Little Cayman: minimum number of days to stay

[Eternum]

Hi everyone,

My family started planning next trip to Caymans and this time we decided to split our stay between LC (solely for diving) and GC. Since we are trying to accommodate everyone's needs, here is my question:

What is the minimum recommended number of days or dives to visit most interesting places in LC (wall dives are my biggest preference: GC, Turks, Cozumel). The whole idea is to get some initial taste of LC (and maybe Brac).

Also, I assume no flying after diving rule applies to flights between LC and GC, meaning it would be foolish to dive in the morning and fly to GC in the afternoon -- right?

 

[Damselfish]

Little Cayman is mostly wall diving. Many dives will be in the famous Bloody Bay area, unless the weather is just so bad they can't make it around the end of the island to get there. One of the draws of LC is that the wall starts shallower than many places, as shallow as 20ft, which makes this easy to do and still get plenty of bottom time with lots to see at the top of the wall. Conditions permitting there will also be wall dives in Jackson Bay, just past Bloody Bay - which I think is even better, though the wall starts a little deeper.

How long a trip are you planning overall, and what time of year? (And what are those other needs - shopping, golfing, ...? ) My sense is that most people will be bummed if they go to LC then have to leave much sooner than a week. We generally stay on LC longer than a week, and I personally wouldn't go over for less than 5 or 6 nights. (I'm not a fan of splitting between 2 islands pretty much anywhere in just a week - you waste too much dive time in traveling and no-fly time. And yes, the flight will go high enough that you want to observe the flying after diving recommendations.)

As far as Brac, I'm not sure if anyone does it from LC other than Reef Divers at LCBR. You'd have to be there on the day they (tentatively) schedule to go, don't recall when that is. And you can't count on them going, they need a minimum number and don't always have enough interest - I think it was more of a draw when the big attraction, the Tibbets wreck, was in better shape. Plus they get a lot of repeat visitors that have already done it. This is a thing I probably wouldn't bother with if I had less than a week there, as you'd be just be missing dives you hadn't done yet on LC (and quite likely better ones.)

 

[drrich2]

My family started planning next trip to Caymans and this time we decided to split our stay between LC (solely for diving) and GC. Since we are trying to accommodate everyone's needs, here is my question:

Here are mine.

1.) You've been to Grand Cayman before, yes? How many dives did you do, where and with who?

2.) Explain to us 'everyone's needs.' What besides diving is supposed to be done?

Richard.

 

[diver 85]

OP, in 3 days of 'hard diving' you can be very happy leaving LC-----heck 2 might even do it........

And damselfish, we did it(LC Bloody Bay Wall from Brac) on day 2---which was a Monday for us--last Oct-----but----it all depends on the (expected) weather AND the wishes of the boat customers(think the crew will go any day depending on the wishes of the paying customers on the boat for THE WEEK)---remember, they keep you on the same boat for the week so different dive sites are gone to each day ie no repeats & arguing among the guests........

 

[KathyV]

We like to go to the Caymans for 2 weeks. We spend one week on GC enjoying the island and topside attractions, plus some snorkeling and maybe a few dives, and then the second week diving on CB or LC or a liveaboard.

 

[dmoore19]

I could dive LC for 2 weeks without a problem. I love it there. Of course my experience was from a live aboard. The Tibbets was a great dive too. I was glad to dive GC, until I got to dive LC and Bloody Bay wall. I can't say my assessment is valid for you because I never set foot on LC or Brac. IMO, GC is expensive and I would rather be in the water than on the Island. I don't know that I can give GC a fair shake. The weather was awful the week we spent there and ended up on the South end for most of our dives. It was still a great trip but not sure I would spend the money to do a land based GC dive trip. YMMV

 

[Eternum]

Vacation is planned for the end of May or beginning of June, no hard dates yet, for 7 full days on the island(s), not counting travel days.

I've been on GC several times. Total number of dives there is about 20 or so with LDD, Turtle Divers, Indigo Divers. Never had a chance to be on East side as all trips were in January. Was lucky to hit North Wall though, my favorite place in GC so far.

As far as "needs", those are probably more "wishes" than "needs". My wife likes 7MB long walks, places like Copper Falls, Aqua, Edoardo's for dining, and she does not dive. Only myself and my son are diving. I understand that LC is lacking long sandy beaches for walk and dining options are rather limited. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[KathyV]

May or June of this year or next year? Accommodations fill up pretty quickly on LC so you may have difficulty finding a place to stay this year. You might have better luck finding a place on Cayman Brac or at the Brac Reef Beach Resort.

Of the Cayman Islands, I like diving LC the best, CB next, and GC last. But GC is the best choice for beach, dining, shopping, golf, and tourist attractions. There is also good snorkeling and a few nice shore dives on GC that we enjoy. We like spending time on GC and then diving in the sister islands.

We really like the BRBR, the prices are reasonable, the food is very good, the dive operation is excellent, the rooms, the pool, and the grounds are clean and lovely, the staff are very nice. The resort provides free bicycles, a tennis court, and you can walk on the beach or take nature walks at the nearby wildlife marshlands. There is an exercise room and a small spa and a Friday night barbeque. We always rent a car for one day and tour the island.

Little Cayman Beach Resort is owned and operated by the same family as BRBR and served by the same dive operation and is very similar to BRBR, but LCBR fills up faster so it may not be an option this year.

There's a nice beach at the BRBR but it's not the 7MB, there's more to do topside and more restaurants on CB than LC but not a lot, but the food served at the all-inclusive BRBR is very good. This year you might try going to GC and CB and then plan ahead to visit LC for a future trip. But who knows? You might get lucky and find a nice place to stay on LC at short notice! But if you rent a house or a condo make sure you also find a dive operator that has space for you!

 

[PatW]

It really depends on you. At places with shore dives, I have done the house reef many times during a trip. There is always some body different at home. I have been at Little Cayman for two weeks at a time! Diving three times per day. I have never gotten tired of the dives. I think it depends on your outlook. On the north shore of Little Cayman, there are two sections of the Bllody Bay Wall area. One section has a double wall. The wall drops off from 20' down to about 40'-50'. Then you have a wide sand boulevard about 100' across. The outer wall rises from the sand to about 40' and then drops off into the depths.

The other section just has hard pan and coral heads at about 25' and drops off into the abyss. You dive these sections in the morning dives.

In the afternoon, you can dive a section that starts at 20' and has a slope down to about 70', where it drops into the abyss.

There re is another section where you hit reefs surrounded by sand. The sand is at about 50' and the reefs about 40'. You can swim to a shallow reef close in shore to.

There is variety. You rarely do the same dive twice in a week.

 

[Damselfish]

OP, in 3 days of 'hard diving' you can be very happy leaving LC-----heck 2 might even do it........

And damselfish, we did it(LC Bloody Bay Wall from Brac) on day 2---which was a Monday for us--last Oct-----but----it all depends on the (expected) weather AND the wishes of the boat customers(think the crew will go any day depending on the wishes of the paying customers on the boat for THE WEEK)---remember, they keep you on the same boat for the week so different dive sites are gone to each day ie no repeats & arguing among the guests........

I believe the trip to Little Cayman from Brac that it sounds like you did, has much higher demand than the trip to Brac from Little Cayman. Which is telling, and a completely different thing.

I did say "most" people - but I might be good with 2-3 days on Brac as well. (Nothing against Brac, I know many people like it, and I've not spent much time there.) But again that is a different thing than having only 2-3 days on Little Cayman. (Of course for some people it's not just the diving but the overall atmosphere of a place that can make them reluctant to leave.)

At least on Little Cayman they actually don't always keep you on the same boat. For most of the regular day dives, sure. For a trip to the Brac, if they do it, they're going to rearrange where people are on boats for that - not force half a boat that doesn't want to do it to go, or prevent the other half from going. Also for a night dive they will typically move gear and consolidate people on one boat or whatever makes sense. Sometimes they will also have divers from Conch Club Divers for a night dive. And they actually will repeat sites, if it makes more sense condition-wise and people are agreeable.