Babylon near Queen's Monument Dive and Snorkel Site | Photos | Directions

Babylon might be the best place to snorkel if you are a good swimmer. The entry and exit can be a bit tricky if the seas are rough. Not many people go there like the millions that go to Eden Rock and the rest so there is 100 times more to see and in better condition.

Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2005 Posts: 2

Its a terrific dive if you can handle the swim. Watch out for rough water, I had to rescue my girlfriend last time we dove there. I guess if it was easy everyone would go and it would no be so good. Everything's a trade of of sorts.

Newbie Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 12 Location: Tampa, FL

Just wondering how far off shore Babylon is and the depth. I will be in Grand cayman this summer and looking for some great places to snorkel. Thanks Smile

Newbie Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 7

Jessie, Babylon is more of a dive site. I guess you could snorkel in the shallow area, but we go there mostly for the wall dive and the incredible scenery on the way to and from the wall. The shallow area before the wall goes from about 20 to 40 feet so it is shallow enough to snorkel. If the seas are rough I would not do it. If it's calm you would probably love it. The reefs are in much better shape there than most any other place I have found on G.Cayman.

Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:27 pm Post subject:

I've been diving GC for 5 years and have never heard of Babylon. Embarassed

Where is it?

Newbie Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 7

It's in the North side by Old Man Bay. It will take you 15 minutes or so to swim out to it, but there is great reef and lots of sealife along the way so we usually snorkel out and dive back.

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 5:49 am Post subject:

Thank you!! Looks great... Have to check it out. Appreciate the directions and photos. Can't get lost now!!

Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2005 Posts: 3

My wife and I have been to Babylon a few times and loved it. It's not the easiest place to find and I am not sure we even did the right site, but we found caverns filled with beautiful black coral and the whole area was in much better shape than any of the reefs we went to by boat. I would not recommend this place to beginners or if the water is choppy.

Newbie Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 3

This looks excellent. Been going there for 3 years and never heard of it. Love this site, thanks for all the good info... Cheers

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject:

In the map above, it says "Queen Monument". What exactly is Queen Monument?

Frequent Flyer Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 41

corntobewild wrote:

In the map above, it says "Queen Monument". What exactly is Queen Monument?

It's an old monument to Queen Elizabeth II located on North Side. People use it as a landmark and for directions mostly. It was not long ago that there were little or no street signs so they used landmarks for directions. Wink

Status Member Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 765

Actually, the monument is not that old. It was dedicated during the Queen's visit in 1984. Before that time the road ended at that point and didn't begin again until Morritt's. There was a trail that was used to get from Old Man Bay to East End, but if you wanted to drive there, you had to go back across Frank Sound Rd. and then head east.

Frequent Flyer Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 41

20 years is old to me! :-D We've been going there for almost 20 years and I can not remember a time when we could not drive all the way around the island. Maybe we've been going there longer than I thought. :?

Status Member Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 765

I've been going to the island since Easter week of 1975. Believe me, it was a LONG haul to get to old Tortuga Club. But somehow we managed!

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject:

Sue,

Just wondering...you've always said that the Queens Monument is one of your favorite snorkel sites...is this site one and the same? It looks quite similarly situated.

I would love to snorkel this site. We will be there April 14-28th...what do you know about how the seas tend to be at this time of year. Last year they were WILD!!!

I'd really appreciate any direction you could give on this. I know we'd all like to try this out!

~Karen

[Did you see Sandy is on board???]

	Cayman Activity Guide Forum Index -> Diving	Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next
Page 1 of 3