Kids Sea Camp, Cayman Islands
by Melinda Herndon
GM, scuba.com

Do you enjoy diving vacations but feel bad about dragging your kids along and having them feel bored out of their minds while you are gone?  If so, Kids Sea Camp may be the place for you.  Between the dive classes and various other planned activities for the kids, it will not be possible for them to feel anything except exhaustion at the end of the day.

We chose the Cayman Islands Kids Sea Camp because it worked for us for summer activity timing.  Cobalt Coast was the hotel and it is adjacent to Dive Tech, which runs the diving portion of the Camp. We had a briefing and reception the first evening and were informed that we would be “game on” as of 7:45am the following day.

After a pleasant breakfast, parents and kids divide up and parents take off for two boat dives and the kids start on their academic journey towards a variety of diving certifications that best fits their age and ability.  Classes include sassy, scuba rangers, jr open water & jr open water advanced. You might even find a couple of grownups hanging out in the advanced class, which offered the usual dives, but in addition, included an underwater propulsion vehicle dive.

When parents get back from their boat dives, they can take it easy or knock out a shore dive.  In any event, adults have the afternoon open to around 3:30pm when the kids finish up with their instruction and activities.

Kids Sea Camp does a great job of integrating the main attractions of the area into the kids’ itinerary.  For example: kids went on a field trip to the Cayman Islands Turtle Farm one day, where they got to release a turtle into the Ocean.  On the final day of the camp, kids and parents joined up for the final dive of the trip at Stingray City.  This is considered by  many to be one of the ten best shallow dives in the world.  It is a perfect dive for families to enjoy together since it offers clear water, the chance to encounter stingrays and less than 12’ of depth.

Kids Sea Camp also offers kids the chance to express themselves artistically.  Kids get a mini art class, paint and canvas and get to create their own aquatic masterpieces.

For grown ups, I would recommend renting a car at the airport, or a scooter from 7 mile beach because you will find yourself with time on your hands and a short round trip taxi ride to town will cost over $50 from Cobalt Coast Resort.  There is the option of local busses (passenger vans) that run on no particular schedule with no designated route, but seem to be amply distributed throughout Grand Cayman and cost $2.00 per ride.

Don’t forget to mail a postcard from Hell, Grand Cayman.  It is a short walk from Cobalt Coast Resort and worth an hour for the classic “Hell” postmark and the jagged coral formations that you will find there are somewhat interesting viewing.

You should go to 7 mile beach one afternoon with the kids.  On the Beachside, there is a Courtyard by Marriott  that has a Red Sail Sports and there you can rent a jet ski or a banana boat or if you are not snorkeled and scuba dived out entirely, you can bring your mask and snorkel and view the reef from 7 mile beach.  The North Wall, which is a short swim off the dock at Cobalt Coast represents the best diving on the island, bit 7 mile beach offers a real, sandy beach, other water sports choices, shopping and lots of great dining options.

So, if you seek an adventure where you can dive and meet lots of very nice like minded people, who set their kids enjoyment as a priority for a family vacation, you won’t regret your participation in Kids Sea Camp.  Your kids will love it, and you will love the fact that you can turn scuba diving into a family adventure.