TRAVELSPECIAL
Winner of the cleanest carapace trophy 2025
Spiny Lobster hangout
Caribbean reef sharks are often seen
BEST FOR Sandbars, beaches and walls
Grand Cayman
PHOTOS: KIRSTY ANDREWS
What to expect: From shallow sandbars patrolled by stingrays to steep walls plunging thousands of metres off the continental shelf, Grand Cayman has diversity in spades. The average water temperature should be around 27 ° C during winter, while air temperatures are similar, reaching 29 ° C with cooling breezes. Technically, the Caymans are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, though there is a big American influence and this filters into diving culture.
Possibly the best known dive site is Stingray City, named for the southern stingrays that cruise the sandy shallows. Espoused by local centres as‘ the world’ s best 12ft dive’, it started when fishermen used to clean their daily catch in this area, leading to the rays growing habituated to people. There is an even shallower site, Sandbar, popular with snorkellers and families, where the same rays congregate in just a metre of water. This makes the area popular with photographers seeking to create the tricky‘ up and under’ images of stingrays and sky popularised by National Geographic’ s David Doubilet.
Grand Cayman is known for its coral walls, decked with sponges and frequented by turtles and eagle rays. Caribbean reef sharks are quite common and there’ s some decent fish life: look out for French grunts, spotted goatfish and trumpetfish hiding amid the plume coral.
Grand Cayman’ s signature wreck is the USS Kittiwake, a submarine rescue vessel decommissioned in 1994 and sunk as an artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach in January 2011. The depth range is 5-25m and the structure has become a haven for marine life, frequented by turtles, barracuda and eagle rays. Don’ t leave without: Visiting Tarpon Alley, known for its eponymous tarpon, the big predatory fish of the Caymans. The site features narrow swim-throughs that open onto a steep wall, where tarpon and silversides are a major attraction. Sadly for winter visitors, the big silverside schools are a summer phenomenon, but Tarpon Alley and Snapper Hole are still worth a winter wander.
Smugness rating: It’ s a solid high. In terms of comfort winter is the best time to visit the Caymans, before the stultifying heat of summer. It’ s a stable, safe destination, at a time when you should be clear of hurricane season. There’ s certainly not as many species as the Indo-Pacific, but more than enough to sustain interest, and an easier journey.
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