Dive The Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
Climate
Summer average temperatures 30-40 C (86-104F), winter 20 C (70F).
Water temperature Summer around 28C (82F), Winter drops to about 27 C (80F).
Visibility
Average over 30m (100ft) year around. Very rarely influenced by tide and current.
Quality of marine life
Large schools of fish, turtles, manta rays and plenty of stingrays. The quality of marine life is higher than Caribbean average.
Best time to go
May- September.
Snorkelling
The clear sheltered lagoons around the Cayman Islands shoreline is perfect for snorkelling and suitable for all ages.
Dive Practicalities
Its recommended that some form of insulation suit is worn for protection from possible coral cuts and for the sun.
Getting there
Numerous flights, including the Cayman Airways, fly into Grand Cayman from Miami, other Caribbean islands as well as London and other US cities. There are internal flights between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman the number of flights depends on season.
The Caymans Dive Sites
The Caymans are situated in the central Caribbean, just south of Cuba and about 280km (480 miles) northwest of Jamaica. It was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 and has been a British crown colony since 1962 following British laws and customs.
The Cayman Islands consists of three coral islands which were formed as a result of tectonic plate upheaval within the earth’s crust. These islands are now the exposed tip of a massive submarine mountain range! This is one of the reasons why this is such a popular dive destination; it provides some of the most spectacular wall diving in the Caribbean with near-vertical drop-offs featuring cave and tunnel formations that beg for explorations.
In addition, the deep oceanic trench that comes almost to the shore is responsible for the higher than average clarity of the water. The Cayman Islands Watersports Operators Association (CIWOA) is proud of the fact that the Caymans is one of the safest dive locations in the worlds. Most of the dive sites are only accessible by boat but there are also plenty of shore dive sites close to the dive centres from where you can hire equipment.
Grand Cayman
Stingray City
The Grand Cayman is home to a legendary dive site known as Stingray City and has been featured throughout the world on film, video and in magazines. This site has been dubbed ‘the world’s greatest 4m dive’ and is located inside a barrier reef that runs along the north shore where the waters are virtually always sheltered and calm. Its an overwhelming experience when approximately 250 southern stingrays swoop in and envelop you with their ‘wings’.
Your dive guide will bring some frozen squid to feed each animal individually but once the feeding session is over, the stingrays become quite docile and can be approached closely.
Cautions: Always wear some kind of protective suit to avoid getting a nasty suck form the stingrays. If you do touch a stingray, make sure to not wear gloves as the fabric can remove the protective mucus layer that covers their skin. If this layer is removed, an infection may set in and the stingray may die as a result.
Little Cayman
Bloody Bay Wall
This is located on the northwest coast of Little Cayman. It is a wall dive that splits up into a number of smaller sites and can drop into very deep depths in places. There is a chimney and a shelf which often has Mantas residing on it. It is possible to see turtles, grey reef shark and other species of large fish on this dive.
