Cayman Brac or Little Cayman?

[augedauge]

Considering first trip to Caymans in May or June, possibly renting house/condo but open to suggestions. Not into crowds or much night life (other than maybe a beer/wine at the local hang-out). Which do veterans prefer--Brac or Little -- and which side of the respective island? Thanks for sharing your insights.

 

[Rynomar]

I have not been to Little Cayman but I was on "the Brac" in January. We stayed at Brac Reef Beach Resort and dove with Reef Divers. The weather was a bit wild while we were there but otherwise we had a great time. The resort, which is located on the south side of the island, was nice and clean. The people were friendly and the food was amazing. The resort offered ba buffet style breakfast, lunch, and dinner with incredible food.

Reef Divers was a very professional operation. The resort was a bit slow when we were there so the dive crew rotated on one boat that went out daily. All of the dive masters were friendly and very helpful providing valet service on the boats and the best dive briefings I have had with maps of the dive sites.

I know that Reef Divers also operates on Little Cayman at the Little Cayman Beach Resort. My father-in-law was on Little Cayman in July and said that the resort was very nice with really good service as well. I don't know if the resorts are associated but they may be.

Also, Little Cayman is about 7 or 8 miles from Cayman Brac and Reef Divers does day trips from Little Cayman to Cayman Brac to the Kieth Tibbits wreck and also from Cayman Brac to Little Cayman as well.

Either way you will have a great time.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I have been to both. Brac once and LC three times. LC has the better diving by far. If its all about the diving then I would go to LC. What is your budget? Are we talking Motel 6 or Ritz-Carlton? I have stayed at Conch Club and The Club at Little Cayman. If you can afford it The Club is five star and worth every penny. Conch Club was also a great choice.

 

[carriemak]

We will be traveling to Little Cayman and staying at Little Cayman Beach Resort in June. I can't say enough about the great diving or the resort. We have traveled all over the Caribbean and always come back to Little Cayman. We have also been to Cayman Brac many times, but think Little Cayman is a notch above Cayman Brac.

The 2 resorts are owned by the same family, just not the same family members.

 

[alashas]

We stayed on LC in Jan., 07, and agree with Tim, "The Club" was one of the most pleasant places we have stayed anywhere in the Caribbean. We had a 3 bedroom OF condo with full kitchen, living & dining rooms, deck. We purchased items for breakfast, some lunches, drinks, and snacks from the small grocery store on LC, and ate our dinners at different resorts each night - we rode bikes to some, but they all provide free transportation. Here are some land photos: http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/gallery/2387521_Bd9im#125111800

And the diving at Bloody Bay Wall rocks! http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/2408079_nbmph#126230439

cheers, alashas

 

[divingjd]

I've been to both, Brac twice and LC once. The diving is better at LC, but the Brac is still excellent. The Brac has a larger population, maybe 1500 vs. about 150 on LC, and probably nobody would live on LC if it weren't for the dive resorts, so there are very small towns there and some restaurants that are not associated with resorts. The Brac also has some topography - LC is totally flat - which can make surface intervals a little more interesting. The Brac Reef and Little Cayman Beach Resort are both excellent and generally similar. All of the resorts on LC and the one remaining resort on the Brac, are on the south side. Most of the other structures on the south sides of both islands, although there are some homes on the north side of LC and towns on the north side of the Brac. You will want easy access to a dive operation with a boat, so that should probably determine where you stay. There is jet service (a 737) to the Brac, so you get a standard baggage allowance (two 50-lb checked bags plus carry-on). LC is served only by Dehavilland Twin Otters, small prop planes, so the baggage allowance is much more restricted and you often end up paying for excess baggage. The Twin Otters also go to the Brac, so don't assume that you are getting the jet, check the equipment before you book. It's all the same airline, Cayman Air. If anyone in your party has an issue with "puddle-jumper" flights or you have an issue with the baggage restrictions, you might want to pick the Brac and book the jet. If the Twin Otters aren't an issue and your idea of a vacation is dive, eat, sleep, dive, then go to LC. You will rarely hear anything really bad about any of the resorts on LC, so it mostly seems to be a matter of budget and finding the place that suits you. I am not familiar with the house/condo rental situation on either island, but keep in mind that your options for dive ops are limited. I have enjoyed both islands immensely. It is hard to go wrong with this choice.

 

[ronski101]

Been to both and both have some of the best diving in the Carribean. Brac is more spur and groove while little cayman has more wall stuff. Little Cayman dives tend to be all very symilar while Brac dives are more distinct from each other. The diving in both places is on the same level as Bonaire and Grand Turk.

 

[cmaha76]

If you decide to go to Little Cayman and stay at the LCBR, I would suggest upgrading the oceanfront rooms. They have little fridges and most importantly you won't be as annoyed by karaoke night. That was my only beef with the joint.

 

[Scuba Monster]

We were just in LC. I've heard from quite a few divers that they prefer LC over Brac for diving. Out of curiosity, I asked one of our LC boat crew, who has dived all three islands, why that is so. She said that LC has more dramatic dives, especially wall diving. The Brac is mostly patches of finger coral.

 

[Damselfish]

I've only passed through the Brac and not stayed, and done just a handful of dives there (5-6?) via LC. I really liked the dives I did there, though I suspect we did some of the best ones.

But for me, I just can't find much reason to go and stay there instead of GC or LC. About the only reason I'd go to the Brac, is if I wanted to get away from it all on a small fairly unpopulated island - but still have the option of getting to it on a jet because I really didn't like small planes or didn't want to deal with the luggage restrictions and sometimes delays. But since I don't care much about those things, I'd just as soon go to Little Cayman. In my experience people staying on the Brac are often trying to get over to LC for some dives, the reverse is rarely true.

And if I really want to avoid the small plane hassles (including sometimes trying to get a seat on the darn thing) I can just stay on East End GC. Even though the resorts are bigger it still feels pretty remote, though I think that is gradually going to change. The diving is mostly better, and if I want I can drive to civilization which is a nice perk.

If my main intention in renting a condo was to do my meals there I probably wouldn't do that on LC, since grocery options are very limited and bringing much stuff over can be a problem luggage-wise.