Little Cayman Beach Resort - Book direct or TA? Which meal plan?

[4dawgma]

I'd opt for the 3 a day. If a rum punch cost $10, how much would a burger cost? There is a grocery about half a mile down the road. Everything was pretty expensive so not sure you'd really save much. I loved that "airport"

 

[mikeycanuk]

More like an iguana pasture. I wonder if all the people made it on Sat Aug 3. Our 3pm twin-otter flight to the Brac got delayed (parking brake issue) and didn't leave until 5:45 and we ended up going to LC first then the Brac minus luggage. They juggled us to different flights but the main issue was getting everyone over to LC before daylight ran out! People on the later flights got pushed back. It seemed to me they were cutting it CLOSE. Our luggage came on the jet and we had 15 minutes to hit up the liquor store otherwise we would have been dry until Monday!!! Headed back to the airport where all our luggage arrived safely. And our meat cooler was still frozen solid after leaving the freezer 12hrs earlier. Left on the 10:30am flight and thankfully no issues as our flight home left at 1:30pm.

Last year they were ferrying people on LC to the Brac via a loaned helicopter to take the jet to the mainland as all the twin-otters out of service as I heard they found corrosion issues they didn't know previously existed. yikes!

 

[AggieDiver]

Take the breakfast & dinner plan then eat a 'light' lunch @ the bar---much cheaper if I remember correctly & you'll be able to eat a ton @ breakfast & dinner to make up for the 'light' lunch....

If I "eat a ton" at breakfast, the fish will "eat a ton" for brunch about an hour later, and I will be even more hungry at lunch. I have never tried the bar menu, but thought it wasn't that much cheaper than the cost of lunch on the meal plan...but I could be wrong.

---------- Post added August 26th, 2013 at 11:27 AM ----------

I'd opt for the 3 a day. If a rum punch cost $10, how much would a burger cost? There is a grocery about half a mile down the road. Everything was pretty expensive so not sure you'd really save much. I loved that "airport"

View attachment 164329

The first time we ever went through LC on our way to the Brac back in 1995, the landing strip was grass, and the airport terminal was a little shack that was about 6' x 6' with a flip up window. I remember looking out the window when we were on final approach and wondering where in the heck we were going to land. I believe they used to occasionally have to drive a truck down the runway to clear the herons out of the grass before the planes came through.

 

[Doctorfish]

The runway is paved and does not intersect the roadway. The little terminal has been expanded a bit with an additional waiting room that is actually air conditioned.

There are no lights so daytime flights only. One earlier respondent said something about his bags coming in later on the jet. No jets land at LC at all. I've been in and out of there many times and not seen any heron problems. There are egrets that tend to hang out at the edge of the mangrove north of the field but I consider that part of the charm of the place. The Cayman Airways planes have a good safety record as does the Dehaviland twin Otter in general. There are hundreds flying in northern Canada still; and I would not hesitate to fly on them. Island Air was a different story when they had the route from GC to LC. The Cayman Airways schedule to LC gets mixed up over the course of the day but they try hard to get everyone over the hump before dark. Any baggage I've had left behind has always come over first thing the next AM and has not been a problem. I always carry my mask, fins and a bathing suit on board in a backpack just in case.

 

[jdcpa]

Bwaaa Ha Ha ... LC airport is a cow pasture without the cows. The 'terminal' is also the post office and fire station.

Agree on the 3 meal plan, but try to drop 20 pounds before you go, because you will gain it while you're there!

They moved the Post Office to another location when they did the Cayman Express expansion.

 

[4dawgma]

speaking of eating a ton...

 

[keyshunter]

The runway is paved and does not intersect the roadway. The little terminal has been expanded a bit with an additional waiting room that is actually air conditioned.

There are no lights so daytime flights only. One earlier respondent said something about his bags coming in later on the jet. No jets land at LC at all. I've been in and out of there many times and not seen any heron problems. There are egrets that tend to hang out at the edge of the mangrove north of the field but I consider that part of the charm of the place. The Cayman Airways planes have a good safety record as does the Dehaviland twin Otter in general. There are hundreds flying in northern Canada still; and I would not hesitate to fly on them. Island Air was a different story when they had the route from GC to LC. The Cayman Airways schedule to LC gets mixed up over the course of the day but they try hard to get everyone over the hump before dark. Any baggage I've had left behind has always come over first thing the next AM and has not been a problem. I always carry my mask, fins and a bathing suit on board in a backpack just in case.

I believe his destination was the Brac. It is normal procedure during busy times to put as much LC bound baggage on the Otters as possible, and, if necessary, bumping Brac luggage to the evening jet to the Brac.

I am not really a fan of airline service in general, but the Cayman Airways LC/Brac routes are an exception. There can be issues, of course, but considering that they only have 2 Twin Otters which are of limited capacity and are in almost constant use, they do a great job.

I remember the old days of service by Island Air, and the potholed grass runway on LC. Facilities are a lot more upscale now, and not nearly as much fun. Imagine, an air conditioned (usually) waiting room at the LC airport, and boarding passes that are printed and not hand written!

 

[AggieDiver]

Well, it depends on what you mean by intersect. The runway itself does not actually cross the road, but the planes taxi on a paved apron from the runway across the road to park next to the terminal. And to your comment on the birds, they may have been egrets or herons...not sure...hard to tell out the window of a moving plane. But they used to roam the grass strip periodically before the runway was paved.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

LCBR is a great dive lodge and Little Cayman diving is special, so even though the price for a week is higher than GC, Bonaire or Coz, I think it is worth it.

I have heard that too. I was told that Little Cayman and bloody bay wall diving is as good as Fiji. Is that true? Can anyone who has been to Asia Pacific and LC post a comparison?

 

[diver 85]

I have heard that too. I was told that Little Cayman and bloody bay wall diving is as good as Fiji. Is that true? Can anyone who has been to Asia Pacific and LC post a comparison?

The answer to your 1st Q is No, IMO........The South Pacific is like the Caribbean----on steroids......

---------- Post added August 26th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ----------

If I "eat a ton" at breakfast, the fish will "eat a ton" for brunch about an hour later, and I will be even more hungry at lunch. I have never tried the bar menu, but thought it wasn't that much cheaper than the cost of lunch on the meal plan...but I could be wrong.

You've got one hell of a weak stomach---need to get some man pushups going daily.......

---------- Post added August 26th, 2013 at 11:27 AM ----------



The first time we ever went through LC on our way to the Brac back in 1995, the landing strip was grass, and the airport terminal was a little shack that was about 6' x 6' with a flip up window. I remember looking out the window when we were on final approach and wondering where in the heck we were going to land. I believe they used to occasionally have to drive a truck down the runway to clear the herons out of the grass before the planes came through.

You've got one hell of a weak stomach---need to get some man pushups going daily.......