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Dive Review of Sunset House in
Cayman Islands

Sunset House: "Okay diving, great dive operation", Apr, 2022,

by Paul Fitzpatrick, PA, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 11898 has 3 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments My wife and I dove with Sunset House on Grand Cayman in early April. This was our first trip back to the island in 14 years, although we have been to Little Cayman several times since then. The diver operation at Sunset House was quite professional, although the number of divers and divemasters is still down significantly from pre-pandemic levels. Most days only a single boat went out in the morning for two dives, with 9-13 divers on board. The boats were roomy enough, especially the two new catamarans. On most days everyone went together on the first dive, with the option to dive independently on the second. Typically, there was one small group with two divemasters, although we did split into two groups for some dives. All three divemasters we dove with, Pablo, Alec, and TJ, were excellent, with Pablo the best at finding small things. They were also quite active in helping us with our gear. Dives were limited to 60 minutes. With the first dive at 60-80 feet (100 foot maximum) and the second at 30-60 feet, bottom time was not a problem. We mainly dove the southern end of the island and did not get up to the north side, making for relatively short boat rides.
The coral and fish live were noticeably degraded from a decade ago, as is the case for much of the Caribbean. In addition to the general loss, we saw signs of stony coral tissue loss disease on most dives. The visibility was 40-60 feet rather than the 100-plus feet we have seen before. Overall, the loss of hard coral was striking. Some of the dive sites, notably Devil’s Grotto and Armchair, were in fairly good shape. The wreck of the Kittywake was new since we last dove the island. This wreck sits at a 45o angle in 60 ft of water, is nearly intact, and has multiple cut-outs to allow safe access to the interior. The wreck is too new to be heavily encrusted, but it is uniquely intact.
We saw both loggerhead and green turtles, although not many, several nurse sharks, a goliath grouper, and reef squid. The swim-through at Devil’s Grotto has a small school of resident tarpon. There were a few rays, and some of the divers saw eagle rays and a hammerhead shark. The house reef at Sunset House is an excellent shore dive, easily accessible and with plenty to see.
The accommodations at Sunset House are quite comfortable. Everyone is assigned a gear locker, although we took out neoprene back to the room to let it dry on our porch. There is a large outdoor eating area for lunch and dinner (and after-diver drinks) that is quite popular with locals. The restaurant has an Indian menu in addition to the standard fare.

Websites Sunset House   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving throughout Caribbean, Galapagos, Hawaii, Indonesia
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 81-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minute limit
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters N/A Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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.

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