Cayman Brac Trip - Recomendations...

[jhelmuth]

Background Info:
I'm thinking of reservations for 3 (wife, son, and I) to Cayman Brac in early April. Wife is very experienced diver, son and I are reasonably new (50 dives) - but are both very good in our skills. We've been to the Bahamas, Belize, and Keys (FL) on several occassions. We all have similar preferances in diving: warmer waters (little to no exposure suit required), depths to 130' max (preferance is 40 - 80'), walls - reefs of all kinds - sea life, videography (me), high value non-diving ammenities (great local food at a terrific value for example), clean rooms but luxury is not required (save the money for the diving).

Questions:
Would you recomend other destinations over Cayman Brac (BRBR) for the money (~$1300/person inclues transportation, all taxes and port charges and all meals for 8 days - 6 days of diving with daily 2-tank trip and unlimited shore diving)?
If you've done this (got the t-shirt) - what advice do you have to make the trip the best?
If you recommend against - what locations do you think are better (and why)?

 

[Diver Lori]

Stick with BRBR. I was on the Brac in July with Divi Tiara. WILL NOT do that again. My next trip back will be with BRBR. If you like overcrowding, seedy rooms and grounds and a GM who couldn't care less....Divi Tiara is the place for you!

This month's Undercurrent has an article about resort overcrowding and Divi Tiara was one of the resorts written up for overcrowding and telling you "tuff luck".

On a much lighter note.....the diving is great. Bloody Bay Wall and the Keith Tibbetts are NOT to be missed. I also thought the diving was much better on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman than it is on Grand Cayman. There's not much night life on the Brac unless it's at your resort. There are a few restaurants nearby, but most of your dining will be at your resort. Think of the Brac as a little sleepy town with not much to do other than diving. By the same token....if diving is your only focus and seclusion and relaxation to top it off....the Brac will fit the bill.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[caymaniac]

BRBR is nice, their little beach area is nicer than the Divi's. On the other hand, I would say the food at the Divi is a little better. The chance to go to Little Cayman would be a bit better at the Divi. The Dms at the Brac Reef are great, maybe a touch better than the Divi's. Both are organized well, and the diving is easy. The all inclusive works well at both. I've stayed at both. I'll be on the Brac the first ten days in April. You are lucky to live in Florida where you can get Cayman Air direct, it helps to keep the cost down.

If you haven' read "Diver Lori's" report of her problems at the Divi, maybe you should, try a search. Since I've been to both numerous times, I'll be at the Divi ut: (to Diver Lori).

Your experience level is plenty good enough since there is rarely any current. I took my son a couple of years ago and the three of us had a great time. Maybe my wife and I'll see you there.

Dive Safe,
Caymanaic

 

[JRRKAR]

My wife and I went to Divi Tiarra on Brac this year in May. The diving was good, the accomodations were adequate and the food was good. I would recommend Divi. IF you do a search here, you will find pros and cons for all places. If you hit Divi at the wrong time, you can expect 12-14 divers on the boats plus the crew. Other times you can have 3-4 divers plus crew. The problem is you can never tell what you are going to hit till you get there.

Cayman Brac is well within the experience you describe. It is a nice place for a vacation. I liked diving at Little Cayman better than Brac. But I also think staying at Little Cayman is more expensive than Brac. I think wherever you go on Brac or LC you will have a good time. IF you want less crowded, try to hit the off season.

Here is a link to a report I gave from our recent trip to Brac.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29544

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Jeff

 

[jhelmuth]

Thanks so far to you all...

This will be a group trip (we're a part of the LDS dive trip group), so the BRBR is booked as are the airline (Cayman air), etc. So - no choices there. So far all have been in the afirmative for this trip (and keep em comming if you'd recomend it). But I wouldn't mind hearing from others. As an alternative, we've considered going to San Salvador Bahamas, and Blackbeards (I've done it - but they have not). My wife was there (San Salvador) 25+ years ago and she thought it was the best then (and always compares her memories of it to the diving trips we've made - always favourable for the past!).

 

[Diver Lori]

caymaniac once bubbled...

If you haven' read "Diver Lori's" report of her problems at the Divi, maybe you should, try a search. Since I've been to both numerous times, I'll be at the Divi ut: (to Diver Lori).

To each his own! You've obviously been lucky in the weeks you've picked. We were not and got a sour attitude from the GM to go with it.

Hopefully your luck doesn't run out in April!

Safe diving,

Lori

Here's the link he mentioned....
http://www.scubaboard.com/t32824/s.html

 

[caymaniac]

Diver Lori once bubbled...
We were not and got a sour attitude from the GM to go with it.

Safe diving,

Lori



Lori, I've been going to the Brac since 1988, at that time no jets had yet landed at the Brac. Also, at this time Little Cayman had no electricity. The Brac is not neccessarily better for it's progression, there used to be a local party every weekend at the Divi property which really gave a great local flavor.
Since from what I understand you've made one trip to the Brac. I guess that gives me quite a few more times on the island than you. I do not consider what happened to you to be the norm. So, quit crying in your beer, get a life, see if you can actually get past your
"problem vacation". I've had one like it in Coz. Chalk it up to experience, know what to look for. Are you one of those people that just can't ever forget, you hold a grudge for life? :boom:
I read Max's apology, it's at least something, and you're making yourself look like a jerk when you said you haven't gotten any response from Divi.
I've had times when I thought there were quite a few on the boat and others when it was only me and one other person diving. I've been to the Brac in Mar., April, Oct., Sep. almost every trip I've chosen to stay at the Divi. I like the way they handle the diving guests.
Your little crusade is disgusting, it comes from a "small point of view".
If you think the Divi is that bad, please don't go back, and leave it at that.

Safe diving,
Caymaniac

 

[Diver Lori]

Whatever.

I was nice to you, wished you well and stated to each his own(druthers) you shot back with some distasteful comments.

And you can count on it.....I won't be going back to Divi. ( Do I hear you clapping?)

The only reason I responded to this thread is someone asked for a link to the thread, I provided it and you commented on it. I responded to you in a pleasant manner and you came back with a rude attitude.

Back off, you're out of line on this one.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

caymaniac once bubbled...

. . . see if you can actually get past your "problem vacation"

.

Amen.

 

[-hh]

jhelmuth once bubbled...
Background Info:
I'm thinking of reservations for 3 (wife, son, and I) to Cayman Brac in early April.

The Brac is a location enjoyed by many. If you liked the Bahamas, Belize, and Keys, you'll probably also like the Brac. The biggest single difference will be the deepwater drop-offs (walls), and vs the Keys, nicer people, because the Brac meets the "One More Flight" rule of thumb for tourism clientele demographics.

Questions:
Would you recomend other destinations over Cayman Brac (BRBR) for the money (~$1300/person inclues transportation, all taxes and port charges and all meals for 8 days - 6 days of diving with daily 2-tank trip and unlimited shore diving)?

Its hard to gage transporation costs without knowing where you're flying in from, but this price looks pretty good IMO.

Generally speaking, the top 3 Caribbean dive destinations in terms of their popularity are the Caymans, Bonaire and Cozumel. The latter two are generally less expensive, although where you live will factor into airfare costs. Cozumel generally is favored by those who enjoy the town's nightlife/drinking. Bonaire's generally favored by those who are driven by cost per dive and are willing (or prefer) to slug around tanks for DIY shore diving.

If you've done this (got the t-shirt) - what advice do you have to make the trip the best?

First off, be aware that there's only two hotels: Brac Reef Beach Resort ("BRBR") and the Divi Tiara Beach Resort ("Divi"). There are some not-so-obvious differences between the two, but...

(BTW, don't let "Diver Lori" read this =-) )

...for the most part, first-timers and novice/intermediates shouldn't worry about these differences: either flip a coin to decide, or pick one based on whoever's running the better package at present.

FWIW, I say this despite being a Timeshare Owner at the Divi.

Things to keep in mind:

First, you're going to an Island with limited resources, and to small hotels. No matter how hard they try, there will be places where their best does not match up to "New York City" standards. As such, it will be closer to your Belize visit than your FL Keys visit.

Second, you're going to a place that doesn't have a lot of development or tourist attractions. For example, there's no Jet Ski's for rent anywhere on this island, so if that's what you're looking for, this is not the island for you. Plan on keeping yourself entertained.

For food, the best restaurant on the Island is generally considered to be the "Captain's Table"; expect Dinner for 2 to run you US$80. Aunt Sha's is good (and inexpensive) for local food, and La Esperanza's has good Jerk Chicken 2x/week.

However, a basic problem is that going off-site for meals eats up time, so it generally isn't all that compatible with the diveboat schedules. As such, I generally recommend first-time visitors to pick up one of the available meal plans from the hotel they're staying at. This also obviates the immediate need for a rental car (neither hotel is in close proximity to any of the restaurants).

The food at the hotels generally operate off of fixed menu's (~2 main dishes at dinner, etc). For a representative look, here's a listing of the Divi's menu from three years ago: as of earlier this month, it is still around 80% the same:

http://tinyurl.com/sotv

Now you will hear some divers calling it wonderful food and giving it high marks but the reality is that this is not "Culinary Institute of America" fine dining: its an all-U-can eat buffet. Yes, its a good buffet, but its still food being maintained on steam tables. For the best meal, be at Dinner early...before it has sat for a few hours.

For lots of other information, I'm going to have to cut this off and give you a tailored Google Search that nevertheless still covers a lot of ground; start here:

http://tinyurl.com/sots


Hope this helps.

BTW, the "unlimited shore diving" stuff in both the Divi's and BRBR's packages is somewhat marketing hype: you can't really dive anywhere within walking distance of the hotels, so you'll need to rent a car to take advantage of this "free" feature. For car rental, I've been using DDDD's for the past ten years or so...their phone# is 1-345-948-1599. Figure $210/week for a car, plus gas at CI$2.50/gallon, plus $3/minute for making that phone call from the USA. If you do go that route, here's a basic map of some shore diving access points I put together awhile back:

http://tinyurl.com/soyw

Skip Harper's guidebook is also quite good: its $27 on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/soz6


Finally, if you want my personal take on the more subtle differences between the dive operations, you can PM me.


-hh