Planning Dives in Grand Caymans

[Skinsfan1311]

Originally Posted by thor

Ok, that makes me feel better.
I'm diving with Ocean Frontiers on the east end.

Great choice! You will love diving with OF.

Originally Posted by mselizann

yay! I'm an owner at Morritt's (next door)...............where are you staying?

The Morritt's is one of our favorite places to stay. We stayed at the Seaside Bldg last summer and hope to do so again in the near future. I think that the food is much better now, since Mike took over as food & beverage manager. Is he still there?

Originally Posted by thor

Reef Resort.

I just booked my dives. Not as strenuous as I thought (at least not on paper). The second dives are reef dives and are around 60 feet. The night dive site is about 30 feet. Who knows, maybe I'll want some extra hammock time instead of bottom time.

I would dive as much as possible. The reefs, and swimthroughs on the East End are spectacular. One of the things that I like about diving with OF is that they let you dive your computers. If you're diving with them for more than a day, they will also rinse and store your gear. They are a top-notch outfit.

Have fun!

[mselizann]

I love Morritt's too- I think our F&B manager is the same.........

[thor]

Can anyone recommend a good rental car company in Grand Cayman, and approx how much per day it should cost?

[ianr33]

I've always used Andys
Grand Cayman Car Rental - Andy's Car Rental Cayman Islands
Book it on the web before you go. The little 2 seater jeeps are great shore diving vehices.

[jpep]

Since you are staying at the Reef Resort, you will definitely need a car, as it is approximately 45 minutes from the airport, cabs would be prohibitively expensive and puiblic transportation not much of an option onhe East End.

Some good restaurants on the East End would include Portofino's and the Lighthouse. For something quite casual, consider Over The Edge. On the Northside, try the Kaibo Yacht Club. You may want to avoid Rum Point and the Wreck Bar when several cruise ships are in and on Sundays, as it tends to get crowded.

As for car rentals, as suggested, if you book with Andy's online 2 weeks prior to departure and use "CAG20" as a discount code, you will get a 20% discount. Economy is also a good rental car option.

Check out Grand Cayman and Cayman Islands Complete Vacation Holiday Information and Savings Guide for dining and activity tips, maps, discounts and coupons.

Have a great trip and safe diving.

[gee]

You made an excellent choice of a dive Op in GC. You obviously did your homework! I usually get a dive package with Ocean Frontier & Compass Point that includes a rental car. Have a great time!

[thor]

So I just came back, and first, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions.

I stayed at The Reef resort and was very happy. Beautiful place. Great rooms. Very nice beach. Loved the east end. I felt like I was really staying on the island instead of just a resort.

Dived with Ocean Frontiers. Best dive op I have ever dived with. Friendly, fun, and knowledgeable. Nice boats. Small number of divers, and they are right down the road from The Resort. Rinsed my gear and set it up. (although I did have to make some minor adjustments. Next time I'll just tell them to hold my gear for me overnight, but not to set it up.)

Thursday we dived Black Rock, and then Dragon's Lair. Then a Night Dive at Sunset Reef, which was phenomenal. Rays, Lobsters, Octopus, Squid, Turtles, etc. Learned a cool trick to use your light to feed bloodworms to the anemones. Awesome.

Friday we had a choice of either Stingray city or doing a two tank dive at the North Wall. We opted for the North Wall and dived Eagle Ray pass, and came across three Eagle Rays and a giant turtle. No hammerheads unfortunately.
Then we dived the Queen's Throne. Brilliant dive.

All in all, a great trip. I miss it already.

[navyhmc]

Glad to know you had fun Thor!!!

[mselizann]

awesome! I'm so jealous!!! Only 4 months until our next trip down there......

[thor]

Originally Posted by jpep

Since you are staying at the Reef Resort, you will definitely need a car, as it is approximately 45 minutes from the airport, cabs would be prohibitively expensive and puiblic transportation not much of an option onhe East End.

Some good restaurants on the East End would include Portofino's and the Lighthouse. For something quite casual, consider Over The Edge. On the Northside, try the Kaibo Yacht Club. You may want to avoid Rum Point and the Wreck Bar when several cruise ships are in and on Sundays, as it tends to get crowded.

As for car rentals, as suggested, if you book with Andy's online 2 weeks prior to departure and use "CAG20" as a discount code, you will get a 20% discount. Economy is also a good rental car option.

Check out Grand Cayman and Cayman Islands Complete Vacation Holiday Information and Savings Guide for dining and activity tips, maps, discounts and coupons.

Have a great trip and safe diving.

These were all great suggestions. Rented from Andy's, although it ended up cheaper on the internet somehow without putting in the code.

All good restaurants. We ate at Casanova in G-town, Over the Edge (I enjoyed the most for lunch) and Kaibo Yacht club for lunch. Portifino, the restaurant at the Reef, and the Lighthouse for dinner. All were excellent. The Lighthouse was by far the most memerable. We ate at table #50 ( or was it 15), which is the only outdoor table. It basically sits on it's own private deck. You are literally eating over the water, listening to the waves crash just a few feet below you. During most of dessert we had the pleasure of watching a reef shark swim about 50 feet away from us. I will never forget that.