Turtle Alley is a shallow site on the north-west end of Cayman Brac: a colourful mini wall starting at 9 m, flanked by silver sand and patches of coral at 16 to 20 m. It is named for what lives on it. Hawksbill and green turtles are the two seen most often, and loggerheads join them during the right part of the year.
Where it is and how deep
19.6896° N, 79.8922° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The mini wall begins at about 9 m and drops to a floor of silver sand and coral patches at 16 to 20 m, which is as deep as the site goes. The dive runs along the wall rather than away from it, and with the whole profile inside 20 m there is time to work the length of it slowly and then come back along the top of the wall to finish.
Turtles are the reason to book this one. Hawksbills and greens are the two most commonly seen, and loggerheads appear at the right time of year. The approach that works is to hold position and let them carry on rather than swim after them, and the site is shallow enough to spend a long time waiting in one place before you move on.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Cayman Brac: Seas are calmest Nov–May; Aug–Oct is hurricane season, when sites often move to whichever shore is in the lee.
Questions divers ask
Which turtles are seen at Turtle Alley?+
Hawksbill and green turtles are the most common, with loggerheads at the right time of year. The site is a shallow mini wall running from 9 m (30 ft) down to sand and coral at 16 to 20 m off the north-west end of Cayman Brac.
Sources
- Turtle Alley — Scubago
More dive sites in Cayman Brac
Reef
Two anchors grown into the reef at 24 and 27 m
Wall
Sand chutes to the wall, plus a small wreck on the sand
Reef
A large pillar coral standing over a 15 m reef floor
Reef
An inner reef cut by multiple swim-throughs
Reef
A sloping mini wall from 10 m down to sand at 16–20 m
A Soviet frigate broken in two on sand at 27 m
Reef
Stairs at the boat launch, then telephone cables west
Reef
Coral fingers and sand channels, usually with some current
Similar dives elsewhere
A small coral island with a vertical wall, to 19 m
Massive sponges on the drop at 21 m (70 ft)
Barracuda over a volcanic mini-wall, in groups of five to twenty
A coral pillar standing in a square cut in the reef wall