Indigo Divers: "Concierge Diving in Cayman", Feb, 2018,by Jeffrey D Hubbard MD, NY, US (![]() |
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Accommodations | N/A | Food | N/A |
Service and Attitude | ![]() |
Environmental Sensitivity | ![]() |
Dive Operation | ![]() |
Shore Diving | N/A |
Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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Value for $$ | ![]() |
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Beginners | ![]() |
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Advanced | ![]() |
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Comments |
This is concierge diving, at its best. Pickup at your lodging (@ or near 7 Mile Beach), quick ride to dock (Northwest Bay or Georgetown,) short run (less than 20 minutes) to dive site. Max of 6 divers, so our group filled it. Return to lodging. Boats are small but super well organized, so plenty of room for 6 pax + 2 crew. The bad news: No head, but crew is accommodating with alternative arrangements. Nitrox available but really no need; tanks all >3100 psi. Dives were expertly guided but no herding; no checking depth, air, & c. Just signal @ 1500 psi. We didn’t know the topography so being guided was fine. First morning dive is deeper (none >100 ft), 2d medium depth after good surface interval with cold water, fruit, home baked goods. We dove 2 tank morning dives, 2 days out of 3, + 1 night dive, for 2 weeks. Our 6 divers wore from Lavacore to 5 mm wetsuit. Kittiwake is a medium depth wreck dive, relatively recently sunk, worth doing more than once. They also offer other dives and instruction. Excellent night dive: walk through Macabuca bar/restaurant, down the ladder into the sea. Tarpon, seriously cooperative octopus, large triton & tulip shell snails out for a creep. Crew is knowledgeable and still enthusiastic about diving despite all the experience, always a plus. Of course, it’s easy to be enthusiastic about Cayman diving: easy, scenic, fairly well preserved sites, very short runs to the sites along 7 Mile Beach. Someone said, “Cayman isn’t Caribbean expensive, it’s New York expensive.” Range of accommodations from apartments to giant gin palaces, excellent restaurants from not -too-expensive to astronomical, good grocery stores, but nothing cheap. Diving is a big deal in Cayman, so lots of dive shops, too. The locals (natives + continentals) are extremely friendly and helpful, more so than in most of the Caribbean. I’m sure one can get in trouble, but we walked around a fair bit in 7 Mile Beach area and never felt uneasy, night or day. We liked having a car, but walking (Grand Cayman is really flat) is easy and taxis are available. We'll be back next year. |
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Websites | Indigo Divers | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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Dive Experience | Over 1000 dives | ||
Where else diving | Caribbean, Bahamas, Fernando de Noronha, Australia, Fiji, PNG, Micronesia, Hawai'i | ||
Closest Airport | GCM | Getting There | Many direct flights, good connex through Atlanta, Houston, Miami (not recommended because of baggage issues)) |
Dive Conditions |
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Weather | sunny | Seas | calm, choppy |
Water Temp | 79-81°F / 26-27°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 0 |
Water Visibility | - Ft/ - M | ||
Dive Policy |
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Dive own profile | yes | ||
Enforced diving restrictions | Mostly follow-the-leader but no policing of depth & c. | ||
Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
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Sharks | Lots | Mantas | None |
Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | None |
Turtles | 1 or 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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Corals | ![]() |
Tropical Fish | ![]() |
Small Critters | ![]() |
Large Fish | ![]() |
Large Pelagics | N/A | ||
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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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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