On the advice of a former boss, Gary Frost, owner of Living the Dream Diving on Grand Cayman, launched a lifelong career in the aquatic sport of diving.

“I was a very bad chef in England and an even worse cocktail bartender,” he says. “My boss suggested I take time off and go on a holiday in Spain. I had no idea what I’d do there, so he suggested I learn to dive.”

Frost picked up a brochure for a PADI dive center, and booked the open water course. “After that, I was completely obsessed,” he laughs. That obsession eventually led him to Grand Cayman in 2002 to work full time in the industry, finally opening a dive shop with his wife in 2009.

As a longtime local and industry insider, Frost knows all the best dive sites. “Obviously the Cayman Islands are known for boat diving,” he says. However, Frost points out that locals primarily use the shore diving facilities and believes visitors would really enjoy the experience, too, if only they knew where to go and how to do it.

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Frost says shore diving on Grand Cayman is easy and convenient, "unlike other places where you have to look for a marker on the side of the road, park your Jeep unattended and schlep your gear down the beach.”

In comparison, Grand Cayman’s shore dive sites are largely accessible near restaurants and bars or from designated lots which typically have people around. Many sit adjacent to dive facilities for additional support including navigation tips and rental gear. “This provides safety and security both in the water and for any belongings you leave on the shore,” he says, adding “and of course, the shore dives are absolutely spectacular.”

Where to Shore Dive on Grand Cayman

The Cayman Islands offer year-round diving in limpid, warm waters. It’s not uncommon to enjoy crystal-clear visibility of 35 meters on calm days.

Turtle Reef

Located on the northwest shore of Grand Cayman, this site offers easy access into the water via a ladder system. Also known as Macabuca for the popular bar and restaurant of the same name, it’s one of the most frequented dives for island denizens not just for ease of access but for a spectacular array of coral and wildlife thanks to a nutrient-dense current running through the area.

Divers typically head for the mini wall located around 200 feet from shore and starting at around 35 feet of depth to spot brain and star coral and various sponges. This site houses elephant ear sponges, typically a deep water dweller that thrives here due to the topography and current. Night diving reveals basket stars, one of the island’s most precious yet fragile reef animals. As for fauna, look out for the nudibranch, eels, seahorses, stingrays in the sand below and turtles. Large tarpon and schools of rainbow parrotfish also frequent the area. Divers surfacing at the steps of Macabuca bar can’t resist lingering for a bite and a beer.

Sunset House

This site earned acclaim for the 9-foot-tall mermaid statue located 55 feet below the water’s surface just ten minutes offshore. Sculpted by Simon Morris, the statue called Amphitrite lures underwater photographers keen to get a shot of the bronze beauty. There’s plenty more to see, however, including barrel sponges, schools of angel fish, snapper and barracuda. Hogfish, stingrays and conch can be found in the sandier spots.

A coral restoration project sits on the northern edge of the reef. As the name suggests, this is the house reef of the Sunset House Resort. As such, amenities include a dive shop, easy ladder entry, a secure parking lot and restaurants for a post-dive bite or tipple.

Devil’s Grotto and Eden Rock

Just off the Georgetown harbor downtown sits Devil’s Grotto. This shoredive buzzes with activity for numerous reasons: easy water access through a ladder entry, a unique swim-through cave and a tunnel system. Additional assistance and gear are available at the onsite Eden Rock Diving Center.

Swimming through glittering grottoes pierced by shafts of light through gaps in the rocks overhead is a surreal experience that changes on every dive. Following openings in the labyrinthine cave system, you’ll encounter the optimistic presence of new coral growth along with angelfish, parrot fish, barracuda and big schools of silversides evading hungry tarpon.

Eden’s Rock, an adjacent dive and snorkel site, features a reef that stretches from the sandy sea floor to a mere ten feet below the water’s surface, allowing for shallow water exploration that’s suitable for beginner and intermediate divers. A maximum depth of 50 feet helps stretch your tank for a longer bottom time.

Soto’s Reef

Living the Dream Divers occupies the original building used by Bob Soto to open the island’s first dive shop in 1957. The nearby reef, named for Soto, was the house reef then as it is today, providing an ideal spot for the center’s training and orientation dives.

Easy access, a shallow depth of 40 feet and a lack of current make it an obvious choice for beginners, but swim-throughs, caverns and tunnels jammed with jacks and tarpon, provide endless interest for all experience levels. Macro photographers have plenty to shoot if they can spot the smaller critters like banded coral shrimp and arrow crabs.

Lighthouse Point Reef

Located at the northwest corner of the island in West Bay, Lighthouse Point is home to dive operator Divetech. The outfit runs guided tours, day and night dives, and rents gear for this easy-entry house reef. Well-marked for navigation, divers reach a mini wall at around 300 feet from the shore.

Due to frequent, nutrient-rich currents, abundant fauna visit the area from macro-life to larger schools of fish, eagle rays and the occasional hammerhead shark. Perhaps the site’s most notable draw, however, is the Guardian of the Reef, another bronze sculpture by Simon Morris sunk in 2014. Representing a mythological creature that’s half ancient warrior and half seahorse, the statue represents the importance of marine conservation.

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Sea Fan Reef at Cobalt Coast

Divetech offers shore diving on its Cobalt Coast location. Divers enter the water using a ladder at the end of the dock to explore exactly what the name implies: a spectacular mess of sea fans spanning the hard pan leading out to a mini wall. The mini wall starts at 40-50 feet and drops to 65-70 feet running along the sandy floor. The topography parallels Turtle Reef and boasts abundant wildlife like snapper and barracuda, as well as occasional sightings of nurse sharks. Look out for giant barrel sponges tucked inside the deeper channels, too. A restaurant, dive shop and parking lot provide security and amenities.