West Bay, Grand Cayman, Ilhas Cayman

Bonnie's Arch

Bonnie's Arch is one of Grand Cayman's most photographed dive sites, a single freestanding coral arch on the West Wall reef shelf that has become an icon of Cayman wide-angle photography. The arch sits in roughly 15 to 18 metres of water on the reef plateau just before the wall drop-off, perfectly framed against the deep blue beyond. The structure itself is wrapped in encrusting sponges, gorgonians, deepwater sea fans, sheet corals and rope sponges, and silver schools of horse-eye jacks and Bermuda chub frequently pose under the arch with shafts of sunlight overhead. Resident species include hawksbill turtles, green moray eels, southern stingrays, queen and French angelfish, blue tangs, midnight parrotfish, schoolmaster snapper, yellowtail snapper, and Caribbean reef squid. Beyond the arch the wall drops vertically into the Cayman Trench, allowing divers to combine the iconic structure shot with a brief drop along the wall. Visibility along the West Wall commonly exceeds 25 metres in the dry season from December to May. Light currents and moderate depth make this an excellent intermediate dive.