Location: Caribbean > Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
You don’t have to be certified to visit the Caymans…but from the number of scuba shops on Grand Cayman alone (more than 40 of them), you might be excused for thinking that if you haven’t memorized your dive tables, you won’t have anything to talk about at dinner. No worries, because this trio of islands with dazzling reefs also has its share of above-water charms
Grand Cayman’s hotel-lined Seven-Mile may fall a mile or so shy of 7 miles, but when the sand is pure powder-soft, who’s counting? If you’re looking for the right Gucci accessory to go with your beach towel, head downtown to George Town, the capital of this British Crown Colony, where duty-free shopping and, conveniently, offshore banking are national pastimes
Most visitors never venture beyond Grand Cayman, but the 18th-century pirates who once favored neighboring Cayman Brac have now been replaced by savvy travelers looking for a quiet place to test drive a hammock with the blue Caribbean as a backdrop. Meanwhile, it’s mostly fishermen and divers who stay in the handful of small hotels on Little Cayman, where bonefish and tarpon (and ever-present iguanas) are favorite topics of conversation.
In the end, however, it is the diving that takes center stage. You can snorkel with mild-mannered stingrays at Stingray City on Grand Cayman, cruise the world famous walls of Bloody Bay on Little Cayman, or explore the wreck of a Russian ship sunk as an artificial reef off Cayman Brac. And for those who prefer to stay dry, a submarine tour on Grand Cayman takes visitors down to 100 feet into the silent world.
 Cayman Brac is just about the same size as Manhattan (2 miles wide, 12 miles long), but the skyline that gives this Caribbean its name is natural: a sheer limestone bluff (brac in Gaelic) that runs the center of the island and sets it apart from its low-lying sister isles, Grand Cayman and Little Cayman.
Fewer than 2,000 residents make their home on "The Brac," and like its sister isles, the island is best known as a destination for divers who really want to put in some bottom time. Wall and reef dives abound, along with the wreck of a Russian destroyer (renamed the M.V. Captain Keith Tibbets...
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 Thirty or so years ago, Little Cayman was a backwater Caribbean hideaway for a handful of hardy divers and fishermen who didn’t mind roughing it at lodges where electricity meant cranking up the generator. Needless to say, the amenities at the handful of small resorts have been upgraded (air-conditioning and satellite TV do make life a little easier), but the island’s population still barely tops 100, and diving and fishing remain the main attractions.
Little Cayman may be only 10 miles long, but it’s often ranked among the world’s top 10 dive spots. Of the more than 50 dive sites, the best...
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 When divers dream of a trip to the Caribbean, chances are that Grand Cayman is the first island that comes to mind. It's the cornerstone of a reef-rich archipelago that includes sister islands Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Grand Cayman itself has more than 150 dive sites, but snorkelers won't feel left out: In fact, the most popular underwater attraction is Stingray City, where divers and snorkelers alike can swim with and feed stingrays that have wingspans up to six feet. (If you prefer to keep your feet dry, you can sightsee by submarine on a 48-passenger underwater vessel.)
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