Grand Caymen - Dive operators / sites

[mi000ke]

You will be about 2 miles/5 minutes south of DiveTech at Lighthouse point. I dive with them a lot. They are a great operation and can set you up for either boat diving from the west bay dock or shore diving from their site. And if you are into vegetarian food or lionfish, I recommend VIVO cafe which is at the same location.

 

[KathyV]

We have had good experiences with Cayman University Divers, beautiful, small boat and expert personalized services.
Cayman University Divers

Boat diving on Grand Cayman is beautiful especially if you visit the North Wall and the East End, but it can be very expensive and there are some very good shore dives available - with dive ops onsite - that are much more economical so you might also consider them.

Sundivers is the op at Turtle Reef at Macabuca which is north of were you are staying. For about $15 you can get a tank and weights and have a great shore dive.

There are also shore dives with onsite ops at Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast, and Sunset House. Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto are popular snorkeling and shore diving sites but they get a lot of business from the cruise ships, and the reefs have gotten beaten up over the years - but they are fishy!

There is also some great snorkeling from shore, see Tsetudo's Guide below:
http://snorkelblog.tumblr.com/

Regarding driving on the left, I am not that fond of driving of it either, but I can do it and my husband actually enjoys it! But you get used to it, it's the roundabouts that get me frazzled sometimes. We have found it useful to bring a Garmin GPS and car charger with us. Garmin has good maps of the island and it is helpful to be guided through the roundabouts.

There's a lot to see and do on GC so I recommend renting a car and exploring!

 

[jonhall]

Staying at Christopher Columbus Condos, seven mile beach

You are in a great spot for diving The water along this stretch is usually very calm and has great visibility. I haven't been to one bad site along 7MB.

Staying where you are you have lots of options. You can find an op that will pick you up on your beach for boat dives.
Unless planning on diving with the same op your entire stay, consider renting bcds from home or from an op on GCM that will let you have them for your stay that you can use elsewhere. You don't went to spend time each day renting and re-renting equipment.

Agree with tkaelin, but, as I am always thinking about convenience, I would recommend diving the same op. That way once you are set up with BC's the first day, they will have them ready for you the next day and you don't have to worry about storing them someplace yourself.

Sundivers is the op at Turtle Reef at Macabuca which is north of were you are staying. For about $15 you can get a tank and weights and have a great shore dive.

I also would recommend Turtle Reef at Macabuca. It is probably a 10 minute max drive from where you're staying. Just follow the road from your resort to the west. I would have them fix me up with the BC, knowing there is a fee, but again, it would be convenient (full disclosure: even though this is my suggestion, if I went to shore dive, I would lug all of my gear because I have it.) You only have to walk about 20 yards and you'll be in the water. And when your finished, you can eat some decent food there.

 

[stever2002]

I also would recommend Turtle Reef at Macabuca. It is probably a 10 minute max drive from where you're staying.

+1 for Turtle Reef at Macabuca

It was my first dive on GC to acclimate me to the water and environment. Awesome!
-PH

 

[jonhall]

+1 for Turtle Reef at Macabuca

It was my first dive on GC to acclimate me to the water and environment. Awesome!
-PH

Turtle Reef was the first 2 dives of my OW checkout dives in 1998, but don't remember any restaurants in that area at that time.

 

[scubadada]

Turtle Reef was the first 2 dives of my OW checkout dives in 1998, but don't remember any restaurants in that area at that time.

Cracked Conch opened there in 1995, Macabuca came much later. Dive op was initially Divetech, then Sundivers.

 

[emtee63]

We were in Grand Cayman a few weeks ago. We stayed at Plantana Condos on Mid-North SMB and went diving with Indigo Divers. My wife, 15 year old daughter and I spent 3 days diving with Kate and Chris. They run a great operation. We were picked up on time each day and it was only a short drive to the dock. My wife and I are experienced divers but my daughter only had 14 dives when we arrived at the Indigo Dock. They did not "baby" my teenager but Kate always had a watchful eye on her and was very interactive with her. My daughter gained a lot of confidence and experience on these 6 dives. Indigo had an environment on their boat that allowed us to have a good, safe diving experience. The 6 divers max is outstanding and allows everyone of varying skills to have a great experience. We were diving Northwest sites and were able to dive the Kittiwake one day. It was our favorite dive of the trip. Kate did a great job of showing us that ship. Don't skip diving the Kittiwake if you have never done it. We will definitely call Indigo again when we return to Grand Cayman. Kate is also great at finding the small stuff. #indigodivers