In October my husband and I usually visit Cozumel for a dive vacation. My husband wants to try somewhere new(we usually save Bonaire/Curacao for a Feb trip). No liveaboard for me, too many issues with seasickness. We were focusing on Turks and Caicos, but the sticker shock is sobering. It looks like there are some good deals in Cayman Brac. Not sure how the two destinations compare to each other. Looking at the Reef diver website, their boats carry up to 20 divers. The Brac Scuba Shack looks like the boats limit the number of divers to 10. I am finding some appealing deals at the Carib Sands Resort. I figure that if we book mostly boat dives with a day or two for shore diving, we would save far more $$ than the T and C. Decisions, decisions. Any input deeply appreciated.
When you are looking at T&Cs are you considering Provo? I've only spent time on Provo and on liveaboards in the T&Cs. Provo is a pricey and developed destination, similar to Grand Cayman in my opinion. The Grace Bay Beach on Provo is gorgeous but one thing that I didn't care for about Provo is that the better reefs are rather far from shore, you can spend a lot of your time in day boats getting to and from dive sites. That's one of the reasons that liveaboards are a popular option in that area. I don't know of any shore diving on Provo. The reefs start a little deep but not too bad, and I don't think that they corals are as nice as in Cayman, but lots of healthy fish life and you are likely to see a lot of sharks in the T&Cs.
The T&Cs, including Provo, were hit hard by hurricanes in 2017 but I've heard that they have done a lot of rebuilding. Some of the reefs were damaged but it seems that they are also recovering well. The airport was always a nightmare and it was badly damaged by the storm. The last I heard was that it is an even bigger nightmare now, but we haven't been there since the hurricane so I can't say for sure.
Cayman Brac is very different from Provo or Grand Cayman. It is a much smaller, quieter, more rural destination. Brac is really nice if you just want to relax and enjoy the reefs and nature, but if you are looking for restaurants and other attractions, it's not the best choice.
It is true that the boats at the CBBR can carry up to 20 divers but they are very large, modern Newton 46 boats and it usually isn't a problem. Actually I've never been on a boat with that many divers at CBBR. I think the most we ever had was 15 divers - but I have seen large group trips of divers all together on the same boat - that's more people than I prefer but it seemed to work okay. And the package specials they offer at Cayman Brac Beach Resort can be pretty good and cover almost all your expenses - food, diving, and accommodations.
The Russian Frigate is a nice wreck dive on Brac and if you stay at CBBR then Reef Divers will take you over to Little Cayman during the week (weather permitting) to dive the Bloody Bay Wall and that's great, too. BSS may offer a similar excursion to LC but I don't know as I've never dived with them. We have only dived with Aggressor and Reef Divers in the Sister Islands.
Good healthy corals and lots of fish life on Brac, including turtles, rays, friendly groupers, nurse sharks, and the occasional reef shark. The short boat rides to the reefs when you are on Brac is another nice feature.
I have never stayed at the Carib Sands on CB but we've stopped there several times for a drink or a snack at the Captain's Table Restaurant (or at their pool bar) and it looks like a very nice place. The Brac Scuba Shack has a good reputation, but so does Reef Divers.
Food is expensive on CB and there aren't many restaurants - and sometimes supplies of fresh foods are limited until the next barge shipment arrives. We usually stay at the all-inclusive CBBR and we think that the food there is very good although it is served buffet style. We really enjoy CBBR and so do a lot of other people - but many people prefer to stay in condos or rent houses on CB and they enjoy that a lot too - so you probably can't go wrong.
You will need to rent a car if you want to stay in a condo and shore dive on Brac, but there is hardly any traffic on the island. We usually rent a car for a day just to tour around and visit familiar sites. There are nature preserves, hiking, caving, rock climbing, biking, bird sanctuaries, and a small museum that is worth a visit. The airport on Grand Cayman has been completely remodeled and expanded and the flights to Brac are only around 30 minutes. They have a small modern airport on Brac and Cayman Airways flies jets, turboprops, and twin otters from GC to Brac.
I posted this link on another thread just earlier today, it's for a small, independent movie called Cayman Went that was filmed on Brac. I'm sharing the link because it shows lots of the island's scenery both above and below the water. You don't have to watch the whole movie but take a look at it to see if Brac is the kind of place you'd like to visit.
https://vimeo.com/104722556
. I would check with Scuba Shack before counting on shore diving. I communicated that I had the SDI Solo Diver cert. I would imagine that they accept alternative solo certs but did not ask them.
