Cayman Islands – A Diver’s Paradise

For a lot of tourists, the Cayman Islands could mean a lot of things. They love the sun, the beaches, the stingrays, and the food. For the divers, however, the Cayman Islands are just short of paradise.

There is never a shortage of scuba diving sites in the islands, a beach and diver’s haven in the Caribbean. Each of these scuba diving site has unique features all its own.

There are fascinating steep walls, marine creatures in fantastic colors and shapes, coral formations, sunken wrecks lying on the ocean floor – all these are present in all of the three islands. Here are some of the top diving sites.

Stingray City

Stingray City in Grand Cayman is the most photographed dive site in probably all of the Caribbean. The famous friendly stingrays have been featured in many ads, documentaries and travel articles since its discovery in 1986.

Today, there are many visitors from all over the world who came and visit Stingray City to pet and feed the rays. The scuba diving site is very shallow, 12 to 20 feet, making them ideal for divers and snorkelers.

Trinity Caves

This has a maze of canyon trails, 60 to 100 feet deep, located at the north end of Seven Mile beach. The reef is filled with sea fans, black corals, barrel sponges, and many others.

It is named after the three caves that look like cathedrals which are home to large turtles, groupers, squirrel fish, lobsters and other reef fish.

The Wreck of the Balboa

The Balboa is a 375-feet freighter that sank 30 feet below George Town Harbor. It is most beautiful at night for photography or video.

Visibility is very good, although it is best for only small groups to explore it because the silt around might be disturbed.

The Hobbit

The site is located at the southeast tip of Cayman Brac and divers usually feel they are hobbits in that place. It is inhabited by giant barrel sponges, corals, turtles and chubs.

There are also the queen triggerfish, grunts, octopi, and queen angels. The site is best for intermediate to advanced scuba divers.

Radar Reef

This site has a series of canyons and coral pinnacles which houses a wide variety of sea whips, feather dusters, barrel and tube sponges, sea fans corals, and starfishes.

These are joined in by octopi, turtles, and stingrays, among others. It has a calm surface and can be reached by boat or swam from the beach.

Bloody Bay Wall

This site at Little Cayman starts with a depth of 15 feet and then drops into a very deep bottom. This is one of the best sites in the Cayman Islands.

You will see soft corals, pastel gorgonians and lavender (or bright orange) tube sponges.
There are also large parrot fishes and turtles exploring the area.

Little Cayman Wall

This site starts out shallow and then drops to unknown depths. Snorkelers can enjoy the area with the presence of yellow, orange and blue sponges along with the soft corals. It is accessible by boats.

There are still diving sites around the islands that are yet to be “discovered” and named. But even with this list of diving sites, you will already have your hands full exploring these fantastic marine sites. Remember, they can only be found here in the Cayman Islands.