Best Shore Dives | Directions and PHOTOS

Edited By : scubachar Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:36:11 -0500

Devil's Grotto can be easily accessed from Eden Rock; they will rent you air for $5/tank and they have a ladder and fresh water showers. When you do your boat dives with them you can probably work out a discount on your fills for all of your shore diving. Be sure to go to the real Eden Rock. There is another place just before them called Paradise with a sign saying Eden Rock. It's not the same place and very confusing. Eden Rock is about 20 yards farther.

Eden Rock Diving Centre

There are a few caves and caverns at Devil's Grotto which you access from Eden Rock. It's all one big marine park with several dive sites combined into one. They are marked off by buoys and the folks at Eden Rock will be happy to give you a briefing on the area.

Devil's Grotto

One of my favorite places is near the Turtle Farm. After you pass the 4-way stop in West Bay look to the left and you will come to a white sandy beach area with a large dock. The road is very close to the ocean so it's only a few steps from your car to the water.

Turtle Farm Area Shoreline

The diving in that area is very good and gets a little better as you go towards the Cracked Conch. You could actually go to our new recommended shore diving operation, the Turtle Reef at the Cracked Conch, which is right under the restaurant, and next to the new Macabuca Tiki Bar and Grill. In the back of the Activity Guide magazine, you will find two coupons, one worth 10% off the shore dive, and the other is called Dive, Dine and Drink and would give you the shore dive, an appetizer and a cocktail, all for only $19. Check here for more info

Smith Cove is a great place to shore dive and if you swim about 100 yard out to the mooring ball the diving is spectacular.

Smith Cove

If you are expreineced divers and good swimmers the North Side of the island near Old Man Bay offers some of the very best shore diving on the island, weather permitting. There is a good thread about that HERE with directions and pictures.

I'll try to add more to this topic as time permits and hopefully others will too. Wink

What is the policy on shore diving on the island without being accompanied by a divemaster or guide?

I know in some areas they have restrictions against this sort of thing to protect the reefs/environment. Does Cayman have a policy on this?

Thanks,

John

Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 2:53 pm Post subject:

Hi John,

Nope, there's no policy like that on Cayman. Although, when you go to one of the dive shops to rent your tanks and weight belts (if you need them), or whatever other equipment you may need, they will have you sign a waiver and show your C-card. At that time, you can just ask them questions about the site and they will give you great directions as to how to get to the reef and what to look for, etc.

You can rent tanks and take them in your car to some remote shore dive site (not affiliated with a dive shop), but then you really better know where you are going and where you are supposed to be. Eden Rock and Don Foster's are also great shore diving sites, with a dive shop right there.

Now you can always hire someone to go with you on a shore dive or a night dive, but you don't HAVE to, as long as you are all certified divers.

One thing that they do at these shops, which I think is really cool, is that once you register with one of them, you can just keep the account open and come back before you leave the island and pay them! Really handy if you're going to dive there a couple of times.

Good luck! You're doing your research, which is just great!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:21 am Post subject:

And don't forget to use a dive flag!!!!

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:01 am Post subject: thanks

Great info. Thanks ScubaChar and Paul.

John

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:13 pm Post subject: Best SHORE dives

Hi Everyone,

I'm a new resident to Grand Cayman :-D and would to like to hear everyones recommendations for the best shore diving and where to hire cylinders and weights??

Thanks for all your advice,

Othello

Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:34 am Post subject:

Wow, that's quite a swim Joe - or do you use a scooter?

Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:38 am Post subject:

caribbeansun - No scooter. Peggy and I snorkel out and drop down to 100 feet. We max our computers and then start a slow gradual ascent back towards shore. By the time we get to around 40 feet, we have another 45 minutes of bottom time. We take our time enjoying all the squid, fish, soft corals and fans in the shallow areas on our way back to shore. We are both pretty good on air, so with 80s we end up getting at least an hour of bottom time total. It makes it worth the drive and long swim out to the site. Wink

Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 7:10 pm Post subject:

<< Hopefully Alex777 will respond. He is our resident shore diving expert. >>

Wow! I finally get to be an expert in something. Cheers

Not sure I deserve the title though.

Yah - Babylon is legendary. I love Turtle Farm Reef (it's 2 shore dives - East & West) and Eden Rock (also 2 - ER & Devil's Grotto). There is good shore diving off Sunset House, Don Foster's, the former Seaview Hotel, and the vacant land where the Blus Parrot used to be. The Balboa Wreck is accessible from shore, but check with the Port Authority about shipping traffic there. Soto's (Cheeseburger) Reef is a short hop from the Lobster Pot Restaurant in Georgetown. Armchair is accessible from the S. Sound waterfront park (I forget the name) and from the Caribbean Court "beach" access. Smith Cove Reef (that's what I call it anyway) is accessible from (where else) Smith Cove. Bonnie's Arch and (with a longer swim) Orange Canyon can be accessed from the Bonnie's Arch Condos (phone the manager - she'll give you permission). Hepp's Pipeline & even Hepp's Wall can be visited from the condos just to the West of the Turtle Farm (I forget the name - "Coconut" something). Cobalt Coast has a shore dive.

There are also some "dream" shore dives which aren't shore dives because of the lack of access to the water. Pedro's Pinnacles is a spectacular wall dive by ANY yardstick, and is about 100 yards from shore. The problem? No way to get down to the shore in that particular area. Joe, we need to ask the DOE for more public water access. In the meantime, ask Eden Rock or Absolute Divers to take you there.

Hope this helps! Laughing

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 4:51 am Post subject:

Armchair is an AWESOME dive site!!!

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 6:42 pm Post subject: ready for it

Thanks for all the posts - my appetite is wettened, so i'm going to take my first dip on Saturday Very Happy

Please keep the posts coming. Is there a local dive site guide book which includes entry points for shore dives?

Thanks

Othello sun

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 6:59 pm Post subject:

othello - Welcome to the island. Very Happy

There were a few detailed books - Seapan comes to mind, but Ivan changed most of the terrain. I would recommend starting at some of the obvious places like the Turtle Farm and Smith Cove where you can see the mooring balls from shore. Be sure to use a dive flag to alert any passing boats to your position.

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:25 pm Post subject:

I agree with Joe that the dive guide books are unnecessary and a bit dated.

I expect to do some shore diving on Sat. and/or Sun. afternoon. PM me if you want to join us.

Alex

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:17 pm Post subject: shore diving

I'm staying at comfort suites and diving with Don Fosters, I would like to go to sunset house and dive there to see the mermaid. Do they charge people to do that.I would have lunch at my bar. Going in Oct.

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject:

Alex777 is our resident shore diving expert; maybe he will chime in with some expert tips about that area. I haven't dove it since they first put the mermaid there several years ago.

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