What the diving is like
Three islands sitting on the tops of undersea mountains, so the drop-off is close to shore on all of them and the water is deep immediately beyond it. That geography gives the Cayman Islands their two constants: clear water, and a wall on most dives. Grand Cayman has the most diving and the most variety. The North Wall and the West Bay walls are the deep diving; the shallow reefs and the sand flats hold the macro; and the shore diving along Seven Mile Beach and at the eastern end of the island is unusually good, with entries you can walk into and reef within swimming distance. Two wrecks were sunk deliberately, the Kittiwake off Seven Mile Beach and the Doc Poulson, and the Cali and the Balboa lie in the harbour. Little Cayman is dived for Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson Bight. The reef top is at about eight metres and the wall falls vertically from there into open ocean. It is a short, sheltered stretch of coast with a long line of moorings on it, and the wall is the reason most people come to the island. Cayman Brac has quieter diving on the same kind of ground, plus the Russian frigate sunk off the north-west coast, which is the largest wreck in the islands and lies in a depth that can be dived on air. Stingray City, on the North Sound of Grand Cayman, is a sand bar in three to four metres where southern stingrays gather. It has been fed for decades, it is busy, and it is a snorkelling and shallow-dive attraction rather than a wild encounter, which is worth knowing before booking it.
The shape of a day
Two-tank morning boat trips are standard and the boat rides are short, because the wall is minutes from the dock. Grand Cayman's shore diving means an afternoon or a night dive does not need a boat at all. Little Cayman is small enough that the diving, the accommodation and the airstrip are within a few minutes of each other.
Getting there
Owen Roberts International on Grand Cayman, with direct flights from the United States and the United Kingdom. Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are reached by a short domestic flight, on aircraft with a strict baggage allowance that matters if you are carrying camera equipment.
When to come
Year-round. April to August is calmest. Winter cold fronts move the diving from the north side of the islands to the south for a day or two at a time, which is a change of site rather than a lost day. Hurricane season runs June to November.
Fees and what is not included
The islands have an extensive marine park system with permanent moorings, and anchoring is prohibited on the reef. Marine park and port fees change; check what the operator is quoting.