Cayman Brac vs Little Cayman

[-hh]

I enjoy both islands. I've done more trips to the Brac because our timeshare was there, but what it really comes down to is a combination of factors. Winter weather is one of them, if your interests are high on diving Bloody Bay. Similarly, if your criteria for a "good" dive includes duration, a lot of BBay is shallow on top which some prefer. Much of the.Brac tends deeper and is best on Nitrox (+$12/tank), especially the Brac's south side walls (a personal favorite).

For diver impact, there were 7 boats running on LC last week and only 2-3 on the Brac. They've (mostly?) stopped spearing lip fish during customer dives on Little (sharks) while they're continuing to do so on the Brac - the infestation seems IMO improved over last year on the Brac.

In any case, there is some nice - but not famous - Little Cayman south side diving to be had in bad winter weather, although it may get pretty crowded with multiple boats... From what I've been hearing from other divers about destinations like Honduras, the isolation of.the Caymans seems to be helping them fend off overly rapid change from the liOn fish and as such, either is a good choice.

-hh

 

[caymaniac]

At the Brac Reef Beach Resort....

I've enjoyed both Islands as well, I think LC has a bit better diving as the wall starts at 20 feet in places and you can use the wal to navigate and dive as deep as you wish (within limits). The Brac has a bit more variety above and below but the quality on LC is really good. My favorite on Grand Cayman is the north wall, both LC and the Brac can surpass the diving on Grand Cayman.

I just returned from diving at the Brac Reef Resort, there is only one dive op on the Brac (which is changing soon).
I have only dove with Little Cayman Beach resort on LC. The pressure on LC dive sites is greater than the sites on the Brac and you can tell it. I still think diving on LC is the best in the Caribbean but you have to like wall diving as well as boat diving.
Turks & Caicos (west Caicos) is not far behind, I think that Cayman wins with it's more colorful sponges. T&C also has a few more pelagics than LC, but the variety is a winner in the Caymans.

 

[AggieDiver]

I know I brought the issue up, but I wouldn't be worried about the "challenge" of the diving on either island during a norther. The crews endeavor to find the spots where there is little or no current. There is a little more variety on Brac's south side than on LC's south side, but either one will rival the best locations on GC and will be better than almost anywhere else in the caribbean. At most you might have some choppy conditions to where you would want some dramamine if you have a weak stomach. But if things get rough, they will just go to the other side of the island on either island.

 

[landshark94]

Thanks again for the responses. Any other information will also be appreciated. As we have a little bit of time before we plan on booking everything, I will post our decision of where we are going.

 

[-hh]

I'll toss in a bit in the "Good News" category, applicable to both islands: it appears that they're fighting the good fight against the Lionfish invasion in the Sister Islands: it was pretty evident to me that there were fewer lionfish on the Brac in 2012 than I saw in 2011 ... hopefully, it isn't only because they're becoming smarter at hiding from divers (we did see some of this behavior, though).

To try to put a number on this, I want to say that in Spring 2011, I saw at least a couple of lions on literally every dive (n=20+). This year (20+ dives again), they were certainly around, but there were also a good number of dives (perhaps 25%) where I personally didn't see any at all. The bad news is that the big ones (breeders) are continuing to get bigger too .. one BRBR staffmember (Erik) got a 16" and 17" last week.

And there's probably worse news for for other Caribbean destinations ... had a couple of divers on our diveboat that had been to Honduras and stated that the situation seemed to be pretty inundated there..."dozens" per dive on every dive was their perception of the blight.


-hh

 

[divingjd]

If you're considering Little Cayman Beach Resort and Brac Reef Resort, it's pretty much a toss-up on the resorts, food, and dive ops. They are sister operations. There may be some differences, but there are lots of similarities. Both are good resorts with good food and good dive operations. To me, there is no question that the diving is better at Little Cayman. The diving at the Brac is pretty good, but the diving at Little Cayman is nothing short of spectacular. The walls are unmatched and the fact that they start shallow makes for great variety in diving. The underwater environment at the Brac is not as dramatic. If you are looking for something to do topside (other than lie in a hammock, read, and have a few beers), the Brac has an advantage. There are a few restaurants, there is the Brac (the bluff) itself, and a couple of towns. I've been to the Brac twice and Little Cayman once. The highlights of the Brac trips were always the days we made the crossing to Little Cayman. The Brac has the Tibbets, but I found that it got fairly dull fairly quickly. But then again, my idea of wreck diving is old wooden ships perfectly preserved in 42 degree Great Lakes water. I find it hard to get very interested in "wrecks" that were sunk on purpose. Personally, I find the relative isolation and quietness of Little Cayman to be very relaxing. Dive, eat, sleep, dive, repeat. It's about as close to heaven as i will ever get. Now, if i could just get some of the food from Cozumel on Little Cayman and a little Bonaire-style shore diving, I would never need to go anywhere else.

 

[carriemak]

Divingjd - I don't need to go anywhere else now, Little Cayman is it for me. Returning June 9th and can't wait!

 

[ronski101]

Been 2x to Brac and 4x to LC and loved them both. We are going back to LC in Aug. Both LCBR and BRR are owned by various members of the Tibbits family members and are similar in food, service, accomodations, price. There is more dive variety on Brac if you can dive both the front and back side of the island. Boat trips are shorter on Brac. Quality of diving is somewhat better on LC. LC got a jacuzzi too which is real nice after a day of diving. You can jet into Brac which is nice also. You really can't go wrong either way as they are both in the top tier in the Caribbean.

 

[landshark94]

So Little Cayman Beach Resort wins....we have 5 people going December 1 to 8. Who else will be there this week?

 

[mikeycanuk]

We like the Brac but never made it to LC this aug. We are going back to the Brac next year and hopefully check out LC. Except for reef divers LC shuts down mid aug!




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