Top Aquatic Attractions in the Cayman Islands

Stingray City:

Located in the shallow waters of the northwest corner of Grand Cayman's North Sound, its been called the worlds best 12 foot dive and for good reason. Almost every visitor to the island books a trip to this site at least once (sometimes more than once).

The site has been around for years, first discovered by Skin Diver magazine writers and photographers in the early 1980s. Fishermen used to clean their catches in the shallow, calm waters. The local Stingray populations, natural bottom feeders always looking for a free meal, make daily visits to the site and often stay until they get their fill.

Guests traveling to the site, a short boat ride from Seven Mile Beach, can often watch the stingrays following the boats anticipating a free meal. Dozens of stingrays, both large and small, glide to the site and then quickly surround the divers and snorkelers.

Stingrays are often misunderstood as being aggressive, but in reality, they don't mind being touched and hand-fed small pieces of squid or bait fish. If you're going to visit Stingray City, be sure to plan an early-morning adventure as the many daily visitors can stir up the sand and make the water cloudy.

Sunset House Mermaid:

Located just off the shoreline of Sunset House Resort, the famous bronze mermaid (also known as Amphitrite) has been attracting scuba divers for more than a decade. Created by diving enthusiast and sculptor Simon Morris, the statue has had virtually thousands of visitors.

According to Morris, Cayman Island tourism officials were looking for something that both divers and snorkelers could enjoy and approached him about creating a memorable piece. The resulting 13-ft. statue was created to help illustrate the relationship that divers have with the aquatic realm. The size of the statue and prominent placement make it almost impossible to miss and many underwater photographers have found Amphitrite to be a spectacular subject for underwater photography.