My wife and I just returned from an 8 day/7 night dive vacation at
Cobalt Coast, on the NW corner of Grand Cayman.  We opted for the
mostly-all-inclusive plan which included all meals, seven days of
two-tank morning dives, and unlimited shore diving… in short, everything
but alcohol.  The trip wasn’t cheap, but we got plenty of value for our
money.
    Actually, it was the best dive vacation we could have imagined.
The onsite dive company, Divetech (www.divetech.com) concentrates on the
world-class wall diving of the North Wall, and they were terrific.
Groups ranged from 8-12 divers and it was never more than a thirty
minute trip from harbor to dive site (Although they have a dock, they
take you from the resort to the marina by van to save boat travel
time).  The dives were great; my wife saw four hammerheads in seven
days!  The North Wall is spectacular, with the 60’ reef plunging almost
straight down to depths of one to two thousand feet.  Spotted eagle rays
were common, as was the number and variety of reef fish.  We saw plenty
of sea turtles, green morays, tarpon and barracuda.  The operator
honored requests, once even unmooring the boat after he discovered we’d
dived the site earlier in the week.
    We also took advantage of the unlimited shore diving, taking an
afternoon or night dive every day of the week.  We did the obligatory
Stingray City dive (Divetech plans their arrival to miss the traffic –
we were the only divers in the water.)  Other than that, we either dove
off the Cobalt Coast dock or got a ride from one of the friendly
Divetech staff to their other shop at Turtle Reef (right next door to
the Turtle Farm).  The Turtle Reef site was the more interesting of the
two and didn’t require a surface swim.  If you’re lazy, though, you can
rent underwater scooters at Cobalt Coast.  They even offer a 1.2 mile
guided scooter dive from the Cobalt Coast site to Turtle Reef.
    The resort itself (www.cobaltcoast.com) was everything it was
billed to be; there’s a reason Rodale’s rated it the number one dive
resort in the Caribbean last year.  It only has 18 rooms, and the
amazing owner, Arie, gives you the personalized touch throughout your
stay.  We stayed in a spacious ocean-front suite with kitchenette and
the most comfortable bed I’ve slept in away from my own house.  I’ve
never been taken care of like I was at Cobalt Coast.  If there was even
the slightest problem, like me not being able to send an email home the
evening we arrived, Arie handled it personally.  “Here, use my phone to
let your family know you’re safe, then we’ll figure out how to get you
online.”  From tips on things to do to directions through the maze-like
West Bay to making us a flaming desert at our table when he learned it
was our anniversary, Arie was the best.
    And the food?  We were initially nervous about purchasing the meal
plan – what if it wasn’t very good?  Not to worry.  Arie’s German chef,
Peter, made every single meal first class.  How can you gain seven
pounds in a week while diving three times a day?  Eat at Cobalt Coast.
Once we discovered the food was so terrific, we abandoned our pre-trip
plans of dining in Georgetown a couple of nights and ate at the resort
exclusively.
    If you’re looking for night life or if you don’t dive, Cobalt Coast
might not be your first choice.  It’s in a secluded spot with no sand
beach (though it has a pool), but if you love peace and quiet and
beautiful, romantic views of the Caribbean sunsets, and if everyone in
your party dives, you can’t go wrong.  We did take the bus into town for
a few hours of shopping one afternoon, and only rented a car for our
last no-diving-on-flight-day day.  The rental car was inexpensive ($35 +
$7.50 for a temporary license), but be warned they drive on the left
side.
    In short, it was an outstanding experience.  The only drawback is
that my wife and I are nervous about our next anniversary diving trip
being a letdown.