Is It Possible to Dive Grand Cayman on a Budget?

[Jersey]

Of course it's possible to do GC on a budget. Done it twice, not all inclusive, and I'd go back in a heartbeat. Both trips in September flirting with hurricane season. Traded a time share for a week at 7 Mile Beach Resort, a 2 bed/2 bath resort on 7MB, next to Comfort Inn. Ambassador Divers basically in the parking lot. My annual maintenance fee $990 + $150 to trade = $1,140 split 4 ways $285/person for lodging (the unit sleeps 6-8 so we could have cut that in half). If you don't have a time share, find owners online looking to rent out cheap. I love having full kitchen and separate living/sleeping spaces when I travel. I don't mind cooking, especially after diving when I want to eat, sleep and dive again.

Airfare from Phila - paid $500 once and second trip found first class FF seat for 30,000 points while coach was 50,000 points. Yes, first class was less than coach, always check. Food is expensive! Packed 2 bags right up to the limit with clothes, dive gear and food. Wrapped a whole frozen chicken in neoprene, then folded into my BC, along with frozen steaks and meatballs, coffee, dry goods. Bags flew free.

On island bought produce, staples and adult beverages about $75 in food/person. We did rent a car for the week and did island drives/tours with non-divers in the afternoon. 2 tank morning dives with Ambassador Divers and a couple afternoon 2 tank shore dives w/ hired guide ($75 for 2 people). Ambassador also hooked us up with an afternoon snorkel and Stingray boat trip so even the non-divers got out to the reef.

TotaI cost around $850 at the least and maybe $1,200 including airfare. (For perspective my Phila - Heathrow airfare was $1,400 last year) Diving was a large part of the expense, but I was there to dive and I could have saved $$ by diving less. For me $850 is a reasonable week and for a week of diving, eating, laughing, beaching with family/friends on GC was awesome.

 

[KathyV]

I am really pleased to hear others say that they have had great dive vacations in Cayman at a reasonable cost because so often I hear people say that they “don’t go to Cayman to dive because it is too expensive.”

Cayman can be really pricey – no kidding! Especially if you stay in the higher-priced lodgings on central Seven Mile Beach during high season and eat most meals in restaurants. Also the reduced value of other currencies (including US and Canada) as compared to the strong Cayman dollar is a contributing factor to the expense.

But the strong economy is an important reason why Cayman has so many attractive things to offer and the diving is really good, some of the best in the Caribbean IMO. And it is a great place to do a 2-island vacation because the sister islands are a different world where the diving is even better.

So don’t just write Cayman off because if you are willing to make a few simple economies such as: look for more economical lodgings including properties away from 7MB, travel outside of the high season, supplement your boat dives with shore dives, rent a car and drive on the left, and prepare some of your own meals or stay at an all-inclusive, then you can have a really great dive vacation in Cayman without breaking the bank!

 

[tkaelin]

Sorry, Who is DNS?

 

[tkaelin]

Never mind. I thought it was short for the actual name. Got it.

 

[drrich2]

Reading over this thread, I miss some of RJP's old posts about marketing, particularly as it pertains to precisely identifying your target customer demographic. In other words, if someone is considering CocoView Resort in Roatan for a budget dive destination combining boat and shore diving with a high potential dive count on offer, what will better appeal to that customer as an option in the Caymans Islands...Grand Cayman? Or Cayman Brac?

A budget destination seeker probably won't spend much time on 2 Cayman Islands, unless he goes the live-aboard route on the Cayman Aggressor IV. Little Cayman is more expensive than Cayman Brac as a general trend, if I've interpreted prior posts by others in other threads correctly, and since the dive quality of the 3 Caymans has been put forward as Little Cayman #1, Cayman Brac a (close?) #2 and Grand Cayman a still quite good #3 (again, interpreting others views in varied posts), I figure it gets down to 'Are you staying on Grand Cayman or one of the other 2?' If topside fun is a big deal, probably Grand Cayman. If it's all about the diving, probably one of the other 2, and on a budget, Cayman Brac.

I'd be interested to hear from some CocoView fans/regulars. What's the general trend amongst CocoView customers? Do they tend to stay at the resort all week, or go into town much, do many off-site land excursions, etc...? If CocoView burned down or something, or was booked solid when you wanted to travel but you got a great deal on a trip to any Cayman Island, where would you target?

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

...I'd be interested to hear from some CocoView fans/regulars. What's the general trend amongst CocoView customers? Do they tend to stay at the resort all week, or go into town much, do many off-site land excursions, etc...? If CocoView...was booked solid when you wanted to travel but you got a great deal on a trip to any Cayman Island, where would you target? Richard.

I would also be interested to hear the opinions of CCV and Roatan fans. I will try posting the link to this thread in the Roatan forum and see if we get any interest.

I picked Coco View and Cobalt Coast for the comparison because they were places that were slightly familiar to me and the kinds of places where I would be willing to stay. There was a time when price was the biggest factor for us because we were young, enthusiastic, and broke - and there was a whole big world to visit.

There is still a whole big world to visit, but we are not as young or quite as broke - so now I am a little more selective. I don't need luxury but I do like clean, no bugs, air-conditioning, low rates of crime and tropical diseases, mosquito abatement, and good diving. And if they offer valet diving then that's a big plus! Although there is a chance that after we retire we may go back to the theory that price is the most important factor!

Anyway, another reason for my selection is because I frequently read that Roatan is an economy destination and Cayman is an expensive destination and I wondered if that was completely accurate.

 

[drrich2]

People researching options for a 'value/budget' land-based (not live-aboard) warm water trip have a # of options. Turquoise Bay Resort seems popular as a boat diving option (well-reviewed in the Oct. 2016 Undercurrent) although all boat, no shore diving, on the north side vs. CocoView is on the south (I'm told Roatan diving differs north vs. south), and per the review has a variety of topside tours but is 45 minutes from the West End (so spending a lot of evenings in 'town' probably wouldn't be on the agenda). I think it's about 3 boat dives/day. And read the fine print; from their website a 7 night package with 3 dives/day (& 1 night dive) is roughly $1,000 or $1,100 (low vs. high season), but some would want the add-on all-inclusive beverage package (Unlimited sodas, natural juices, water, tea, coffee, local beer, house liquors (rum, vodka, tequila, whiskey and gin), variety of cocktails and house wine with the dinner.) for $125, and there's that pesky 19% tax (assuming you want unlimited soda even if you don't drink, $1,338 or $1,457?).

Cozumel is a popular budget destination (with options to spend more if you wish); Scuba Club Cozumel seems popular, or staying at Hotel Cozumel and diving with one of a range of dive op.s, etc... Pack a few people into a hotel room, and you can make Key Largo a pretty cheap 'lots of boat diving' trip. Bonaire makes for cheap heavy diving, if you don't choke on the airfare!

I've long been tempted by Cobalt Coast; I like the all-in-one 'turn key' simplicity.

You mentioned mosquitos, but what I see complained about most 'bug-wise' on Roatan are the 'sand fleas,' that eat some people up badly. Haven't heard that about the Caymans. For those traveling with elders, young children (they won't be staying at CocoView!) or those with serious health problems, I'm guessing the health care system might be better on Grand Cayman than Roatan? Anybody know much about either?

Richard.

P.S.: Grand Cayman does have a nice, intangible ambience - oughta make a bumper sticker, 'There's just something about the Caymans...'

 

[tridacna]

I've done both Cobal Coast and CCV. Multiple times.

There is no comparison in terms of value for your dollar. CCV is a diving resort. Nothing else. You get 4 boat dives daily and unlimited shore diving. (Which is fantastic). You get 3 solid daily meals all arranged around a diver's schedule. I easily get 25- 30 dives in a week at CCV. It's a fantastic experience and I never get bored.

You can do a dawn dive, 4 boat dives then a dusk or night dive in a 12 hour period quite easily. Hint: use Nitrox.

Food at Cobalt Coast is boring and repetitive. If you don't have a rental car, you're stuck with expensive taxis taking you to expensive restaurants. Shore diving is hit or miss. Mostly miss. When the wind is blowing, they have to take you in a van to another site - only one boat/day.

Diving is wonderful at both locations but the ease of diving at CCV is truly incredible. You will not leave the CCV island at all - perhaps only on your penultimate day for a tour.

Given a choice, I would take CCV every time - in fact now I do!

 

[drrich2]

Has the food at Cobalt Coast changed since management changed, or have you (tridacna) stayed & ate there since the change?

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

I've done both Cobal Coast and CCV. Multiple times...

Thanks @tridacna, when you say 4 boat dives per day at CCV are you including the "drop off dives" where you take an extra tank onboard and they drop you off at the house reef on the way back in? We did "drop off dives" like that the time we stayed at The Reef House on Roatan and I thought that they were great but I always considered them shore dives because they were on the house reef and they end as shore dives. Just curious.

As drrich2 asked, have you been to Cobalt Coast since the new owners took over in December 2015 and Reef Divers became the on-site dive op? The new owners and dive op are the same as for the Little Cayman Beach Resort and Cayman Brac Beach Resort. My experience with the food at those 2 resorts has been very good. I'm not suggesting anything negative about the previous owners or dive op but things have changed recently so it would be helpful to know when you were there last.