been to South Caicos (Turks and Caicos), Salt Cay (Turks and Caicos), south east coast of Florida, the Florida Keys, the British Virgin Islands, Roatan, and Little Cayman. The visibility at Little Cayman is often near 100'. The large critters are abundant; stingrays, eagle rays, reef sharks, nurse sharks, turtles, and large groupers. The island sanctuary is more than lip service. It is enforced and the sea life shows it. The large animals are often quite unconcerned about divers (turtles seem to think that they have the right of way and divers should get out of their way). Little Cayman also has a rich selection of small critters which I often miss because I am gawking at something big.

The Cayman Islands have much more of a social safety net so the local inhabitants seem to be reasonably well off. On Little Cayman, there are so few residents that the locals are not much of an issue. The cost of the Cayman Islands is much higher than Roatan. From what I gather, Grand Cayman has fairly similar diving to Little Cayman with a developed island infrastructure. As far as choice goes, you are talking about a well established resort area with a place that is definitely third world.

 

[nipi]

I have dived both Roatan (at CocoView) and Little Cayman. I think the diving is better at Little Cayman.

I did the south side of Roatan. Most of the dives are wall dives. The wall can start almost at the surface to about 60' depending on the site. The wall itself is generally about 60'-100' before leveling off and plunging again at depths I don't go into. Roatan seems to have suffered fishing pressure until recently. I saw few large grouper. I think I saw a couple of turtles. I don't recall seeing a shark. I did see a considerable number of angel fish, parrot fish, blue tangs, snappers and so on. I saw more morays than I have seen anywhere else. I think the relative absence of large diurnal predators has given the morays an opportunity that they are exploiting. Also, I frequently saw sea horses.

I was at the resort and never really got off of it. But the people I came into contact with were uniformly cheerful, pleasant and helpful. I saw open evidence of pretty extreme poverty but crime on the island seems to be low (at least for the tourist experience). You see often see another side of things if you are a resident.

The diving I have had at Little Cayman is the best I have seen in the Carribean. I have been to South Caicos (Turks and Caicos), Salt Cay (Turks and Caicos), south east coast of Florida, the Florida Keys, the British Virgin Islands, Roatan, and Little Cayman. The visibility at Little Cayman is often near 100'. The large critters are abundant; stingrays, eagle rays, reef sharks, nurse sharks, turtles, and large groupers. The island sanctuary is more than lip service. It is enforced and the sea life shows it. The large animals are often quite unconcerned about divers (turtles seem to think that they have the right of way and divers should get out of their way). Little Cayman also has a rich selection of small critters which I often miss because I am gawking at something big.

The Cayman Islands have much more of a social safety net so the local inhabitants seem to be reasonably well off. On Little Cayman, there are so few residents that the locals are not much of an issue. The cost of the Cayman Islands is much higher than Roatan. From what I gather, Grand Cayman has fairly similar diving to Little Cayman with a developed island infrastructure. As far as choice goes, you are talking about a well established resort area with a place that is definitely third world.

Little Cayman has better diving than Grand Cayman which has better diving than Roatan.

 

[divejay]

Little Cayman has no shore diving, no wreck diving and only one night dive a week and then there has to be at least 4 divers on the boat trip to run. So you only can get 3 dives max per day in Little Cayman. Little Cayman's Bloody Bay reef wall is great but none of the others sites are as good as Grand Cayman's North walls. Then the shore diving in West Bay area, Grand Cayman is just awesome.