Scuba Diving Cayman Islands

Diving Cayman Islands Overview

Diving Cayman is among the most popular dive vacations with many North American divers. While diving on the West End of Grand Cayman has succumbed to the travails of the tourist industry, the North Wall and East End still provide good diving. However, it’s become extremely expensive so many divers head to the sister islands and even better diving:. Arguably the best diving is Little Cayman and boats from the Brac make regular trips, though at times winter weather prevents the journey. In late August 2008, Hurricane Gustav damaged a number of structures on both Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, but most operations opened soon thereafter.

Cayman Islands Seasonal Dive Planner

The Caymans' hottest period is from May to November. During winter, temperatures can drop down to the low 70s. Rainy season starts in May and peaks in October. Rains are normally short and intense. Run-off has little effect on Grand Cayman's water clarity, which averages about 135 feet horizontally on the deeper reefs. Both Little Cayman and Cayman Brac boast even higher visibility averages. Water temperatures vary, from the upper 70s in the winter to low 80s during the summer. Trade winds are out of the northeast in the winter and the southeast during the summer. Northwesterly storms can occur from December through April.

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Diving Cayman Islands Feature Articles and Reader Reports

Attention! You must be an Undercurrent Online Member to access MOST links in this section. However some articles can be accessed by the public -- these links have a button you can click to see the article. What others have to say about Undercurrent

All Availble to Undercurrent Online Members; Some Publicly Available as Indicated

Diving Cayman Islands Articles - Land Based Bonaire, Caymans, China. . ., a dangerous Baja dive shop, and what, no octopus for your buddy?, 1/12 Australia, Grand Cayman, Philippines . . ., and when it’s really the best time to dive in Raja Ampat, 11/11 Turks & Caicos, Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, plus advice about Mabul diving and your passport pages, 10/11 Virgins, Little Cayman, Palau, Sipadan…, Trash is drifting, sea life is missing, but these dive sites still shine, 2/11 CSI: Cayman Islands , 4/10 Grand Cayman Officials Say Alcohol and Stingrays Do Mix , 2/10 Available to the Public Police to Patrol Grand Cayman’s Stingray City, 9/09 Thumbs Up: Divetech, Grand Cayman, 3/09 Pirates Point Resort, Little Cayman, still the best of Cayman diving, 10/08 Cayman Dive Operators Protest Safety Regulations, 8/08 Bahamas, Canada, Caymans, Indonesia, planning your next dive trip? Here are readers’ suggestions, 7/08 Deaths in the Caymans, 6/07 Stingray City Tours Continue Despite Irwin's Death, 10/06 Cayman Coral Crisis, 5/06 The Divi Tiara Resort, Cayman Brac, the Nikon School of Underwater Photography, 10/04 The Caymans, Ivan, and You, 10/04 A Word from Cayman Diving Lodge, 6/04 Cobalt Coast Resort: Divetech, hopefully, a different Grand Cayman experience, 5/04 Cayman Eases Diving Restrictions, 5/04 Cayman Controversies, 5/04 Divers Stiffed as LCD Leaves Little Cayman, 9/02 Grand Cayman, the East End, the best of the class, 9/01 Grand Cayman's East End, bargain basement diving at Cayman Diving Lodge, 5/00 Southern Cross Club, Little Cayman, walls, boobies, bites and Bloody Bay, 8/99 The Rest of Little Cayman, 8/99 Insider's Guide to Grand Cayman, Do it right and dive your own profile — do it wrong and get blackballed, 4/98 Pirate's Point, Little Cayman, 9/96 Grand Cayman, 1/96 Divi Tiara Beach Resort, 10/95 Little Cayman Beach, 6/94

Diving Cayman Islands Articles - Liveaboards Why You Need Undercurrent, we really give you the truth about “undiscovered” dive sites: Florida, Borneo, Grand Cayman …, 10/10 Nekton Cruises Shuts Down , 6/10 Available to the Public Cayman Aggressor IV, a less-pricey alternative to Cayman resorts?, 9/07 Land-Based Recommendations for the Caymans, 9/07 Five Personal Caribbean Favorites, and summertime in Cayman, 6/02 Little Cayman Diver II, An update on old problems and new crowds, 8/98 Aggressor III, Cayman Is, 9/95 Little Cayman Diver II, 9/94

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Cayman Islands
Including Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida
by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach

Today's airline weight restrictions not only limit the amount of dive gear and cameras you can pack for overseas trips, but also those valuable prized marine life identification books. And with spotty Internet access overseas, it's not like you can look a critter of or fish up easily online. For the divers who still want a book in their hands post-dive to look up the fishes they encounter, Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach are offering "Travel Edition of Reef Fish Identification: Caribbean, Bahamas, South Florida." It's lightweight enough to thrown in your carry-on but rugged enough to withstand frequent saltwater washings on board.

Click here to buy it at Amazon via our website -- our profits go to save the reefs.

World Atlas of Coral Reefs
by Mark D. Spalding, Corinna Ravilious, Edmund P. Green, United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center.

If there is one book that belongs in every traveling diver's library, this is it. The superb World Atlas of Coral Reefs has everything you want to know about the reefs from Costa Rica and Cuba to the Coral Sea and Cayman. The information is specific and up to date. The photos, maps and layout superb. And the price, for this 424 page, full color, hard bound volume, is a steal at $31.50

The Atlas was released in September by the United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center to document and conserve the world's coral reefs. Clearly written with divers in mind, it's an invaluable resource for global travelers. Here's what you'll find.

• 94 maps, including global maps of biodiversity and reef stresses, regional maps showing 3-D bathymetry and high resolution maps showing reefs, mangroves, population centers, dive centers and protected areas.
• 280 color photographs, showing reefs, wildlife, people and places, Including 84 photographs taken from space by Shuttle astronauts.
• Text explaining the formation, structure and ecology of coral reefs; their various uses and abuses at the hands of humans; and the techniques used in coral reef mapping.
• Detailed texts describing the distribution and status of coral reefs in every country.
• Data tables listing information on biodiversity, human use, and protected areas. These include statistics on coral reef area, biodiversity, fish consumption, and threats.

For example, you can learn about pollution damage to the reefs at Providenciales and the lack of human impact, as well. Or, where extensive bleaching took place in Honduras 1998. You'll read that Milne Bay in Papua New Guineas has the most extensive reef system in that country and where, in Fiji, the bumphead parrotfish and tridachna clams will not be found, thanks to overfishing. Order now.

The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes):
Paul Humann ID Books
by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach

The three set fish, creature and coral ID books by Paul Humann are the unparalleled sources for information on Caribbean sea life and identification. Paul and his partner Ned Deloach recently released updated and expanded editions of each, with scores of new critters, even better photos, and information unavailable anywhere else. Why, the Reef Fish Identification book, at more than 500 pages, is 20 percent larger than the previous volume, which came out in 1994. Whenever I travel to the Caribbean, I tote all three books and spend my down hours figuring out what I saw and where to look to find rare creatures. Paul's splendid Reef Creature book (420 pages), covers sponges, nudibranchs, octopus, crustaceans, Christmas tree worms and plenty more. His Reef Coral ID book (276 pages) helps you identify all the hard and soft corals, spawning, and even the growth on top of corals, as well as algae and other plant life. Beginners may want to ID only fish, but I'd recommend that all three books be part of every diver's library. And, if you have an old set, by all means replace it. You'll be delighted at the additions and improvements. Each book normally retails for $40, but are discounted when you order here. And the boxed 3-volume set is available now at a bigger discount, up to 30%. You'll get the best prices Amazon.com has to offer, speedy delivery, and the knowledge that a large hunk of our profit will go to preserve coral reefs.

* Reef Fish Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas,
* Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas, and
* Reef Coral Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas
* The Boxed Set of all three (you can save up to 30%)

A Guide to the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean
by Mark Spalding

This book doubles as a guide to the natural history of the coral reefs and a diver's travel guide. In addition to providing information about some of the most popular diving and snorkeling, it also offers practical suggestions to divers who want to protect these sites. Author Mark Spalding, a coral reef scientist who has worked on coral reefs in over thirty countries, delves into the eco-problems with a focus on what each person can do to protect the reefs. The guide section covers 35 dive destinations with key information on the reefs, marine parks, remote places, and unusual species as well as excellent maps and a photographic field guide of the marine flora and fauna.
Order Now at a reduced price of only $16.47.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.