Our Top 10 Dive Sites

Our Top 10 Dives is a very difficult list to put together! Thanks to the Dive 365 initiative by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Department of Environment and Department of Tourism we now have 365 moored dive sites throughout all three of the Cayman Islands! With 234 of these sites being around Grand Cayman we have an astounding variety of dive sites to choose from!

It was extremely difficult to choose the best sites from this selection as much depends on conditions on the day such as current, visibility, wind, waves etc. After much debate amongst the team at Wall to Wall Diving we chose our favourites based on having good conditions at each site. The sites are not listed in any particular order; they are all great sites with different things to offer to any diver. So, without further ado here are the official Wall to Wall Diving top 10 dive sites on Grand Cayman:

Northwest Point Drop-off

Northwest Point Drop-off: the last dive site on the West side of the island before you go around the corner to the North wall. A deep dive, the bottom of the mooring pin is at 60ft. This site frequently has some current running East to West which makes for really healthy corals and sponges as they are “force-fed”. The best site on the island for seeing moray eels. If there is current present Wall to Wall Diving will often do this as a drift dive to make the most of the site.

La Mesa

La Mesa: a spectacular shallow dive site on the West side of Grand Cayman. Teeming with life this is a site that possibly has the highest fish biodiversity on the entire island. A popular choice with our fish counting friends from REEF! A shallow tabletop drops away into canyon ways and coral fingers that head out towards the edge of the drop off.

Blackie’s Hole

A unanimous choice from all the team! A little dived site on the Southwest corner of the island. Here the wall is more sloping with huge sand ravines that drop away to the depths. Fantastic coral coverage and fish life and, of course, Blackie’s Hole itself which is a 50ft swim through often filled with silversides and their predators.

Ghost Mountain

This site is remotely located on the North wall and not often dived due to its position. An awesome pinnacle that juts up seemingly from nowhere, Ghost Mountain is festooned with gorgonian fans and sponges of all types. Frequently surrounded by a huge school of horse-eye jacks this is a wide angle photographers dream site. At Wall to Wall Diving we are more than happy to go that extra mile (or five miles in this case!) to get to the best spots!

Tarpon Alley East

A tricky site to get to on the North wall due to waves and visibility but on a good day this a favourite and provides the best chances of seeing sharks! Like all North wall sites strong Northeasterly winds during the winter months mean that the best time to dive here is during the summer months. Situated just outside a channel through the barrier reef the visibility can be affected on a low tide but when the conditions are right this site can blow your socks off! A sheer drop off which is frequented by many turtles and spotted eagle rays with reef and hammerhead sharks making the occasional pass by.

Eagle Ray Pass

A firm favourite amongst regular Grand Cayman divers. A spectacular canyonway cuts through the reef here and spills you onto the wall at 100ft. The sites’ namesakes are often seen cruising along the wall here. Like most North wall sites the drop off is close to vertical and the top of the wall is only at 45ft which makes for great shallow dives also.

Ex USS Kittiwake

Finally sunk in January 2011 after a seven year acquisition process the Kittiwake has quickly proved to be a popular dive! The wreck has been made extremely diver friendly. So much so that you do not need to have a wreck certification to dive on it, although without that certification you are required to follow our instructors! After two years underwater the wreck is starting to get some nice sponge and juvenile coral growth and the fish have moved in in force! See our dedicated Kittiwake webpage for more details.

Babylon

Another North wall site but this is situated down towards the East end of the island and it’s remote location means that it is infrequently visited. Wall to Wall Diving goes there as part of our 3-tank Cayman Rover trip. A beautiful pinnacle sits snug up against the main wall and the gap in between is full of luxuriant black coral and gorgonian fan growth. Conditions for this trip are best during the summer months.

Charlie’s Caverns

A shallow dive on the South side of the island. One of our newest sites the mooring was recently installed as part of the Dive 365 initiative. Previously we would sometimes drop anchor here but when we got the opportunity to get a mooring here we jumped on it! Named after Giles’ eldest son this is truly a Wall to Wall Diving favourite. 20ft at it’s shallowest the reef drops into 50ft in the canyonways and is home to amazing coral formations with archways, caves and swimthroughs covering the area like a maze. Always a good spot to find all types of lobster, eels and the occasional nurseshark.

Big Tunnels

A West wall classic! The bottom of the mooring line is only 40ft but, as the name suggests, there are a series of canyonways and amazing arches which you can follow throughout the dive. There are normally some huge tarpon hanging motionless until they lazily move out of your way! We definitely recommend you follow us on this site to see the best it has to offer!