Is it really that expensive??

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My husband and I have scheduled a dive/honeymoon for this January in Grand Cayman. We are currently spooked about the costs. We are considering 3 days of diving. The dive prices are not outrageous - but everything else appears to be costly. Is it true? Are the food costs and activity cost crazy? If anyone has been to grand cayman lately, let me know what to expect.

Thanks
 
yes-no- kinda

Honestly- it really depends on your idea of expense. The dives you already know about- that is normally the biggest shock As for food- well if you eat in fancy restuarants you can pay a huge amount- but if you look around and pick your spots, it can be no different than the states. Of course there are also the fast food options and deli's. Drinks can be expensive in some places- but you can find a deal on those too- it really depends how fussy you are.

whenever me and my buddy go somewhere we go super-budget and there is always a way to cut corners. But if you absolutely have to have a full cooked breakfast/lunch/dinner and a fine bottle of wine, then its gonna cost ya.
 
Thanks for the advice. We have reservations at the Marriot hotel. We were given a one week stay at a Marriot hotel as a wedding gift. We are now toying with the idea of resheduling for Cozumel to save money. However, the goal is to take a DIVE trip and an amazing one at that. We have never been to either location and are unsure which destination will provide the best dive experience. Any additional advice on the location dilemna or any suggestions for cheap-great-eats on Grand Cayman?
 
You can save money by shore diving. I've been there 3 times and the last time (last year) we only did shore dives. The dive boats will run you about $75-90 for 2 tanks. Shoredives will cost about $6-$8 per tank.
 
That is a great idea. Do you have a favorite dive shop that offers shore diving? It looks like our hotel is off of West Bay Road. However we will have a car and are willing to travel for good service and a great experience.
 
We've always enjoyed shore dives at Turtle Reef, next to the turtle farm - Divetech / Turtle Reef Divers.

We were pointed to this site recently by this board before vacationing on Bonaire & Curacao - it has a lot of good info.

www.shorediving.com
 
There is shore diving at Sunset House and Eden Rock too. Both are near the main drag in town.

Do you have a kitchenette in your room?
 
I visited GC last year. We stayed at Spanish Bay. They offer daytime shorediving - it was a blast. At most of these places they require you rent their tanks, but its worth it and alot cheaper than the boat dives... If you an experienced diver - I'd highly recommend a few boat dives - Trinity Caves is just awesome!
 
Waterlovers, if your week's stay is at the Marriott Beach Resort at 389 West Bay, we just stayed there two weeks ago. Certainly nice enough, in good shape, service was excellent. Some friends stayed at Treasure Island a block away, which was about $70 per night cheaper, and they practically drooled with envy when they stopped by our room.

There is also a Marriott Courtyard at 1590 West Bay. Didn't even stop by, so can't say about it.

There are a couple liquor stores nearby, within easy walking distance, and decent coffee about a block NW of the hotel near the movie theatres, where there's also a couple of not-so-expensive resturants.

My wife and I stayed generally away from the hotel food, expensive of course. We budgeted roughly $70US each for meals (3x/day), drinks and misc. items, which came out about right.

There are lots of diving options. It's almost impossible to drive for more than a couple hundred feet anywhere without seeing a dive shop or operation. Shore diving is surprisingly good, but don't shortchange yourself of some truly fantastic boat dives, minus the high-speed drift of Coz.

Congratulations, and enjoy the trip!

All the best, James
 
so long as the alcohol portion of the bill is kept to a minimum. Alcohol is expensive in Cayman!

For great food at a reasonable price, you might want to try a few of these restaurants:
Cimboco, The Naked Fish, Breezes by the Bay, Cafe Med, The Reef Grill, Durty Reid's, Ragazzi, Champion House II, Dragon Garden, Chicken! Chicken!, Gateway of India, Neptune's, & Thai Orchid.

And for an extra special night out (you did say it's your honeymoon, right?) make sure you treat yourself to one or two of these:
Cecil's at Kaibo Yacht Club, Casanova's, The Lighthouse, Ristorante Pappagallo, or The Wharf.
 

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