Grand Cayman or Curacao?

[DiverDebbie]

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[ianr33]

I have never been to Curacao but I have been to Bonaire once. Have been to Cayman seven or eight times. I assume that Bonaire is similar to Curacao.

Bonaire diving is pleasant and easy.Most sites start at around 20 feet then slope down to sand at 100 or so. Reef are very healthy and lots of small fish.

On Cayman some of the sites on the West End are quite nice (e.g. Sunset House ) others such as Eden Rock have been beat to death by the cruise ship hords and are no longer worth diving (my opinion) . Georgetown is Tourist Hell.

The North Wall and especially the East End are simply awesome. Huge pristine walls that drop into forever.

So,easy diving,lots of pretty fish and coral : Bonaire or Curacao

Dramatic scenery above a blue abyss,little topside development : Cayman East End.

Traffic Jams and Tourist crap: West side of Cayman.

[ddeborahdelamar]

Yes, East End. We stayed at Morritt's and dove some of the sites you mention plus others. We rented a car so we were able to use recommended E-side ops who would show us the best of GC, as well as to venture out a few afternoons for Sunset, Stingray and sights. Maybe our expectations had been built too high by advertising; maybe we've been spoiled by other destinations. We're really not hard to please and enjoy ALL of the diving we do. We visited many sites and had many different kinds of dives. We were there before Ivan and lots of the sites showed more damage than any diver wants to find -- much of it seemed to be caused by humans, which really bothered us since the island seems to have a strong dive association with a bias toward conservation. (But I only once saw a DM reprimand a diver for grabbing a gorgonian.) A few sites were beautifu but most were "standard" Caribbean diving that's available elsewhere. Taking everything into consideration, we can't say that GC is worth the price it charges. We haven't dismissed visiting its Sister Islands in the future.

[Damselfish]

Yes, East End. We stayed at Morritt's and dove some of the sites you mention plus others. We rented a car so we were able to use recommended E-side ops who would show us the best of GC.

I'm puzzled - recommended E-side ops, plural? I only know of 2, and usually only one is recommended.


I think for most Caribbean diving you will be happier if you see the cup as half full rather than half empty, appreciate what it has rather than what it doesn't. I'd rather go to lots of places in the Pacific etc., but it's kinda far to do on a regular basis. If it's really only 10% full to you, than yeah that's a problem.


Anyway to OP, I've been to Curacao 6 times, Grand Cayman 4 times, Little Cayman 5. Obviously I like these places enough to return. But Cayman & Curacao are different enough that it's hard to tell someone which they would prefer without knowing what they like. And, it makes a huge difference where you stay, who you dive with, where you dive. 2 people can have completely different experiences on the same island because of their choices.

I agree Cayman doesn't feel, at least to the US visitor, like it has any particular culture. It would be sort of nice if it did, but that's nowhere near the top of my priority list on a dive trip. It can have traffic and crowds on SMB and downtown. Avoid town when cruise ships are in, dive instead of driving around there during rush hours, don't stay around there - pretty much takes care of that problem. It doesn't have much in the unique attractions department, but then that's true of most Caribbean islands, really. Again, since I'm there mostly to dive I can live with that.

Curacao does have more of a different culture and some different things to see, and it's nice to experience something a little different. My main problem with Curacao right now is that there isn't anyplace close to my image of the ideal dive resort. (Which of course, may not be the same as someone elses.) Habitat was up there until they let the place go to pot.

I like that Cayman is cheaper/quicker/easier for us to get to than Curacao. I like the variety of restaurant choices on both islands. I like Cayman diving because I'm a sucker for swimthroughs and dramatic walls or canyons, and Curacao because it's a good critter spotting place with good shore diving from a couple resorts. (Curacao has lots of shore diving, but I'm a person that just prefers falling off a handy dock, preferably at my hotel, than slogging gear around the island to various beaches - I'd rather hop on a boat to go other places.)

As far as Cayman diving, I think there are lots of great dives on the East End. There are a few lame ones available too, I especially remember a shallow/surgey sand covered scattered wreck, and a almost featureless site they used for night dives alot that I though were a waste. Good sites on the North. Some neat sites on the South, but I don't think it's convenient for most ops to go there. I have no interest in diving the west sites that are heavily dove; aside from the condition of anything it always seemed insanely crowded underwater. While I think the shore dives on the NW corner of the island are quite good, IMO even Sunset house is really beat.

[kelshe]

I have dove in Grand Cayman several times. I have only dove Cayman Brac and Little Cayman on the Aggressor. I have been to Curacao once in 2005. I agree with the comment that Curacao and Cayman are very different places with very different diving and my personal preference is Cayman. I also agree that the reefs in Cayman show the number of tourists who have visited them over the years and are not what they were when I first went in the 80s. That said, the East End sites are in much better shape and Stingray City is always a blast. I prefer the sites further north on Seven Mile beach (Trinity Caves and Bonnie’s Arch in particular, weather permitting of course). Also, diving conditions on the East End can be rough when you cross over the barrier reef if that is something that is important to you. The water in the North Sound and on Seven Mile Beach is generally very calm.

Personally, I was not very impressed with Curacao, but maybe it was where we went or the dive operator we dove with. We dove 5 days and 2 nights and the only dive that I can remember without going back to my log book to look is one that had a bunch of old cars. That was a cool dive, but I can usually recall more than one dive site from a fairly recent vacation. The visibility in Curacao was not great when we were there (May). It wasn’t horrible, but I would say 80’ or so. The island was nice and the hotel (Marriott) was also very nice.

Overall, we enjoyed our Curacao vacation and it was definitely worth going. However, I will not be planning any future dive vacations to Curacao. Cayman, on the other hand, I will be visiting again. Now, Bonaire is an entirely different story if that is an option for you.