Destinations / Cayman Islands

From full scuba certification courses to one-day experiences for those who've never breathed off a regulator, the Cayman Islands qualify as a scuba diving shrine.

While Grand Cayman receives the most publicity and visitors, all three Cayman Islands - Little Cayman and Cayman Brac being the other two -- offer outstanding scuba diving.

LOCATION :

In the western Caribbean 480 miles south of Miami, the three Cayman Islands lie 150 miles south of Cuba and 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. The "Sister Islands" of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are 89 miles northeast of East End, Grand Cayman. Little Cayman is separated from Cayman Brac (often simply called "the Brac") by a 7-mile-wide channel.

LANGUAGE :

English

CURRENCY :

Cayman Islands Dollar (US currency widely accepted)

TIPPING :

Restaurants often automatically add a 15% gratuity to their bill on food and beverage: Visitors should check before adding gratuities.

ELECTRICITY :

110v/60 cycles. Same as the US.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Hand-feeding stingrays at Stingray City and Sandbar
• Photographing the neon-colored tube sponges while diving Bloody Bay Wall
• Doing nothing on Little Cayman
• Spelunking on The Brac

CAYMAN OVERVIEW
From full scuba certification courses to one-day experiences for those who've never breathed off a regulator, the Cayman Islands qualify as an scuba diving shrine. While Grand Cayman receives the most publicity and visitors, all three Cayman Islands - Little Cayman and Cayman Brac being the other two -- offer outstanding scuba diving.

George Town, the capital on Grand Cayman, has become a thriving cruise ship port but has still managed to retain most of its charm, even with the proliferation of American franchise restaurants and hotels.

About 75 miles north of Grand Cayman and 5 miles from Cayman Brac, Little Cayman is the smallest of the three islands and home to only about 100 full-time residents. The Brac has about 1,500 residents but no actual towns, only settlements, such as Stake Bay, Spot Bay, the Creek, Tibbitts Turn, the Bight, and West End, where the airport is located.

The Cayman Islands have prospered as one of the first offshore banking havens and thus they have a high standard of living. (Notice all of the Mercedes and BMWs motoring around Georgetown.) The cost of living (ie: vacationing) is about 20 percent higher than it is in the United States. Condos and villas are widespread and Grand Cayman has many large private residences owned by well-to-do North Americans.

All three of the Caymans are blessed with outstanding underwater scenery that is among the most photographed in the world and scuba diving is the country's largest tourist draw. The deep ocean waters and lack of runoff from rivers and streams provide visibility, which sometimes exceeds 120 feet and rarely drops below 50 feet.

The islands also boast some of the region's best beaches, and Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman is notable among them.

Little Cayman and Cayman Brac offer small-scale amusements. On these islands, you'll have to entertain yourself with beachcombing, fishing and water-sports. With Grand Cayman taking care of the more elaborate diversions, one hopes Little Cayman and Cayman Brac will never grow up.

GEOGRAPHY

Topography: All three islands are the limestone peaks of a submerged mountain range, the Cayman Ridge, which has formed a natural series of walls and drop-offs that are recognized as among the world's best dive sites. The Caymans are surrounded by unusually deep water: Bordering on the east is the Cayman Trench, with recorded depths of more than 4 miles, one of the deepest parts of the Caribbean Sea. To the south is the Bartlett Deep, which plummets 3 miles. Except for the 140-foot-high brac (Gaelic word for "bluff") on Cayman Brac, the islands are essentially flat.

Climate: Temperatures are mild year-round. The coolest month is February, when temperatures may range from a low of 64º F to a high of 85º F. Winter weather is dominated by cold fronts that roll down from the north, but the greatest impact of these fronts is the high winds they create for two or three days, until the front blows over. Diving is almost always possible regardless of wind velocity or direction, though choices may be restricted. The driest months are normally March and April. The rainy season, which often consists of showers lasting only two or three hours, begins in May and ends in October. In July and August, temperatures may reach as high as 85º -90º F, usually tempered by a northeast trade wind. Relative humidity varies between 68 and 92 percent.

HISTORY
In 1503, Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands and named them Las Tortugas for the giant sea turtles lumbering the shores. Eventually, the islands were renamed Caymanas, after the Carib word for crocodiles. (Inhabitants possibly mistook the five-foot-long rock iguanas for crocodiles.) In the late 1600s, Spain gave the islands to Britain along with nearby Jamaica. During the 17th and 18th centuries, buccaneers hid themselves and, rumor has it, their treasures on the islands. When Jamaica was awarded independence in 1962, the Caymans chose to remain a British Crown Colony.

WEBSITE :

www.caymanislands.ky

CAPITAL :

George Town

TOURIST INFORMATION :

800-346-3313

POLITICAL STATUS :

British crown colony

AREA SIZE :

Grand Cayman is 22 miles long. Its width varies from 4 miles to 8 miles. Little Cayman is only 10 miles long and 1 mile wide. Cayman Brac is a mile longer than Little Cayman but also just 1 mile wide.

TAXES :

Government room tax of 10%. Airport departure tax of US $25.

AREA CODE :

345

TIME :

Eastern Standard Time; Daylight Savings is not observed.

DOCUMENTS :

You will need a valid passport and possibly a visa, or, if you are from the US, UK, Canada or any of the other Commonwealth countries an original birth certificate / proof of citizenship with current picture identification is sufficient.

POPULATION :

40,000

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

82 degrees F

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

100 ft +

TYPES OF DIVING :

Shore, wreck and boat dives are available to travelers as well as Liveaboard vessels.

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

The Cayman's are good for diving year round. However the rainy season starts in May but is at its worst in October. You may also want to avoid the Spring and Autumn Plankton blooms that can reduce visibility.

WHAT TO WEAR :

The water is usually warm enough to wear a skin or a short 1.5 mm suit. On deeper diver you may bring a three-quarter 1.5-3mm

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

West Bay and the reefs along the mouth of the North Sound offer the most sites and Sting Ray City sits on a sandbar at the sound. Victoria House Reef is covered in orange tube sponges, sea fans and parrotfish. North Wall off Jackson Point on Little Cayman is swarming with sting and eagle rays, turtles and masses of coral. Cayman Brac is home to shallow Elkhorn Gardens. Boody Bay Wall... Marilyn's Cut