Diving Cayman Islands

Cayman is recognized as the birthplace of recreational diving in the Caribbean. Scuba pioneer Bob Soto opened Grand Cayman's first dive shop in 1957. Today, Cayman is a top dive destination, with more than 40 dive operations and 200 dive sites marked with moorings. The warm, calm waters, 100 ft. plus visibility and breath-taking variety of marine life offer a world of exciting logbook entries. Each island offers very different diving adventures for divers of all levels from novice to Nitrox and Tec diving.

Grand Cayman visitors can choose from a wonderland of more than 159 dive sites. It's all here: steep, deep walls adorned with sponges and corals in a stunning array of colors, shallow reefs filled with schooling and solitary fish and small invertebrates, and wrecks featuring photogenic structures and curious marine residents. There's also the World's Best 12 Foot Dive - unique Stingray City.

Grand Cayman's reefs offer a variety of marine life encounters. The fish and critters are unafraid of divers, knowing we pose no threat. They don't flee when approached. Instead, silvery Tarpon hover motionless in mid-water, surrounded by glittery Silversides, and French Angelfish that fin in close to check you out. Huge Barrel Sponges and swirling schools of fish are common off Grand Cayman. These reefs are unspoiled while orgonians and hard corals thrive in the clear, warm waters. Most dive sites are just minutes offshore.

The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman have preserved that elusive tranquility and natural island charm many search all over the world for. Located 89 miles northeast from Grand Cayman, they are a short flight but an enchanting world away, an eco-tourism paradise for divers and nature-lovers. Their legendary walls and breathtaking marine life have thrilled many of the world's most famous underwater photographers for decades.

Professional dive operations offer services ranging from instruction to underwater photography centers. Above water, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are as colorful and exciting as the surrounding Caribbean Sea. Discovering the treasures of each enthralls curious travelers, nature lovers and photographers. Little Cayman, at only 10 miles long and a mile wide, offers that rare combination of sun-blessed solitude, glistening beaches and miles of untouched tropical wilderness. Here, shy iguanas and rare birds outnumber humans. Bloody Bay Marine Park is one of the world's truly legendary dive sites: the sheer coral wall begins at 20 ft. and plunges to 6000 ft.