I love when my travel destinations present awesome diving experiences. I chose to visit Grand Cayman for many reasons, a major one being that it has world class diving with more dive sites than anywhere I have been before
Despite high season prices and low availability, I managed to find a company that took me to 2 unique dive sites. I thoroughly enjoyed both. There are plenty of other options for exploring the reef as someone who doesn’t dive, too. I was able to snorkel a popular dive site right off the shore in George Town.
Overall, whether diving or snorkeling, Grand Cayman's warm, clear waters did not disappoint!
The Best Dive Site Can Be Snorkeled
Everyone I spoke to or every blog I read online named Devil's Grotto or Eden Rock as the dive sites not to miss while in Grand Cayman. These sites are right next to each other near where all the cruise ships pull into the bay.
At first, I was disappointed Dive Tech was not planning to go there. But I was happy when I learned Eden Rock is a shore dive and easily accessible for snorkelers. Now I recommend snorkeling at Eden Rock before diving! The wide view and crystal clear water allowed me to spot a ton of marine life from above.
I was able to snorkel there for free with my own gear using Eden Rock Diving Center as my launch point into the water.
I enjoyed snorkeling Eden Rock so much that I returned for a second session! Each time I went I saw something new. I saw huge moray eel swimming out in the open, a huge puffer fish with a baby, enormous tarpon, tons of fish, turtles, sting rays, and so much more.
Sadly, I lost my digital camera photos from both visits to Eden Rock. My SD card got corrupted before I had a chance to download the files to my phone. So you’ll have to use your imagination on this!
In short, you'll save a lot of money and have an amazing time snorkeling rather than diving this spot in Grand Cayman.
Finding A Dive Company
I checked pricings for diving when I arrived to Grand Cayman. I was able to call some of the dive shops using our guesthouse host's local phone.
After some difficulty finding availability, I went with Dive Tech. They were able to pick me up in the morning and drive me up to their West Bay dive shop. I paid $150 for 2 tank dives and all equipment included. This is definitely on the steeper end of what I typically pay for dives when I travel.
The slightly elevated prices and limited availability had to do with traveling during peak season right before New Years Eve. But I was willing to pay because Grand Cayman is known for having world class diving.
Hundreds of Dive Sites
The number of dive sites in the area is more than I've ever previously heard of surrounding one island. Typically you hear about maybe 20, 30, even 50 dive sites and a handful of "must-sees."
SCUBA diving is responsible for kick starting tourism to the 3-island Cayman Islands. This initially resulted in a lot of tourists convening on a small number of dive sites. So a 2008 initiative by the Cayman government called Dive 365 opened up 365 sites to divers at all skill levels. Grand Cayman hosts 240 of them.
This number is insane! I mean, with my 2 dives, I barely scratched the surface—er—sea floor.
Dive #1 - Trinity Caves
Aboard the Atamyway (read it aloud), I was thrilled when our dive master for Trinity Caves announced the layout for this site. While called "caves" she clarified that the area included open-at-the-top catacombs and not caves. Honestly, I prefer this type of geography because more light comes in for photos! Plus, there are usually swim-throughs and the tall walls of catacombs are usually super fun to swim below.
The last time I dove a site like this was in Niue—all the way in the South Pacific. It was so good to find that Grand Cayman, an hour away by plane, has dive sites with these features.
What I really enjoyed about Dive Tech was they had a guide that we followed but the guide also allowed us to explore pretty freely. As long as we stayed nearby the boat area after a first exploration with our guide, we could venture around the area near the boat. So I had the chance to explore the catacombs twice—once with a guide and one time without while we still had lots of down time.
I loved playing with angles and light inside the catacombs.
I managed to get some great shots from other parts of this dive, too. Like when a huge school of fish came through
Dive #2 – Lost Treasure
This site is named for the giant, jewel encrusted cross a diver found at the site many years ago. The cross was delivered to a museum. But our dive master for this site explained that we were to "immediately turn in any valuable treasure you happen to find to the captain" (lol).
Although the water was a little less clear here, it was still an enjoyable dive. I was able to capture some really nice photos playing with light and with the focus on my underwater camera.
I also came across a turtle that was happy to have me watch it feasting on some coral.
There was also a point when the sunlight perfectly hit the reef, exposing sections of gorgeous colors. I love when a dive is shallow enough that the light catches the true colors of the reef like this.
All in all, this was an enjoyable dive.
In Conclusion
Grand Cayman has endless dive sites to explore. I was thrilled to get to dive catacombs again—it was worth the inflated seasonal prices. But for the more frugal traveler or traveler without SCUBA training, snorkeling opportunities are abundant. I was so satisfied with snorkeling Eden Rock that I didn't feel the need to go on any more dives.
But who knows! Maybe I will return to Grand Cayman one day to keep working my way up to diving all 365!
