Snorkeling in Grand Cayman

[sonntags]

I am trying not to book excursions via our cruise line.... I think that I can get better deals with smaller crowds elsewhere. Anyone have experience with snorkeling in Grand Cayman and can recommend someone to go through? Where are the best places to see marine life??

 

Thanks!

[ladyd11933]

We went snorkeling at Eden Rock while in Grand Cayman the first time we were there. It is about a 5-10 minute walk from the pier. It was $14 to rent all the equipment, while the ship charged $39 for a snorkeling tour right next door. We saw all kinds of fish, including a baracuda and a nurse shark.

 

It does have a ladder entrance so you would have to take this into account if you have smaller children. We had kids with us that ranged from 13-17 and they all did fine.

[navybaby1113]

We're currently looking at taking either Captain Marvins or Moby Dicks to go snorkeling. Captain Marvins takes you to the stingrays and two snorkeling sites for $40. Moby Dick takes you to the stingrays and one snorkeling site for $45.

[Stevesan]

We went snorkeling at Eden Rock while in Grand Cayman the first time we were there. It is about a 5-10 minute walk from the pier. It was $14 to rent all the equipment, while the ship charged $39 for a snorkeling tour right next door. We saw all kinds of fish, including a baracuda and a nurse shark.

 

It does have a ladder entrance so you would have to take this into account if you have smaller children. We had kids with us that ranged from 13-17 and they all did fine.

 

Another vote for Eden Rock. Some prefer Sunset House which is further along from the Georgetown tender docks. The shore snorkeling/diving is excellent.

 

http://www.edenrockdive.com/

 

Note: Follow the directions on the web site. Some mistakenly stop at the first place they come to. Eden Rock is a bit further on, and displays the traditional dive sign.

[mlthomas]

Does Eden Rock also have a beach to perch on? Or is it only there to snorkel?

[ladyd11933]

Does Eden Rock also have a beach to perch on? Or is it only there to snorkel?

 

 

No, it does not have a beach.

[Snorkel Dawg]

We want to snorkel Eden Rock, Devil's Grotto & then maybe a couple of the wrecks north of the port on our upcoming cruise. Do you think this is doable? I was thinking we would walk down to Eden Rock do that site & either walk or swim to Devil's Grotto, then hop in a taxi back up to the wreck of the Gamma or the Callie.

 

Also anyone having snorkeled the Wreck of the Gamma and Callie, which wreck did you like snorkeling better?

 

Thanks!

[The Flying Pirate]

We just came back from Grand Cayman and snorkeled on the Cali Wreck from Hammerhead's bar. They will rent you a locker for $10/day and snorkel gear is you need it for $15/person or you are welcome to bring your own. It is a short swim out to the wreck. They have a couple of ladders off their dock allowing easy access to the water and Hammerheads is a full restaurant and bar so you have lunch, bathroom facilities etc. available.

[Joanna-N-KY]

My family is going this summer and want to go on our own. My oldest son and I want to snorkel but my husband and other children do not. Does anyone recommend a location to snorkel that also has a beach that relax on?

[OCNJ Cruiser]

Paradise Restaurant is about a 7 minute walk from the tender drop off. Turn right out of the pier, pass Hard Rock and Margaritaville and Paradise is on the right(obviously...) Paradise accesses the same reef as Eden Rock however it is a short swim to get there. I'm not a great swimmer so I just hung around the access point and saw plenty of fish including a school of very large fish that kept hanging around me! I picked my head up out of the water and saw one of the waiters from the restaurant smiling and telling me to touch them, they don't have teeth! I tried but they kept dodging me. There is a small beach at Paradise Restaurant that has maybe a dozen chairs that are free to use(I think they expect you to by drinks or food-we didn't because we were only there for 1 hr)

[Putterdude]

I had an invitation to join OCNJ Cruiser for snorkeling at Eden Rock...went with Capt. Marvin and enjoyed the stingray city thing but the snorkeling was nothing to write home about...kind of wish I had gone with you Kate...next time.:)

[breanne$5]

We decided to go with a private tour, Outrage. John Michael has great reviews and was very quick in responding. He will pick and drop us off at the port, take us to Stingray City, snorkeling, Rum Point, Starfish island, or wherever we want...even will pull you on a tube. $400 for 4 hours, I think whole day was $500 for six people.

[Baybear]

We read much advice here on the cruise critic boards a month ago about which beaches to snorkel on in Grand Cayman. It seemed to boil down (for places within walking distance of the ship) to either The Wreck of the Cali or Cheeseburger Reef (across from the Burger King) (I see people mentioning Eden Rock here, but that wasn't on our radar when we cruised to GC last week). We like to save $100/couple and just walk or taxi to a beach that has good snorkeling and walk in! And we're both 66 years old, so being old doesn't mean you have to sit on a bus, then boat, then get pushed in by the help.

 

So we tried "The Wreck of the Cali" first: As you leave this ship tender dock you walk left down the road where all the cars and vans are zooming, and in about 5 minutes (or less) you’ll come to the Wreck of the Cali area. At the dive shop and restaurant mentioned in this thread. You can go into the water there for free, although we rented a locker for $10 for all four of us (4 people's gear fit into one of these big lockers!) and then went in the water down one of their ladders. Easy entry. We went in there, expecting to find tropical fish and coral. Instead, after swimming out to a float and ladder that the locker people said we could use, we found only sand, a deepening ocean floor, and NO fish. Farther out from the float (a long way out now!) a silver colored, molding wreck of a ship about 30 feet below the surface, but NO fish or coral. I assumed that was the "Cali". We came back in shortly thereafter, and talked to the locker person about Cheeseburger Reef, just across from the Burger King about 0.1 more miles farther down the road. He said it wasn’t much better there. Same drop-off with not much coral or fish.

 

Then he mentioned that snorkeling was good, with coral, and purple fans and plenty of colorful fish just past the KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) where you see a sign “Beach Access” pointing to the left on the road. So we left our stuff in their locker (except for shoes, of course) and trooped about 10 minutes more to KFC. There we found a sandy beach with a few people present having just snorkeled there. The beach is sandy and nice enough to lie on and make sand castles, etc. And it's a great view of the ship anchored out. But just before you get to the water, the sand turns to small rocks and/or coral. So this would not be a good place for children to go into the water and wade. Some folks we met with snorkel gear there said it was very good out there, so we headed out. After entering the water there’s a very shallow coral area that you have to “propel” yourself over lying flat to get to the deeper coral area where the fish are. Or you can swim out more to the left of the beach as you face the water and avoid the very shallow coral area to "get to the good stuff". But once you get over the “shallows” it opens up deeper and there’s a lot of beautiful coral, fans and lots of tropical fish. Elk Horn Coral (flat big antlers), Stag Coral (deer-like antlers), Brain Coral, and lots of purple fans waving in the current. We even swam with a squid or two. Plenty of colorful tropical fish, but not of the same density of some places we've been to in Hawaii like Haunama Bay on O'hau. Seas were calm and there was mixed sun and clouds... whenever the sun comes out it really illuminates the fish nicely.

 

So anyway, the two places touted on these boards under “ports” for Grand Cayman were not good AT ALL if you like fish, and the good place within walking distance from the ship (to the left) with lots of life and coral was across from the KFC! I’d be interested if others can confirm any of this, and also suggest even better places to snorkel on Grand Cayman even if it means taking a taxi, which we have no problem doing. It’s just that we heard the two places above were the best on Grand Cayman as we searched the boards. maybe we missed something...?? What are the details of fish and coral at Eden Rock? We might try that next time if it's good.

[RMM75]

So anyway, the two places touted on these boards under “ports” for Grand Cayman were not good AT ALL if you like fish, and the good place within walking distance from the ship (to the left) with lots of life and coral was across from the KFC! I’d be interested if others can confirm any of this, and also suggest even better places to snorkel on Grand Cayman even if it means taking a taxi, which we have no problem doing. It’s just that we heard the two places above were the best on Grand Cayman as we searched the boards. maybe we missed something...?? What are the details of fish and coral at Eden Rock? We might try that next time if it's good.

 

I did the ship's (Jewel OTS) excursion in December, and the Cheeseburger Reef was ok, but nothing spectacular. We couldn't even see the wreck as the water was too murky as a result of some stormy weather earlier. We were lucky, I suppose, to even get to see the reef as apprarently earlier in the day it wasn't visible either.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

This spot was pretty good and right by the tendor dock. There isn't a beach but there are a number of places that will let you rent access (some with lockers). We actually had lunch at a restaurant (Rack 'em) while our kids snorkeled right off our table. You can also see some of the spots the cruise ship use. They saw quite a bit of wildlife including an octopus.

 

 

We had done Moby Dick earlier but the kids enjoyed this because it was so peaceful.

 

[basawasa]

Baybear or anyone else,

 

Did they have chairs for rent or anything else in front of the KFC? On another note I heard Tiki beach has some sea life in front of it. Can any one confirm? How about Cemetary beach?

 

Thanks for the input

[JenaMH]

This thread has been very helpful! Thank you every one for your input! :)

[Meyer2]

Another vote for Eden Rock. Some prefer Sunset House which is further along from the Georgetown tender docks. The shore snorkeling/diving is excellent.

 

http://www.edenrockdive.com/

 

Note: Follow the directions on the web site. Some mistakenly stop at the first place they come to. Eden Rock is a bit further on, and displays the traditional dive sign.

 

Some good info, thank-you!!! It answered the 2 main questions I had been trying to find answers too.