Little Cayman recommendations, please?

[Zebra mussel]

After researching and taking some advice from this post...I just booked a trip at the Conch Club Condos with a meal plan at LCBR and diving with the Conch club diver operation. After looking at all the numbers, it seemed to be the biggest bang for the buck given the quality of the facilites. After checking out several wholesalers and dive travel agencies....I called the Conch Club directly and found the best package directly through them. The savings was substantial. Anyone interested may want to check them out directly and eliminate the middle man. The contact info is on their website.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

After researching and taking some advice from this post...I just booked a trip at the Conch Club Condos with a meal plan at LCBR and diving with the Conch club diver operation. After looking at all the numbers, it seemed to be the biggest bang for the buck given the quality of the facilites. After checking out several wholesalers and dive travel agencies....I called the Conch Club directly and found the best package directly through them. The savings was substantial. Anyone interested may want to check them out directly and eliminate the middle man. The contact info is on their website.

They run a great op. Be aware if they don't have enough divers in the condos for the time you are there you will be diving with LCBR. Not a problem, just something to be aware of. You are gonna love this place. I would go back in a heartbeat. Look forward to your trip report.

 

[zf2nt]

Hi, 2 questions- what is the food like at Little Cayman Beach Resort, and would there be any reason to stay at Cayman Brac over Little Cayman?

Thankyou!

The food at LCBR is excellent, and there is plenty of it. Everything is served buffet style, and there are always multiple choices for entrees. I live on Little Cayman 6 months out of the year, and occasionally go down to LCBR for dinner. The price is reasonable, and I can load up with enough to last me two days!

That having been said, however, it really doesn't compare to what they serve at Pirate's Point. As somebody mentioned earlier, the offerings at Pirate's Pont are simply fabulous.

And as far as comparing Cayman Brac with Little Cayman...it is my humble opinion that the diving on Little Cayman is incomparably better. In fact, I "discovered" Little Cayman while on a dive vacation at Brac Reef Resort back in the late 80's, then settled rather permanently on Little Cayman.

I still think the choice of "which" resort on Little Cayman is entirely a matter of personal taste. There are 5 resorts on the island and each has its devotees. Some people go back to Southern Cross year after year and wouldn't think of staying anywhere else. Gladys Howard has a repeat business rate near 90% at Pirate's Point, and she doesn't even bother advertising the resort. Likewise, I worked at Little Cayman Beach Resort last winter and many of our customers were repeat customers. I really think they all put on a great show, but you do need to ask enough questions to find which of them suits your personal preferences.

Bruce

 

[Randall]

My wife and I returned last week from a 7 day stay at Brac Reef Resort at Cayman Brac and had a wonderful time. The diving was incredible and the food was wonderful. We dove with Reef Divers from the boat Little Sister and had two divemasters each day. They were great and really made the dives fun and interesting. Craig and Vickie were the divemasters most days with Robert filling in a couple of days. The boats are great, not overloaded, and the diving atmosphere was very relaxed and very much enjoyable. All you do is go to the back of the boat, sit on the provided platforms, put on your fins, wait for Craig or Vickie to bring your BC/Tank set-up to you and put it on. One Giant Stride and your in the water! We saw several sharks, rays, lobster, seahorses and fish everywhere. We dove three times a day except the last day during which we only made two dives. The first dive was the deepest (of course) around 100ft, then the second was between 50-60, the last was around 30 - 50 (usually shallow reefs teaming with animal life). I never had a problem staying within the limits of my computer. These dives included wrecks, several wall dives, two drift dives that were great, reef dives.....I can't say enough about this trip. I'm sure there are other operators that are good on all of the CI's......but I can't imagine one being better! That's my two cents worth!!

 

[sapphire]

I just returned yesterday from my 4th trip to Little Cayman. The first was a liveaboard (no longer in business). Other than that my experience is with the Southern Cross Club (mostly). One time last year I went for a short trip and they were full, so I stayed at the Little Cayman Beach Resort but did my diving with Southern Cross.

Since there are so few resorts on the island, it is easy to meet people there and ask what they like or don't like about their accomodations. We did some investigating, and still I would choose Southern Cross Club for several reasons. I like the smaller, family atmosphere. The setting is beautiful and well laid out and has a great "feeling". You can kayak to Owen Island or lie in a peaceful hammock, and they have a small refreshing pool. Bikes are free (as they are in the other resorts I believe) and in good repair. The rooms are lovely, spacious and clean. If you want TV and phones, it will not be for you. I love being able to "unplug"!! They have internet access for a fee, but I managed to resist the need to log in for the week. One non-diver in our group was invited to go out early one morning to search for turtle nests, which are marked and documented for research purposes. She had a blast and found a new nest. If you ask, they will truck you to a beach with some kayaks, or bikes, and a picnic lunch, and you can snorkel and then make your own way back to the resort at a leisurely pace.

The food is outstanding, everyone commented on the delicious presentations (I HATE gaining weight on a vacation !). I was not that impressed with the food at LCBR, it was OK but not outstanding.

The diving operation is run extremely professionally. Jason, Steve & Terry take care of you & your gear (if you want that), you set up your gear the first day and they do it for the rest of your trip. They do not herd you, and allow you to dive your computers. Nitrox is available for a fee. You can do 3 dives a day, I think some places (Pirates Point maybe?) may only offer two. Max is 12-13 divers on the larger boat, I believe. When we did have that they split us into two groups so we were not as crowded, if the site allowed that profile. The dive briefings are excellent. We had the owner, Peter Hillenbrand, dive with us two days, as they had lent a boat and dive staff to the LCBR for the week as one of their boats was out. His imitation of swaying gorgonians and the antics of a juvenile spotted drum will remain in my memory for a long time :biggrin:!! We did a "dusk dive" on one day, which was highly interesting just to watch the mating behaviors of different fish, and see the groupers and barracuda out hunting... and then when we came up to the sun setting and the moon rising... what a great dive!

You can't go wrong with Little Cayman diving, IMHO!

cheers,

Jennifer

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

We stayed at LCBR in November 2003. LCBR had a dive boat OOS due to engine problems, so some of us were put on CCD's boat - and I've never had better customer service than that provided by CCD. They even have laminated drawings of dive sites they'll use dry erase marker to show relative location to boat etc. during dive breifings. Next time we go, we'll likely stay at Conch Club instead of LCBR and get the LCBR meal plan. Nothing against LCBR - we're just folks who want a bit more privacy than staying aat a place that usually has the population (and extended families) of 1 to 2 dive clubs staying there as well - we live pretty harried lives and like relative solitude on vacations. Thanks for the tips on getting the best price.

The food at LCBR is some of the best buffet style we've had (our experience with Brac Reef on Cayman Brac was the same, but geared a bit more toward Euopean than American palates on the Brac). If you're looking for made-to-order meals LCBR isn't the place to choose.

 

[pollasu]

Just a quick note on Little Cayman - if you want a relaxing trip, with some of the best food and a easy going atmosphere, I have to recommend Pirates Point. Gladys, the owner, greeted us at the airplane with a hug and I had never even met her before. The divemasters were the best ever! Safety first and the best diving second. They will all know your name by lunch time! Just as an example of the personal and friendly service we got.....We arrived after the boat had already left for the morning dive. Gladys asked us if we wanted to dive...YES of course. She called the boat and they came back to the dock to get us during the surface interval. The story gets better. We were a little hungry while we waited (before getting on the boat) and the cooks made us a quick, but awesome, turkey sandwich and some sides as well. Anything to make your trip perfect! Just my two cents.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Just a quick note on Little Cayman - if you want a relaxing trip, with some of the best food and a easy going atmosphere, I have to recommend Pirates Point. Gladys, the owner, greeted us at the airplane with a hug and I had never even met her before. The divemasters were the best ever! Safety first and the best diving second. They will all know your name by lunch time! Just as an example of the personal and friendly service we got.....We arrived after the boat had already left for the morning dive. Gladys asked us if we wanted to dive...YES of course. She called the boat and they came back to the dock to get us during the surface interval. The story gets better. We were a little hungry while we waited (before getting on the boat) and the cooks made us a quick, but awesome, turkey sandwich and some sides as well. Anything to make your trip perfect! Just my two cents.

Welcome to Scubaboard Pollasu!! Great first post. I can almost taste that turkey sandwich.

 

[TrainerAW]

We loved SCC too! I have been diving 4 years and my buddy 40 years, so we represent both ends of the spectrum. We have been to Turks & Caicos, Bahamas and South Pacific. Little Cayman was our favorite. The SCC was very laid back (no shoes) and staff attentive. Food was excellent, breakfast a buffet and lunch and dinner you had several choices including veggie. Island Air did not deliver our dive gear until the morning after we arrived. SCC put on an extra "twilight" dive so that we would not miss a prepaid dive. Boats never had over 10 divers and the dive staff helped with gear. Bloody Bay Wall is unbelievable - there is a reason that Brac dive ops come to Little Cayman so often. We have decided to do a couple of other spots for the next couple of years (Roatan & Belize) but after that, we may never dive anyplace other than Little Cayman and SCC!

 

[nipi]

Stay at the Conch Club, get a jeep from Perry & your tanks from Sam & shore dive Bloody Bay & Jackson's. Then rinse off in the jacuzzi, bike down to the Ig & dance on the bar. Nightcap at Frankie's. Next trip - 17th Sept.