howswedeofme
Contributor
We are back from the (incredibly rainy) Brac! We had a great trip but were hammered with rain all 8 days with the exception of about 3 hours on Wednesday. Luckily it was only too rough for us to make it out on one of the days and we could still shore dive the north side of the island. The south side was too rough for us to dive the whole week, which was a bummer. Overall, the viz was low for the Caymans (assuming the Brac has viz similar to Grand) because of the storms kicking everything up. Here's the rundown:
Diving. We dove with Brac Scuba Shack and they are THE BEST op I have experienced, which was already a high bar because I have really enjoyed the high level of service from other ops (Dive Tech, DNS on Grand, Sea Saba). The staff were friendly, engaging, and knowledgeable. The boat was spacious, clean, and comfortable. I like that they give you a water bottle for the week instead of using cups. Sadly, because our last day was rained out, we didn't get to keep our water bottles. They had a wide variety of snacks available for between dives. I love the valet service of rigging you up on the back of the boat so you just have to jump in. I never felt crowded or rushed - it was the easiest week of diving I've ever had. The diving itself was quite good with tons of swim-throughs, which the husband loved. We saw a couple nurse sharks, a dozen or so turtles, a couple eagle rays, dozens and dozens of stingrays, squid (both baby and grown), lots of juvenile spotted drums (my favorite!), pet a bunch of Nassau groupers who joined our dive group, and I found my first seahorse! I've had a DM point out sea horses before, but this was the first one I found that they didn't already know was there. We did a number of shore dives and really liked the Kissimmee Wreck, which we also did at night under a ceiling of thousands of baby squid, as well as Handcuff Reef, which I wish we had done earlier in the week so we could have done that one as a night dive, too. We also did Radar Reef and Lynne's Reef from shore. All very easy entry and very easy navigation. If the weather had been better we would have tried some more difficult entries but were really pleased to have so many options with such low stress conditions.
Lodging. We rented a house on the south side of the island, Tranquility, which was 10-15 minutes from the dive shop and restaurants. We have two couples when we travel so having two masters with king beds was great. We have had a "king" bed that was twin beds pushed together before and that can get uncomfortable. We liked having the seclusion and also the covered back patio so we could still be outside even in the rain. It's a waterfront property, so we had the noise of the waves all week which was wonderful. It is hands-down the best equipped house we have rented so far on any island and a really beautiful and comfortable house. It also had a garage which was great for hanging our gear overnight since the patio wasn't an option most of the time with the wind pushing the rain in from the sides. For when it's sunny, there's an outdoor hose and shower, portable dunk tank, and a clothes line. It also has a very nice pool which it was a little too cold for us to use most of the time. The tiny crabs loved the pool and we had fun taking them back out to the tide pools every day. I highly recommend this property!
Dining. We all had different places we liked, but sushi night at Barracudas Bar was probably my favorite. The tuna nigiri was the star of the show. We also went back there for pizza, which was similar to a NY-style crust and also very good. They do their nachos in layers so you don't have a pile of naked chips left! Genius. I also loved Captain's Table. Their catches of the day were all delish and the service was attentive. We went to Turtle Bar three times, mainly because it was outside but still covered, and it was just OK to me since I'm the fish eater. They apparently don't use local fish and have frozen fish shipped in. The stuffed snapper was inedible. Dry, fishy, blah. Even the crab stuffing in it was dry and fishy. One person did like the fish and chips. I didn't order the fish tacos because they're made with tilapia which I'm not looking for on a Caribbean vacation. The lobster roll was meh. Too salty and the bacon overpowered the lobster and I had a bunch of chunks of shell/cartilage in my sandwich. They do have excellent sweet potato fries, though, and I really liked the mint margarita. My husband is really difficult to feed on vacation because he is a very plain eater, but he loved the fried chicken at Turtle Bar. We also tried Asian House which had good beef/chicken teriyaki but the Pad Thai I ordered was a bowl of mushy noodles so I would skip that. I'd probably get the chicken teriyaki if I went back again. One of the DMs also told us that their Filipino noodles are really good. I unfortunately missed that conversation before we went.
Grocery Shopping. We did most of ours at the Tibbett's Square market because we drove past it on the way to our house. The market on the North Side, Kirkconnell Market, was much larger and had a better quality of produce/meat. The prices for most of the groceries seemed similar, though.
Grand Airport layover. The renovations are ongoing and it's pretty uncomfortable right now. There is no duty free shopping until the renovations are complete. It was actually sunny and warm for both of our layovers so on the first one we took the GYC bus to the yacht club for lunch/drinks. The pizza was very good as was the cracked conch, but I still like Macabuca's cracked conch a little more. The waiter we had was awesome, though, and we had a friendly cat join us outside while we ate. It was a great way to kill three hours. The airport parking lot restaurant had a lot space for guests if you don't want to venture out, but it was quite hot in there even with the fans on so we skipped that. On the way back we had a longer layover than planned because our flight out of the Brac was pushed up two hours. We wound up renting a car ($25!) and going to Sunshine Grille for breakfast and then to the public beach next to Calico Jack's. Security was relatively fast for GCM even though our return on Sunday was busier than I expected. There is still not enough seating, likely because there's nothing for anyone to do right now with no shops open. The wifi was spotty but usable most of the time. The food/drink counter always had a long line but they moved people through quickly. They also still have a rum cake stand, which is basically all I'm looking for to pick up souvenirs
Overall, it was an enjoyable trip but even if the weather had been better, I don't think it's somewhere we'd return to, at least in the near future. I didn't find the diving to be any better than on Grand so the extra hassle of getting over to the Brac isn't really worth it to us and as far as being on a small, quiet island, I prefer Saba because we also enjoy hiking.
Diving. We dove with Brac Scuba Shack and they are THE BEST op I have experienced, which was already a high bar because I have really enjoyed the high level of service from other ops (Dive Tech, DNS on Grand, Sea Saba). The staff were friendly, engaging, and knowledgeable. The boat was spacious, clean, and comfortable. I like that they give you a water bottle for the week instead of using cups. Sadly, because our last day was rained out, we didn't get to keep our water bottles. They had a wide variety of snacks available for between dives. I love the valet service of rigging you up on the back of the boat so you just have to jump in. I never felt crowded or rushed - it was the easiest week of diving I've ever had. The diving itself was quite good with tons of swim-throughs, which the husband loved. We saw a couple nurse sharks, a dozen or so turtles, a couple eagle rays, dozens and dozens of stingrays, squid (both baby and grown), lots of juvenile spotted drums (my favorite!), pet a bunch of Nassau groupers who joined our dive group, and I found my first seahorse! I've had a DM point out sea horses before, but this was the first one I found that they didn't already know was there. We did a number of shore dives and really liked the Kissimmee Wreck, which we also did at night under a ceiling of thousands of baby squid, as well as Handcuff Reef, which I wish we had done earlier in the week so we could have done that one as a night dive, too. We also did Radar Reef and Lynne's Reef from shore. All very easy entry and very easy navigation. If the weather had been better we would have tried some more difficult entries but were really pleased to have so many options with such low stress conditions.
Lodging. We rented a house on the south side of the island, Tranquility, which was 10-15 minutes from the dive shop and restaurants. We have two couples when we travel so having two masters with king beds was great. We have had a "king" bed that was twin beds pushed together before and that can get uncomfortable. We liked having the seclusion and also the covered back patio so we could still be outside even in the rain. It's a waterfront property, so we had the noise of the waves all week which was wonderful. It is hands-down the best equipped house we have rented so far on any island and a really beautiful and comfortable house. It also had a garage which was great for hanging our gear overnight since the patio wasn't an option most of the time with the wind pushing the rain in from the sides. For when it's sunny, there's an outdoor hose and shower, portable dunk tank, and a clothes line. It also has a very nice pool which it was a little too cold for us to use most of the time. The tiny crabs loved the pool and we had fun taking them back out to the tide pools every day. I highly recommend this property!
Dining. We all had different places we liked, but sushi night at Barracudas Bar was probably my favorite. The tuna nigiri was the star of the show. We also went back there for pizza, which was similar to a NY-style crust and also very good. They do their nachos in layers so you don't have a pile of naked chips left! Genius. I also loved Captain's Table. Their catches of the day were all delish and the service was attentive. We went to Turtle Bar three times, mainly because it was outside but still covered, and it was just OK to me since I'm the fish eater. They apparently don't use local fish and have frozen fish shipped in. The stuffed snapper was inedible. Dry, fishy, blah. Even the crab stuffing in it was dry and fishy. One person did like the fish and chips. I didn't order the fish tacos because they're made with tilapia which I'm not looking for on a Caribbean vacation. The lobster roll was meh. Too salty and the bacon overpowered the lobster and I had a bunch of chunks of shell/cartilage in my sandwich. They do have excellent sweet potato fries, though, and I really liked the mint margarita. My husband is really difficult to feed on vacation because he is a very plain eater, but he loved the fried chicken at Turtle Bar. We also tried Asian House which had good beef/chicken teriyaki but the Pad Thai I ordered was a bowl of mushy noodles so I would skip that. I'd probably get the chicken teriyaki if I went back again. One of the DMs also told us that their Filipino noodles are really good. I unfortunately missed that conversation before we went.
Grocery Shopping. We did most of ours at the Tibbett's Square market because we drove past it on the way to our house. The market on the North Side, Kirkconnell Market, was much larger and had a better quality of produce/meat. The prices for most of the groceries seemed similar, though.
Grand Airport layover. The renovations are ongoing and it's pretty uncomfortable right now. There is no duty free shopping until the renovations are complete. It was actually sunny and warm for both of our layovers so on the first one we took the GYC bus to the yacht club for lunch/drinks. The pizza was very good as was the cracked conch, but I still like Macabuca's cracked conch a little more. The waiter we had was awesome, though, and we had a friendly cat join us outside while we ate. It was a great way to kill three hours. The airport parking lot restaurant had a lot space for guests if you don't want to venture out, but it was quite hot in there even with the fans on so we skipped that. On the way back we had a longer layover than planned because our flight out of the Brac was pushed up two hours. We wound up renting a car ($25!) and going to Sunshine Grille for breakfast and then to the public beach next to Calico Jack's. Security was relatively fast for GCM even though our return on Sunday was busier than I expected. There is still not enough seating, likely because there's nothing for anyone to do right now with no shops open. The wifi was spotty but usable most of the time. The food/drink counter always had a long line but they moved people through quickly. They also still have a rum cake stand, which is basically all I'm looking for to pick up souvenirs
Overall, it was an enjoyable trip but even if the weather had been better, I don't think it's somewhere we'd return to, at least in the near future. I didn't find the diving to be any better than on Grand so the extra hassle of getting over to the Brac isn't really worth it to us and as far as being on a small, quiet island, I prefer Saba because we also enjoy hiking.
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