Scuba at stingray city, is it worth it?

[Dave and Audrey]

From the pictures I see we are limited to about 12' or so. Is there anything else we can explore in the area, reefs, etc? We are certified divers who would love to dive in stingray city but don't want to be limited to just one area and to just seeing stingrays. Any recommendations for diving in Grand Cayman would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Thanks

Dave/Audrey

[bruce-r]

I would do the Stingray City dive one time just to interact with the stingrays. Kind of like doing the night Manta dive in Kona, the whole purpose is to play with the rays. Since the dive takes place on a sand bar, there really isn't much else to see there. If you combine that dive with a North wall dive, you'll have a great day.

[Dave and Audrey]

Do you know if any dive shops offer something like this or would we have to book two separate things?

 

Thanks

Dave

[bruce-r]

I think there are a few dive operators that do this, but the more important question is when do they depart. Cruisers tend to arrive on the island too late to make the morning dive for many of the operators. I'd check with http://www.neptunesdivers.com and see what you can arrange with Casey. If she can't accommodate you, ask her for a recommendation.

[Islandbuoy]

Captain Marvin has a dive!

[ab2008]

it is definitely worth going to Stingray city. we did the dive, but since the water is so shallow, it wasn't really necessary. most of the people there were on snorkeling trips as you can even stand in the water and interact with the rays. we are going back in Nov and will be taking our kids so we will do the snorkel trip.

[everyotheryear]

We took a private boat (I think it was called Divers Down) and did the 12' dive with the rays....It was great, my favorite dive. We also swam around a bit saw eel and lots of fish. I say go for it. Nothing like a huge stingray swimiming over you head and sucking up your hair in his mouth.

[drew sailbum]

To be clear, cruise ship visitors typically visit the stingrays on snorkeling trips to the Stingray Sandbar. This site is shallow enough to stand up. Scuba diving is now prohibited there due to relatively recent changes in the law.

 

There is a different site which is the original Stingray City. Water there is about 12 to 15 feet deep. Very few snorkeling trips visit this spot.

 

The Stingray Sandbar is about 2 miles further out than Stingray City.

[sunseeker09]

We did the stingray city dive rather than snorkel. There was no one else around except for our group of divers (about 8-10 of us). The bottom was sandy and we just knelt and interacted with the stingrays for the entire dive (about an hour I think) It was pretty amazing. I think much better than snorkeling, as they glide all around you and right over your head. Plus it was great that it wasn't wall to wall people everywhere.

We went with Don Fosters, as we did most of our diving through them. We were on the island though, not on a cruise, but they did take out divers from the cruise ships.

 

P.S. I just went to check out their site and I see things have changed since we were there almost 2 years ago. Now Don Fosters has the cruise contracts so you can't book independently. So you'd have to book through your ship, which is probably more expensive and busier and may not give you two dives.