Balboa Wreck
Dive site · Cayman Islands
Is it worth the trip?
72Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility under 5 m, Water 29 °C
Tue 3 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Air
- 29°C
Wed 4 · 69 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Air
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 29°C
Sat 7 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Air
- 29°C
Sun 8 · 71 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 29°C
Mon 9 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Air
- 29°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 271, good
- Tue 372, good
- Wed 469, good
- Thu 572, good
- Fri 673, good
- Sat 772, good
- Sun 871, good
- Mon 972, good
- Tue 1069, good
- Wed 1169, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 12 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Open Waterand up
- Water 29 °Crash vest or 1 to 2 mm
- Faces NEswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 71, good | 0.4 m | 5 kn | 8kn | 30°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 72, good | 0.3 m | 3 kn | 6kn | 29°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 69, good | 0.3 m | 7 kn | 12kn | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 72, good | 0.2 mflat | 6 kn | 8kn | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 73, good | 0.2 mflat | 6 kn | 10kn | 29°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 72, good | 0.2 mflat | 10 kn | 14kn | 29°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 71, good | 0.3 m | 9 kn | 15kn | 29°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 72, good | 0.2 mflat | 8 kn | 14kn | 29°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 69, good | 0.4 m | 12 kn | 17kn | 29°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 69, good | 0.7 m | 9 kn | 16kn | 29°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:25 +0.1 mLow 10:32 −0.1 mHigh 16:50 +0.2 mLow 23:02 −0.1 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:27 +0.2 mLow 11:32 −0.1 mHigh 17:36 +0.2 mLow 23:49 −0.1 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 06:21 +0.2 mLow 12:25 −0.1 mHigh 18:18 +0.2 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Map
the site, its town, photos
Balboa Wreck on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Balboa Wreck
More diving near here
5 places
- Devil's Grotto 2.5 km away
- Cali Ship Wreck 3.4 km away
- Doc Poulson Wreck 4.7 km away
- Japanese Garden Grand Cayman 5.9 km away
- Trinity Caves 7.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Balboa Wreck
A wreck dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NE: swell from the NE reaches it, and wind from the SW blows out to sea. 4 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 1.7 km away. The sea is about 27°C in January, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 30°C in July, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is George Town. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot and 3 dive sites.
- What it is Wreck.
- How deep Down to 12 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 4 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 1.7 km away.
Water about 29°C: rash vest or 1 to 2 mm. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Apr, Jul, Aug and Dec (about 7 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$678–US$1,270 each
about US$678–US$1,270 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to GCM, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$235–US$497 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$20–US$34 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$201–US$329 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$221–US$416 |
| Total | about US$678–US$1,270 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: George Town
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 10 min by car · 16 places to stay
About George Town its beds, food and every spot near it
Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
Getting there: about 7h 55m
About 7h 55m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → GCM, direct, then 25 min by road
Flights ORD → GCM on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in George Town · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in George Town · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Divers Supply 1.7 km
Living the Dream Divers 2.1 km
Divers Down 3.4 km
Divetech 8.2 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratumShark
Seen in 24 records.
Hypanus americanusRay
Seen in 78 records, mostly Dec.
Yellow stingray Urobatis jamaicensisRay
Seen in 13 records, mostly Dec to May.
Bar jack Caranx ruber
Seen in 91 records, mostly Sep to Dec.
Blue tang Acanthurus coeruleus
Seen in 85 records, mostly Dec to Jan.
Bluehead wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum
Seen in 79 records, mostly Dec.
Red lionfish Pterois volitans
Seen in 59 records.
Longspine squirrelfish Holocentrus rufus
Seen in 55 records, mostly Oct to Mar.
Sergeant major Abudefduf saxatilis
Seen in 54 records, mostly Nov to Dec.
Schoolmaster snapper Lutjanus apodus
Seen in 53 records, mostly Sep to Dec.
French grunt Haemulon flavolineatum
Seen in 49 records, mostly Nov to Jan.
Stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride
Seen in 48 records.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: iNaturalist Research-grade Observations; SIO Marine Vertebrate Collection. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.