When we did a Western Caribbean cruise, it listed Grand Cayman as a port. We were able to snorkel one of the shore dives there. They actually recommended two shore dives to us in downtown Georgetown. For cruise ship passengers, it’s pretty easy to locate. As soon as the dinghy arrives at the dock we walk to the right and in less than 5 minutes we arrive at Eden Rocks Dive Centre. Don’t be fooled by a new competitor they have right before you. Eden Rocks Dive Center is closer to the dive sites than its new competitor.
The Cayman Islands are relatively expensive for diving with an average of $85 US for a two-tank boat dive trip. However with limited time as with cruise ship passengers we were able to do some decent diving for a lot less. If you bring all your gear except tanks and weights, you can rent them for around $10. Even renting the complete equipment will cost much less than a boat trip. Eden Rocks has a patio with lockers in the back and an area with a ladder where the entrance to the water is. The two dive sites are called Eden Rocks and Devil’s Grotto. They are reached with a short swim to several buoys that mark the sites.
We ended up doing Devil’s Grotto which had some nice coral formations. The maximum depth was about 46 feet with a water temperature of about 80 degrees. Visibility was even better than what we experienced in Key Largo just a few days earlier. There was a very nice large tunnel to swim through and several smaller ones throughout the site. Inside the large tunnel, we saw a large resident tarpon. Fish life, including parrotfish, groupers and surgeonfish, was healthy on this shore dive and it is interesting to note that it even exists so close to the cruise ships. Other divers said they also saw some turtles.
We’d like to do the other shore dive site, Eden Rocks, which is to the right of Devil’s Grotto, next time we’re in Grand Cayman. These sites are ideal for beginner level divers. My buddy was a newly certified diver and had no problems with this shore dive.
