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Greater AntillesCome visit the larger islands of the Caribbean Sea ranging from Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) to Puerto Rico.
I have not been to Curacao, but I was on Grand Cayman in January. I have also been to Cayman Brac, Bonaire, and Roatan. Grand Cayman was the first place I have been where there are alot of cruise ships. There are a ton of people out and about during the day in Georgetown and along 7 Mile Beach. The crowds seemed to clear out by around 5:00 pm though and while diving, we were always able to find a dive site that was open.
I thought that the reefs were not in the best condition on Grand Cayman. The topography is cool with spur and groove reefs, walls, swim thoughs, and chimneys but the corals did not seem as healthy and the life did not seem as prolific as at the other places I have been. I don't know if this was due to diver impact or weather conditions. Curacao is out of the hurricane belt though and if it is anything like Bonaire, the reefs were in really good condition. I also thought that the reefs on Cayman Brac were in better condition.
Depending on what you want Grand Cayman might be a great choice for you. I thought that Stingray City was alot of fun, but if I did it over, I would go straight to Cayman Brac.
Good luck finding a destination and have a great trip.
I'm thinking about both those locations around the same time as you! Haven't been to Curacao yet which is why I'm torn. Been to Grand Cayman twice and we really like the island. We were last there in 2005 after Hurricane Ivan and we really didn't notice considerable damage to the reef on our dives. We did see some debris but they did in incredible job cleaning up the island after such a devastating storm. The water is crystal clear, great walls, tons of turtles and other bigger marine life, saw some large schools of fish. I'm actually thinking about the Cayman Aggressor to see some of the other dive sites/ islands and maybe a few days on GC. It's not the cheapest pleace to visit (but I doubt Curacao is either). We love renting a car and driving around the island and the great restaurants. As for the cruise ships, we've been fortunate enough to not head into town while they are docked and it was really quiet. Curacao also has large cruise ships so I would expect the same.
Curacao is supposed to have really great reefs/huge amounts of fish life. The town looks beautiful with all the pretty bright colors. I've heard it's worth renting a car on Curacao also and it might have more shore diving opportunities than GC does (though they do have a few). Either are great locations. I won't be deciding for about another month but it usually seems like I start planning to go one place and end up going somewhere else instead.
I just returned from a week and half in Curacao, and dove GC and LC in Jan., 07. All 3 islands are great and you should have a wonderful time which ever one you chose.
In Curacao, my dive buddy and I stayed in a very comfortable 3 bedroom apartment owned by an American couple, David & Sunshine Livingston, in the western part of the island in the quaint fishing village of Westpunt: http://www.curacaosunshine.com/ David & Sunshine also have a restaurant on the weekends that is frequented by both locals and divers. In addition, they cooked another 3 delicious dinners for us, and they serve a range of food from pizza and salads to steak and tuna. We ate all of our breakfasts and some of our lunches in the apartment between dives. There are several very good local restaurants nearby, and we also ate several meals in Willemstad.
Curacao has over 80 dive sites, some accessible by boat and many from shore. IMHO, some of the best sites are in the western part of the island, but we only dove a couple of sites in the Willemstad area, including a fascinating dolphin dive. We did our boat dives with http://www.oceanencounterswest.com/ and I cannot say enough good things about this professional, courteous, and enjoyable dive shop. We also rented our weights from them and were able to rent tanks, too. However, many of the shore diving sites are located at small, beautiful beaches, and many of those beaches have dive shops from whom you can rent tanks, and restaurants where you can do your SI. When their schedule permits, David and Sunshine can accompany you to shore diving sites, and Andreas, a DM at OEW, took me to a nearby shore diving site to see seahorses. I've posted a few photos of the that dive, as well as Curacao here: Curacao Seahorses
Here is the Playa Kalki beach directly in front of the dive shop, location of the excellent shore dive "Alice in Wonderland:"
Much of the western part of the island is a beautiful national park that includes Watamula, which means “the breath of Curacao” because of the sound of the waves breaking through the small hole, as if the island is breathing. There is a world class dive site just a short distance from this location that was loaded with so many thick stands of healthy coral that it was a mind boggling, surreal drift dive that left us speechless:
Here is the natural bridge at Shete Boka National Park, pretty well covered at high tide:
A small butterfly farm has a restaurant that makes sandwiches as well as the best smoothies I've ever had:
There is a large oil refinery outside the city of Willemstad that employs thousands of people, and Willemstad also has a deep port:
The city, AKA, "New Amsterdam," is very Dutch and filled with quaint streets and shops:
The 2 sides of the city are connected by a pontoon bridge that opens to let ships through:
The oldest synagogue in continuous use in the western hemisphere is in the city and the sanctuary floor is covered in sand:
Curacao is quite a cultural experience and has many great dive sites, comfortable places to stay, delicious places to eat, and friendly, hospitable people. I hope to post more info when I get my uw shots edited. You can seel more photo albums here: http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/
I cannot say a lot about Cayman Islands; but I fell in love with Curacao the first time I arrived on the island - and now I am working here for ..:: All West Curacao ::.. and ..:: Ocean Encounters West ::... Maybe you find some helpful information on our websites. Have a look at the Divers Talk News Blog on the All West site and enjoy also some photos recently made.
Whereever you choose to spend your vacation, have a lot of fun! If you want to check it out with us on Curacao, feel free to contact me anytime
Kind regards
Andreas
Quote:
Originally Posted by NightRaven77
Ok.....
Time to ask the Jedi council of scuba divers about which way I should go....
Invariably, people who feel as DiverDebbie does about Grand Cayman diving are reflecting their experiences in the WEST END / 7 MILE BEACH part of the island. And, it's true, the dive sites in that area have suffered a lot. Maybe not quite as much as Debbie suggests, but a lot. The cruise ships disgorge their passengers in this area too.
However, there is 1st class diving on OTHER PARTS of the Island - in the East End, particularly. Everything is different - pristine reefs, lots of marine life, no crowds, no cruise shippers, etc. It's really not accurate or helpful to judge the whole of Grand Cayman by what you see along 7MB or by the West Side dive sites. As for "true Caymanians", they comprise 1/2 the population and are not hard to find.
I hate to dis a dive destination, but GC was a major disappointment for us. We've been there twice, both times diving from the East End. The first time, as hard as we tried, we couldn't see why everyone rated it so highly -- it was very expensive, the reefs weren't in very good shape, and there weren't many engaging topside distractions. The best thing we did was Stingray City. We learned more from experienced Cayman visitors and gave it another try. Took a couple of nice shore dives at Sunset House, ate our fill of rum cake, took the sub to 1000' and returned home knowing that there was nothing compelling or different enough there to recommend it to others.
Looking at the review of Curacao above, I'd say that it's the better choice.
Are you sure you dived the EAST End? Stingray City and Sunset House, the only 2 sites you mention, are nowhere near the E End. What did you think of East End sites such as Anchor Point, Babylon, Pat's Wall, 3 Sisters, Jack McKenny's Canyon, Snapper Hole, Cinderella's Castle, Ironshore Gardens, etc.?
In all honesty you can only take advice from someone who has done both and can reflect as to which he/she prefers. All other comments and opinionjs will be incomplete. I have been to Curacao but I preferred Belize. Therefore if the question were 'Belize or Curacao' - my opinion would count. As it is I would wait until I had a good sampling of divers who have experienced both and draw my conclusions from that. I realize that everyone is trying to be helpfull but sometimes it just confuses the issue. IMO!?
Grand Cayman or Curacao?
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