Devil's Grotto and Eden Rock

Directly off the George Town waterfront the reef is riddled with caverns, arches and swim-throughs in about ten metres of water, close enough to enter from the shore down a ladder. Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto are two connected sections of it, and in the summer months they fill with silversides, dense clouds of small fish that pack the caverns so thickly they block the light, with tarpon moving through them to feed. Divers hang inside the chambers while the shoals part around them. It is one of the best shore dives in the Caribbean and it is a hundred metres from a main road.

What you actually see

• The silverside shoals - filling the caverns through the summer.
• Tarpon - large and unbothered, hunting through the shoals.
• The swim-throughs - a honeycomb of arches and tunnels in the reef.
• Shore entry - down a ladder from the George Town waterfront.

When to go

The silversides arrive in early summer and are usually there from around June to September, which is the reason to time a dive. Visibility is good year-round. Cruise ship traffic in George Town harbour affects boat access but not the shore entry.

Honest expectations

It is overhead environment: the caverns are short but they are caves, and buoyancy control matters. Boat traffic in the harbour means a surface marker is essential. Cruise ship anchoring in George Town has damaged reef in the area over the years, which is a live and contested issue. Outside silverside season it is a good but less remarkable dive.

Nearby

George Town is on the shore; Smith Cove is a few minutes south.