The Cayman Islands are world renowned for their incredible scuba diving and snorkelling. The underwater visibility is second to none, the seas are calm and there are virtually no currents. A host of dive operators can teach you how to dive, improve your skills, take you snorkelling with friendly stingrays and even turn your passion into a career. Indeed the Cayman Islands offer a wealth of opportunity for anyone interested in getting in, under or on the water, at every level of experience.

LEARNING TO DIVE

 Learning to dive is a "must do" for many new arrivals. Without question the most popular form of diver education is made available by an organisation called PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and is available from a variety of dive operators in Cayman. Having said that, many people "try a dive" prior to committing to a full certification programme and this is an excellent way of testing the water, if you'll excuse the pun. Commonly known on Island as the Resort Course, it consists of a short theory session where you'll learn the simple do's and don'ts, be given an introduction to the equipment and an explanation of some very basic skills. You will get to dive in a pool to become acclimatised to being underwater and then you get to do a real dive in the ocean with your instructor. This programme normally takes about three hours and is a great way to see if diving is for you.

 While the Resort Course is a fantastic introduction, it does have its limitations. You have to go with an instructor, you are limited to a shallow depth and it is only relevant in Cayman. If you want to go further, the next step is to complete the PADI course, get certified and go diving.

 The PADI Open Water course is often completed in as little as three days and is the licence you need to dive! This is the minimum qualification required to rent equipment, go on excursions and basically get you in and out of the water safely. Many dive stores/operators on the Island will offer weekend courses designed to suit your schedule. This extremely popular course is open to those aged 15 years and up. Children aged 10-14 years old may become certified to Junior Open Water level, although this is at the instructor's discretion, so we advise you to discuss this option with your dive centre. Options even exist for you to be taught at home in your own pool!

 For the little ones, there are lots of educational and fun water-based scuba/snorkel activities that kids can participate in while parents are out diving! Programmes include SASY (from age five), Rangers or Seals (from age eight), Junior Open Water Diver (from age 10) and of course guided diving excursions to the shallow reefs and Stingray City.

 Programmes range from pool sessions to ocean adventures, with kids learning about marine life, fish identification, coral reefs, taking underwater photos or a cruise on an underwater scooter. As young ambassadors to the marine environment, the kids will delight you with the knowledge that they gain while learning to dive.

 Once you are certified and have joined the diving family, there are endless opportunities to go diving on the Island. Shore diving is a very popular weekend pursuit and you'll find new diving friends at various locations. Sunset House, Don Fosters and DiveTech are some of the oldest dive resorts on the Island which boast great shore diving. Ask for discounted rates for residents. 

 Once you have gained your initial certification, not only can you shore dive at various locations, you can also go on arranged excursions. This is the best way to discover the 'Walls' of Cayman. For many the main reason to dive in Cayman is to explore the most amazing walls and drop-offs that surround the Island. You will soon have your favourite sites and conversations will turn to North West Point, Tarpon Alley, Great House Wall, Orange Canyon and coral covered swim-throughs leading out to the crystal azure, where you'll share inner space with Eagle Rays, Horse Eyed Jacks and Hawksbill Turtles. The only disappointment will be that you should have learnt to do this years ago!

 Before long, you will be taking two tank (two dive) trips to explore the renowned beauty of the West Wall which borders Seven Mile Beach, the breathtaking North Wall and East End, where dynamic scenery and encounters with large species of fish are frequent. Generally, dive boats will leave early and get you home for lunch. The first dive will probably be one of the wall dives you have heard so much about. Experienced divers will have the opportunity to explore with their dive buddy, while novices choose to be guided. The best thing about guided dives is that the instructors know where they are going and will show you the very best that particular site has to offer. After a short surface interval you will be back on a second dive on one of Cayman's shallow reefs. Exploring the nooks and crannies of the reef will enable you to see a host of amazing creatures: lobsters, eels, soft coral, anemonies and more. The colours will amaze you and are exaggerated due to the increased level of light at shallower depths.

 Sunset House operates just south of George Town and provides great shore diving as well as boat dives. DiveTech is located both at Cobalt Coast (northwest Cayman) and more recently at Lighthouse Point, a brand new and hardly dived location in West Bay. They also offer great shore dives and boat dives to the walls and have extremely experienced staff offering a number of courses including several advanced/technical programmes. DiveTech's mini wall is a must see! Finally you should also head out to visit Ocean Frontiers in East End to experience some dramatic wall dives with bigger fish. (I saw a nurse shark, reef shark and a hammerhead in a single dive here! Ed.)

 Once you have got the dive bug you should head over to the Sister Islands for a few days of relaxing into the slower pace of life and diving some of Cayman's most pristine dive sites and all only a 30 minute flight away. You will not be disappointed in Little Cayman and the Bloody Bay Wall with its beautiful drops-off, corals and marine life. In the Brac you will find one of the Caribbean's most unusual shipwrecks, the 330ft Russian frigate, MV Captain Keith Tibbetts. This destroyer was sunk in the spring of 1998 at a maximum depth of 110ft by the Cayman Islands government and is now a popular dive destination. (When my dive buddy and I dived this wreck we were the only ones brave enough to enter the hull of the ship to explore the passageways, gun turrets and bridge completely uninterrupted. Awesome! Ed.)

SNORKLING AREAS

DIVING AREAS