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Dive Review of Conch Club Condominiums/Paradise Villas in
Cayman Islands/Little Cyman

Conch Club Condominiums/Paradise Villas, Jun, 2013,

by Ellen Moran, NH, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 7011.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments This was our second trip to Little Cayman. Last year we had bad weather but managed to get all of our dives in. Because the folks at Paradise Villas were so nice and the accommodations very pleasant we decided to return. We again stayed in the Villas and dove with the team at Conch Club Divers. Bill, Matt and Claire run a terrific operation. They are friendly, efficient, fun,informative, professional and over all outstanding dive masters. We had roll call before we left the dock and after each dive. The dive briefings were informative and fun. Claire has an exceptional ability to find small critters for example a pipe horse!
Little Cayman is culling Lion Fish so we only saw a few over the course of 11 dives. We saw a lot of Lion fish on our dinner plate and they are very tasty.
Paradise Villas has beach cruiser bikes so on our down time we would ride to the North end and snorkel. The beach is deserted with the exception of our fellow travelers at Paradise Villas. On our first day on LC we went for a snorkel and saw a large Spotted Eagle Ray feeding, several Hawksbill Turtles, a medium size Nurse Shark in about 5 feet of water. This was all within 30 minutes!
With respect to food we had breakfast and lunch at the Villa. The grocery store is a short walk away. When staying at Paradise Villas you can run a tab for dinner at the Hungry Iguana which is very convenient.
Conch Club Divers comes to the Villa at 7:20 am and brings you down to the dock. We got in two excellent dives by 11:30 and were back on dry land by noon. Despite such an early start, it does allows for the rest of the day to go on adventures or just read in a hammock by the ocean.
On Friday afternoon the Central Caribbean Marine Institute hosts tours. Our dive master, Claire phoned from the boat and set up a time for the team at CCM to come pick us up and bring us to the research facility. If you like to geek out on science I highly recommend a visit.
CCM is currently studying Lion Fish, coral growth and Grouper populations. They share data with the dive teams on the island with respect to areas where Lion Fish are being culled and the areas where they are not.
OK back to the diving. Our first dive was on the wall and generally included at least one swim through. Most dives the Grouper would come along and keep us entertained. At around 80 feet on the wall we spotted several Black Tip Reef Sharks. It has been a while since I have seen Sharks so this was a good sign of a health eco system. The variety of juvenile fish was abundant. We saw the usual suspects such as Queen Triggers, Queen Angle, French Angle, Durgeon,Tangs, Barracuda, hamlets, Garden ells, a free swimming Green Morey, many huge Conch and a brilliant variety of Sponges, Sea Fans and worms.
We traveled with two other couple, one tam being photographers. They did their dives at around 40 to 50 feet and got some great shots.
Conch Club has a 42 foot Newton we rear dive platform. You bring your gear the first day then do not touch it for the rest of the week. Matt, Bill or Claire would take turns leading dives. Two dive masters would quickly get your rear and bring your tank to the dive plat form where you could put on your kit and giant stride off the stern. Generally there was very little current so descents and ascent was easy.
In summary if you want to dive healthy reefs with spectacular wall dives, swim throughs, an abundance of critters and the occasional large shark go to LC. The Island does not have a crime issue and the locals could not be more helpful or friendly. Bill, Matt and Claire of Conch Club Divers are pros and they know what outstanding service is.
Websites Conch Club Condominiums   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Belize, Bonaire, Curacao, Dominica, Fiji, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-°F / 28-°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions First dive max depth 100 feet for :45 minutes, second dive max depth 60 feet for :50 minutes
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

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