Grand Cayman Shore Snorkeling Guide Cayman Islands, Explore Underwater® Magazine Online, Scuba Training Classes and Lessons
  |   Home  |   Snorkeling Guide  |   Photography  |   Tour Excursions  |   Editorial  |   Seasons Of The Sea  |   Scuba Diving  |   Reef Identification  |  
 
    Snorkeling in Grand Cayman, Cruise Ship Excursions,
Private Snorkeling Guide Photographer
Website Created in 1996   


Get up and go this weekend
Reef Identification: Grand Cayman Reefs 

Cayman Air Departing shot in Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands - Cayman Brac


Cayman Big Tunnels Diving the Cayman Islands is the easiest diving in the world. Short boat trips or shore diving provides dives with only very mild currents if any, protected reefs where marine life and coral grows in an almost pristine condition that can only be seen in very remote virgin coral reef islands. Every day you can dive the same reef and see marine life change or dive at different times during a day and see the daily changes of an ever changing marine life.

The island of Grand Cayman is divided into five different regions of ecosystems around the island. The most popular areas are off Seven Mile Beach which offers wall dives at 70 feet to 100 feet with Brain coral, deep sea fans, and large sponges. This is usually your first dive of the day.
Cayman Oreaverde Wreck The Second dive of the day is a 50 foot dive on the mid reef which offers abundant variety of Angle fish, Trigerfish, Tangs, of 8 to 14 inches in length to the smaller reef fish which are cleaner type fish of 2 to 3 inches which will tranquilize your eyes at the activity and overwhelming numbers with colors of the rainbow dancing in an endless movement of feeding. This area is usually a glass calm and dive operators mostly use pontoon boats off the beach to transport divers to dive sites within 3 to 10 minutes along the beach. Mooring buoys are used at all dive sites which allows easy descents and ascents with views of marine life during safety stops with 150 to 200 foot visibility. When north wind in the fall and winter occur, dive operations move to around to South harbor which then offers the calm seas.

Cayman Giant Tube Sponges The Next most popular area is the North Wall which includes the famous Tarpon Alley, Eagle Ray Pass and is where Sting Ray City is located just inside the reef. The deep reef starts in 60 to 70 feet with canyons and valleys which offer 4 to 5 foot tube sponges leaping from the walls, plate coral forming half cones growing along the walls sheltering cleaner fish of all shapes and colors. The points of each ridge offers gleam's of Eagle Rays, Hog nose Rays, Manta rays and other schools of Jack fish. The best time to see sharks along this wall is in April though June of each year.

Cayman North Wall Cayman Tarpon Alley usually is home to 100 to 500 3 to 4 foot long Tarpon. Best time to dive this area is June through August. The deep reef also offers the most spectacular reef on top with Stag horn coral growing to 5 to 6 feet of hiding places for reef fish like the rare Blue Indigo Damsel fish. The mid reef offers a large population of Lobsters of two main varieties. The Spotted Lobster and the colorful Spiny Lobsters. There are nooks and cracks where they hid and also will offer up nurse sharks resting in slumber around most corners. Sting Ray City

Eden's Rock and Devil's Grotto is the most photographed reef around the world. Either from a boat or from shore the diving of the reef starts in 5 ft of water and plummets to 50 feet with awesome caves and tunnels covered with silver sides in schools of 1000 (note these are a 2 to 3 inch minnow like fish.) to the massive 5 and 6 foot long graceful Tarpon gliding over the reef. Sea Anemone's abound at about 35 to 40 feet with parrot fish gouge the algae to make room for new coral growth. Usually I dive this site twice a day on my trips and get at least three night dives from shore which results in every dive different and spectacular than any other dive.

South Sound Best dove when north winds flow to the island resulting in flat seas. This area offers fields of 5 foot tall gorgians swaying with the gentle role of the sea. Large Barrel sponges of heights of 5 to 6 feet are numerous around the deep reefs of 70 to 100 feet close to the light house. Nurse sharks lurk in the 30 to 50 foot reefs by the edge of the sand where slight groves indent the bottom of coral mounds of 20 to 40 foot tall. French Angelfish and Queen Angle fish are numerous around every edge of the reef. Schoolmaster Snapper congregate at the leading edge of the reefs or on the up current side watching for easy meals a drift in the current.

East End offers the best diving when calm seas abound. The Elk horn coral forms the barrier reef just off shore making home to numerous marine fish of all colors and sizes.

Email us and let us know where and when you are looking for trips. We will up the web site soon on our trips

Request Your Spot Now!


We offer a group tours to Cayman Island, Belize, Honduras, Red Sea, Australia, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Saba and Bali .



    TRIP POLICIES:
     -   All trips must be paid in full 65 days prior to .
     -   There can be no refunds on unused travel unless the trip runs full.
     -   All accomidations are based on double occupancy.



Please Email Us ExploreUnderwater.com Specials

Email Us Now



Email Us Now

Photographer Monte Lee Thornton Grand Cayman Shore Snorkeling Guide Cayman Islands

Photo of Monte at Pirates Week Festivale 2008


btn_up.gif (342 bytes) Top of Page

Web site first created 14 March, 1996
Our Email for Information Here!

 

 

 
Our Sponser   
Cayman Islands Real Estate
One time purchase duty
No annual taxes
Cayman Islands


 
 

 

 

 
Our Books   














 
 

 
Order Photo Prints    


 
 

 
Ad Sponsers    

 
 

 
Overview  

    Information  
    Snorkeling Guide  
    Photography
    Travel Guide
    Tour Excursions
    Reef Identification
    Wall Diving
    Night Diving

    Cayman Pirates Week
    Editorial
    Seasons Of The Sea
    Scuba Diving
    Night Diving
    Cayman Charters
    Cayman Dive Locations
    Sitemap
    Contact Us
    Marine Ecology 
 
 


These pages are Copyright ©1996 Thru ©2010 All Rights Reserved. Read Site Map
 

These pages are Copyright ©1996 Thru ©2010
Email Us to Explore Underwater in the Cayman Islands
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form
or medium without express written permission of Editor is prohibited.

 

Site Created with NotePad - BSQ Network CommunicationsSite Created with NotePad - BSQ Network Communications - - - ------------------
---------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------