Dive Review of Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge in
Cayman Islands/Little Cayman

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Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge, Jul, 2003, by Brad Sims, NC, USA . Report 557.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge was a very “basic” experience. My spouse and I spent almost a week at McCoy’s mostly due to a short notice dive vacation. First a caution on Island Air that transports you to and from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman. Island Air states that you have a limit of 55 lbs per person and excess weight is charged at .50 cents per pound. It also said that your gear will make the flight if you pack under your 55 lbs per person where excess will be delivered within 24 hours. This is not true. You luggage is all put in with all the excess and has no name associated with it to identify who it belongs too only a number tag. We packed with no excess and received only 1 of our 2 bags on a later flight the same day and the second bag the next morning taking away an arrival shore dive. Secondly when leaving Little Cayman, your gear should be sent to the airport the day before you leave to ensure your gear is waiting for you at the baggage claim when you arrive the next day. Others that left McCoy’s later after us even had to wait an extra hour since the pilot flew a charter and then could not fly the normal morning flight. Make sure you do not make a connecting flight from Grand Cayman to close to your flight from Little Cayman on Island Air. Now about McCoy’s Lodge. While the diving on Little Cayman from a boat or shore was very good. There is a local Eagle Ray, Sea Turtles everywhere, and a friendly Grouper that lets you scratch his chin. McCoy’s dive lodge is very basic, no frills, not too friendly owners, but the staff is ok. You are picked up from the airport in the back of a pickup truck, transported to the dive boat in the back of a pickup truck and taken for a shore dive in the back of a pickup. While this in itself is not terrible, the owners Mary and her daughter Maxine drive fast while you hang on. I suggest riding in the back of the divemaster’s pickup as he does drive a bit slower. Either Mary or Maxine will, hopefully, remember which flight you are suppose to arrive on (Maxine did not remember our flight) and meet you at the airport to collect you and your gear for the ride to the lodge where they will back the truck up to your door and drop you off. From that point you go straight to the dining area to fill out you c-card info and told that a bell will ring for each meal and that your 2-tank morning dive will be after breakfast. There is an outside bar that is open for guest and locals most all the time. A small freshwater pool that has probably never had the freshwater replaced from the day it was first filled. Shore diving off the back of the resort can be done but it is shallow for a long way with a rocky, sea urchin filled entry. The divemaster will instead drive you in the back of the pickup truck to a very good shoredive site and agree to a time to pick you up. When you are on your morning 2-tank dive, you need to tell the divemaster how many shore dives you are planning on doing as he will fill and set your tanks out. The small diveboat that is about a 10 minute drive from the resort is about 50 feet from shore so you have to carry your gear in about waist deep water to and from the boat every morning. If you are only doing the morning dive, you can leave your gear on the dive boat as there is no theft, even your room has no key. Since Mary is very frugal, the lodge which is two small buildings looks like it was built in the 50’s and has had no money spent on it since then. The rooms seem clean and are sufficient with air condition units. Expect them to be turned down or off after your beds are made. The bathrooms are old and you need to keep your lights on at night to stop the large roaches from visiting. The meals are simple but plenty. The dining room is one large table and usually has only fans blowing and a few times has air conditioning turned on shortly during the meal. Don’t expect to interact with the staff or owners except on occasion as they avoid this. There is a barbeque on Saturday and Wednesday night that is very good and plentiful. Bring your bug spray. If there is no island breeze, expect to be attacked by the sand flees and mosquitoes. On the day you leave Mary gets a little friendly and asks you to sign the guest book and say what a wonderful time you had before your ride in the back of her pickup truck to the airport.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Cozumel, Turks & Caicos, Florida Keys, Belize, Califorina
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy, noCurrents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Divemaster dove but did not follow any divers.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge in Cayman Islands/Little Cayman

Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge, Jul, 2003,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Sam McCoy’s Dive Lodge in
Cayman Islands/Little Cayman