WetPhotoGuy 1 Posted January 29 Hi everyone, I hope your new year is off to a great start. I am taking a trip to Grand Cayman soon. I am seeking advice from anyone who has had the chance to go there on a couple questions. Did you need a photo permit to bring your photo gear? Did you have a favorite reef? Did you have a favorite wreck? Thank you for any insight you may have. All the best! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redwing 8 Posted January 29 (edited) You do not need a photo permit. My favorite wreck (artificial reef) is the HMS Kittiwake. Trinity is a nice dive with three extended swim-throughs. I always try and get at least one dive at Stingray City, although Stingray interactions are no longer guaranteed as feeding of the rays was suspended during COVID. Although, we did have a successful encounter there two weeks ago. EDIT: The Stingrays at Stingray City are typically fed squid. So if you object to this type of encounter, be advised. Edited January 29 by Redwing 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WetPhotoGuy 1 Posted January 29 7 hours ago, Redwing said: You do not need a photo permit. My favorite wreck (artificial reef) is the HMS Kittiwake. Trinity is a nice dive with three extended swim-throughs. I always try and get at least one dive at Stingray City, although Stingray interactions are no longer guaranteed as feeding of the rays was suspended during COVID. Although, we did have a successful encounter there two weeks ago. EDIT: The Stingrays at Stingray City are typically fed squid. So if you object to this type of encounter, be advised. These are so fantastic!!! I hope tocapture some shots as good as these! Thank you for your feed back and for sharing the pics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterpixel 68 Posted January 29 (edited) Hi, I have only been once to Grand Cayman and have loved the fantastic visibility that the island offered. UW photography Fantastic fisheye destination for reef and cave scenes There is no need to scuba dive for stingray city, snorkeling is perfectly fine (bring just a rashguard / boots and fins are nowadays not allowed there in any case). : for split shots, take a larger dome. After stingray city, try to pop a few minutes nearby at starfish point (midday is the best as you would cast the least amount of shadow), near Kaibo yacht club I did not find Grand Cayman to be very fishy, but the coral was fantastic. My favorite divesites were the wall dives were you can see protruding sponges tube and barrel sponges I only dove with Ocean Frontiers (east end), and the overall operation was fantastic. Some of the diveguides are great UW photographers themselves and will help you take the shot to bring home, or at least give you tips on each dive site specifity. I have not been there but heard about some nice shorediving on West bay for macro/critters I have not shot macro there but there are cute blennies around! Cayman in general Driving around is very easy I loved Crystal cave attraction and the botanical garden (bring a 90mm/105mm lens there, you'll find it great to take portraits of the residents blue iguanas) And that's about it for land based touristic spots (avoid "Hell", very disappointing but thank god it's free) Drone laws are very accomodating and the only places you are not allowed to fly over or nearby are the airport/prison and of course any private residence/crowd. Everything is expensive, even data roaming. Download on your map app the island for offline use. It was great to look for places while driving around I am terrible with dive site names but loved Snapper hole and Babylon. EDIT : i want to also add that any map of Cayman Island (from the airport or rental cars etc) will have a list of at least 200+ divesites. Edited January 29 by waterpixel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WetPhotoGuy 1 Posted January 29 Thank you for the amazing detail Alex! This was super thorough and helpful! You rock! I am so excited to go. I can't wait. All the best, Ken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redwing 8 Posted January 29 19 hours ago, WetPhotoGuy said: Hi everyone, I hope your new year is off to a great start. I am taking a trip to Grand Cayman soon. I am seeking advice from anyone who has had the chance to go there on a couple questions. Did you need a photo permit to bring your photo gear? Did you have a favorite reef? Did you have a favorite wreck? Thank you for any insight you may have. All the best! I highly recommend Indigodivers and Indepth Watersports dive charters. Both are photography friendly. Indepth is also the go to tech diving charter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
