Grand Cayman

A standard day is a two-tank morning boat, deep site first and a shallower reef second, with the afternoon left open. Boats tie into fixed moorings rather than anchor, so each site is worked from a set point. Because the island has real roads and a lot of operators, that afternoon is genuinely usable: the shore entries near George Town have steps, parking and fills close by, so an unguided third dive is a short drive rather than an expedition. North Sound trips normally pair the stingray stop with a reef dive.

A shallow reef flat rings the island and ends in a drop, and which coast you dive is decided by the morning's wind rather than by preference. The north side is the steep one and takes the longest run out, so it needs a settled day. The west side off Seven Mile Beach is gentler, with sand chutes running between coral heads and the shortest boat rides, which is why most operators work it. The East End and south side see far fewer boats, and diving them regularly means basing over that way.

The stingray encounter is two places rather than one: a waist-deep sandbar that works as a snorkel, and a nearby dive site in a few metres of water. The rays are wild but long habituated, since boat crews have fed them squid there for decades, and the area is managed with rules covering feeding and handling. The shore diving in town is the other surprise, and it changes through the year: its caverns fill with silversides over the summer with tarpon hunting them in the light shafts, and a bronze mermaid set in the sand off one of the George Town dive hotels has become a fixture of the same coast.

This is the low-friction option in the region, and that is rather the point: a wide choice of operators, nitrox at most shops, a hyperbaric chamber on the island, and plenty for a non-diving partner to do. It suits families, mixed-ability groups and anyone logging a first wall dive. The trade-offs are cost and company, since the west-side sites nearest town see steady traffic and the cruise-ship schedule is felt on the water. Divers after empty reef will want the Sister Islands instead.