Grand Cayman recommendations

[drrich2]

8 Trips to Bonaire over the years. First 4 were with a scuba group. Trip 1, we were newbies, wife & a friend were along but both prone to sea sickness, and between buddy having to take a long nap once he’s sea sick and wife not being an avid diver even if not sea sick, it’s like I was begging ‘pity dives.’ Only got 10 dives that 1st trip. 10 Dives...on a trip to Bonaire. Cause for anguished shrieks of ‘Why? Why?!?!?1?’ into the sky.

Next 3 trips; first with wife, that friend and a brother-in-law, next 2 my friend was on-island. Still, I don’t like asking favors of people, being in someone’s debt or ‘begging,’ and traveling with someone who’s not an avid diver is like wearing a ball and chain.

So I picked up an SDI Solo Diver cert. Ticked my wife off because she and my friend both drank the ‘buddy Koolaide,’ but I wanted my freedom.

Last Bonaire trip; solo. Did 1 guided dive with Bas Tol, 2 boat diives, 25 solo shore dives.

Wife hasn’t dove since getting pregnant with our kiddo. Friend I haven’t seen in a long time. Brother-in-Law didn’t stick with diving.

But 19 of my 24 Channel Islands dives, and my 3 St. Croix shore dives, were solo.

Bonaire may always be my ‘Scuba home,’ the place I long to return to (what Cozumel is to some), but I’ve been wandering, checking out other offerings. If Aggressor hadn’t run that big sale, I’d have aimed to get back this year...

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

8 Trips to Bonaire over the years. First 4 were with a scuba group. Trip 1, we were newbies, wife & a friend were along but both prone to sea sickness, and between buddy having to take a long nap once he’s sea sick and wife not being an avid diver even if not sea sick, it’s like I was begging ‘pity dives.’ Only got 10 dives that 1st trip. 10 Dives...on a trip to Bonaire. Cause for anguished shrieks of ‘Why? Why?!?!?1?’ into the sky.

Next 3 trips; first with wife, that friend and a brother-in-law, next 2 my friend was on-island. Still, I don’t like asking favors of people, being in someone’s debt or ‘begging,’ and traveling with someone who’s not an avid diver is like wearing a ball and chain.

So I picked up an SDI Solo Diver cert. Ticked my wife off because she and my friend both drank the ‘buddy Koolaide,’ but I wanted my freedom.

Last Bonaire trip; solo. Did 1 guided dive with Bas Tol, 2 boat diives, 25 solo shore dives.

Wife hasn’t dove since getting pregnant with our kiddo. Friend I haven’t seen in a long time. Brother-in-Law didn’t stick with diving.

But 19 of my 24 Channel Islands dives, and my 3 St. Croix shore dives, were solo.

Bonaire may always be my ‘Scuba home,’ the place I long to return to (what Cozumel is to some), but I’ve been wandering, checking out other offerings. If Aggressor hadn’t run that big sale, I’d have aimed to get back this year...

Richard.

Thanks for explaining, I know what you mean about anguished because we have taken some trips where we didn't get as much diving as we'd hoped. A few times because of the weather, but mostly because one or the other of us had ear problems. We've gotten smarter about preventing the ear problems so that hasn't been an issue for the last several trips.

I also know what you mean about a Scuba Home; we have felt that way in turn about several places over the years. We would try some other places in between but always head back to the current favorite - until we fell in love with another favorite. First it was Florida, then the Bahamas, then Cozumel, then Bonaire. We didn't really even like the Caymans until our 3rd trip! But in recent years the Caymans have become our Scuba Home.

We would still love to get back to Bonaire some time because it is such a special place, but we may not be up to all the schlepping that comes with a heavy shore dive venue. We each have some health problems so easier is better for us nowadays. We used to take 2 scuba trips per year but now we only do one. I suppose that there will come a day when we decide to exclusively take snorkeling vacations - but not yet!

We are lucky to have each other as buddies and we have done every one of our dives together. Of course we each have our own hobbies and interests, but when we decided to try scuba we agreed that it would be something that we would do together, and we have both kept to that promise. If one of us can't dive then other doesn't dive, either. And we still manage to have a lovely time together enjoying, relaxing, and exploring beautiful places!

My apologies to the OP for hi-jacking this thread!

 

[Alucard]

IMO, the Kittiwake ain't much. There is very little coral or sponge growth on it and you will find more life on the Cayman reefs and walls then there.

I have done the Kittiwake twice with different people and everyone had said that it was a completely awesome experience, because, as OWC divers they could actually experience penetrating a wreck without requiring extra certification. I would imagine that for wreck divers it's rather boring, due to its age, but for newer divers it can most definitely be a highlight of the trip. I don't think that any of them are there for the life, but for the experience of being inside a sunken ship.

 

[caydiver]

Lots of OPs go and they are are excellent across the board. However, the moorings are first come first serve. If the boat gets there and someone else beat them to it, they will leave it for another day. We don't have "reservations" on dive sites. It is possible that a big op such as Red Sail Sports has a day they go there already set up (same as OF doing it on Tuesdays). In fact they have a package in conjunction with Tortuga Divers who is their EE branch. Dive Packages I think it is called Summer Spectacular if the link doesn't work. Also check in at Lobster Pot Dive Center. There are lots of ops that run from there (including us) and if you get Mike on the phone, he may be able to point you in the right direction with a smaller op.

 

[KathyV]

On the budget & doing a lot of diving points, a couple of issues come to mind.

1.) If he stays near 7 Mile Beach/west coast, he can do 2 boat dives/morning, for instance, and (weather permitting) a dive or two in the afternoon, apparently (from discussions already covered) if he can pair up with a buddy (or somehow rent a tank or two as an individual). Depends on how much the outgoing 'people person' one is, I suppose. Such a requirement would drive me to anguish, but some people don't seem to have a problem with it. Stands to reason housing options are apt to be more expensive around 7 Mile Beach.

2.) If he stays at Compass Point and dives with Ocean Frontiers, he could do 4 boat dives/day.

Now, being away that a 'resort fee' can increase hotel cost (look'n at you, Sunshine Suites!!!), a little Trip Advisor check for an early Sept. Sat. to Sat. 7-day 1 person Grand Cayman trip:

1.) Comfort Suites: $142/night.
2.) Sunshine Suites Resort: $158/night.
3.) Holiday Inn Resort Grand Cayman: $132.
4.) Compass Point Dive Resort: $215.

Ouch! I thought out at the more rustic east end Compass Point would be cheaper, then I saw the room is a Deluxe, 1 Bedroom, Poolside, 1 King Bed and 2 Twin Beds, and sleeps 4 people. So I went to Compass Point's website to see what room options they had. Summer rates (includes Sept.) from their site for the cheapest options:

ROOM RATES SUMMER - 7th April 2018 through 21st Dec. 2018
Pool Side - Per Condo Per Night
One Bedroom Deluxe Condo.: $215.00 (U.S.).

Ocean Front - Per Condo Per Night
One Bedroom Condo.: $215.00.
Above Rates are per condominium, per night. 13% tax will be applied to above rates, minimum stay 3 nights. Discount Packages available on 7 night stays."

I was hoping staying out east might help defray some of the cost of more boat diving by saving on housing. For a solo guy, maybe not. But go to the Ocean Frontiers website under summer 'dive and stay' package deals, and for 1-person, 7 night stay, 6 days 2-tank/day diving, breakfast and car rental (from Avis), the 13% hotel tax is included in this package price, 1 bed Oceanfront is $2,145 (for 2 it'd be $1,545 apiece; solo on a land-based trip can get expensive!).

Let's price against Comfort Suites. Room with queen bed, hot breakfast promotion, $1,570 for the week (price says includes taxes & fees). But that doesn't include your diving or a car rental! I'm told car rentals are one thing that's surprisingly affordable in Grand Cayman, but that's going to run some money. Their onsite dive op. is Ambassador Divers, which gave me a 7 day 1 person room rate with est. taxes & fees of $1,301.39 when I went to book a package (but I'm not willing to enter my personal info. for follow through with the process). 4 2-Tank divers are $445; that's 8 dives. If we average out to match Ocean Frontier's 12, half again, say ~$667. We're up to $1,968.39 without car rental.

Okay, Ambassador Divers might come up with a better package deal, but if I ran those #'s rightly, we're looking at under a $200 difference, and with the O.F./C.P. deal, he'd have a rental car!

Anyone see anything wrong with my quick & dirty estimates of 2 options, just to get a couple of ideas with prices out there?

Richard.

Grand Cayman has always been a pricey destination and according to the article at the link below accommodations are becoming even more expensive, ouch! We've always been able to find more reasonably priced, less-developed and pleasant options and I hope that will continue to be available in the future.

It's interesting because many people felt that opening Cuba to American tourism would decrease visitors to other popular, tropical destinations, but I don't think that it has had a big effect - at least not so far. And then when the Cayman government decided to permit AirBnB rentals, many forecasted that the hotels and condos would suffer but so far business is booming.

I think that it is a combination of factors that have contributed to the recent tourism rise on Grand Cayman. They were lucky last year and escaped the hurricane devastation that afflicted so many other tropical places - of course that could change quickly - but I hope that this year continues to be a mild hurricane season for all.

And then when the CDC removed the Caymans from their Zika warning list I am sure that made the destination more attractive to people of child-bearing age. And of course, it is still pretty easy and cheap to fly to Cayman from many areas of the US and Canada - so that may help to offset the price a little for some people.

And some people may feel safer and more comfortable traveling to the Caribbean then they may feel about other parts of the world.

But it is concerning to think that Grand Cayman may become even more developed, expensive, and crowded as its popularity increases as a travel destination. So far visitors can still find nice accommodations at less expensive prices if they are willing to stay in more out-of-the way, less developed lodgings and rent a car, and especially if they are willing to travel during the off-season, but at a higher risk of poor weather.

And if divers are interested in visiting the much less developed sister islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac - they can usually find nice places to stay and great diving at a reasonable price IMO.

We are heading back to Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac in a few months and we've purchased airfare, made our reservations and placed deposits, and so far our expenses are no higher than they were last year when we went to GC and LC - in fact things are actually a little cheaper on Brac as compared to LC as usual.

I really hope that the Caymans don't become so developed and pricey in the future that they will become crowded, excessively touristy, and prohibitively expensive.

Oh well, we will plan to enjoy this year to the utmost and continue to hope for the best for the future!

Hotel prices soar amid tourism boom | Cayman Compass

 

[Alucard]

I think that the prices going up will work to keep out the crowds, to be honest. These days I don't think that "not expensive" and "not crowded" go together, because it's so easy to get there.

If you want no crowds and not expensive, you need to go to places like Saba, which aren't that easy to get to,

 

[caydiver]

I think that with Airbnb now an option there will be plenty of reasonably priced lodging. The hotels are currently in high demand but with all the other options including condos there is a much bigger picture than hotel prices. This is a highly developed first world country which while tourism is important is not all that is going on here. We have a thriving resident business community and need the infrastructure and lifestyle options that continue to attract talented individuals both Caymanian to return after education and other professionals. There are not many of our Caribbean neighbors that are in the same position so comparisons are difficult to make. I always think price is relative. It is more costly to live here than some other places but many obviously feel it is worth the price. For what we have in terms of quality of life it is totally in line. I realize that folks just looking for their week or two holiday possibly don’t see the big picture.