Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Cayman Diving Lodge in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Cayman Diving Lodge, Mar, 2003,

by Steve & Cathy Mason, MI, USA . Report 419.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments My wife and I schedule a dive vacation in a remote location at least once a year. I look for top notch diving with lots of life and a quiet tranquil location to relax and let the stress of work and life flow away. We had avoided Grand Cayman, since it seemed overdived and too touristy. Then I read about Cayman Diving Lodge on the East End away from the crowds. As it turned out, we have been missing one of the best places anywhere in the Carribean. The east end is paradise found. The diving was fantastic! Tons of fish life, healthy reefs with lots of coral and sponges. I can usually tell the reef condition by the seafans. In the heavily dived spots, the fans are knocked down first, then the coral and sponges get beatup. I was amazed at the number of large fans standing on this windward side of the island. We swam with Carribean Reef Sharks, Turtles, Tarpon, Giant Snapper, all the usual fish in abundance. In the beautiful Elkhorn stands we found Red Lipped Blennies in 3 color phases, octopus in the day, Candy Stiped Shrimp, lots of macro life and scorpionfish, wrasses, damsels, angels, gobies. There were fish and critters everywhere I looked. Not only were the dive spots full of life, but they also have some of the most interesting topography underwater. They have awesome vertical walls that drop thousands of feet(we love wall dives), Mini-walls at 40 to 60 feet, caverns, canyons, pinnacles, shallow barrier reefs and more swim throughs than I have ever seen. If you like swim throughs this is paradise. They were on almost every dive! As if the diving wasn't enough, the staff and lodge were excellent. Jim, the owner takes time to meet the guests and makes you feel like a friend rather than a customer. The divemasters did an excellent job, The boats were top notch with a Pro 48 jet as the main boat. They were always ready to go the extra mile and even did an afternoon dive with just the two of us, when the others opted to stay on shore. They arranged to get us to Stingray City, that was a blast to do once (kind of like Belizes Blue Hole, you should experience it once). Their customer service was extrodinary. Our room was on the balcony with a beatiful view of the ocean, very clean, roomy and well furnished. The only thing better than the diving was the food! Shelia and Roy cooked meals to die for, we actually started asking what was for lunch after the second dive in the morning. It's pretty bad when you are done with the diving and your first thought is food. This is a small quiet resort you can enjoy with other divers and relax. We were in bed most nights by 8PM, one night a bunch of us decided to get crazy and stayed up until almost 9! I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quiet relaxing dive vacation that is easy to get to with some of the top diving in the area, but forget the diet, the homemade desserts and chocolate chip cookies are irresistable. This is one location we will return to, soon I hope...Its snowing out my window right now.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Great Lakes, Florida Keys (multiple), Cozumel (multiple), Grand Turk, Belize Atolls (multiple), Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Raiatea.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 82-83°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Computer Divers had suggested time and depth, no decompression diving, time enforced more than depth.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Camera tables and rinse tank on boats, instructed everyone no to use camera rinse tanks for masks or anything other than camera or computer. Very camera friendly, handed to divers and helped with handling when boarding. They use UW cameras and video so they know what they are doing.
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1006 dive reviews of Cayman Islands and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 

Want to assemble your own collection of Cayman Islands reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.11 seconds