The Brac or Little Cayman: Which has the best snorkeling

[navi_jen]

Hi..avid (and newish) diver, but likely going to restricted to mostly snorkeling on this trip. Have visited GC a bunch of times, want to branch out....GC is too busy. Debating between the Brac and LC. I understand the Brac is more developed, which might be good, as I'm going solo. But from what I've read, the better diving in on LC.


But since I'm not diving (well, maybe 1 day out of 7)...which island has better and more varied snorkeling site???? Preferably shore as I can snorkel for hours. I've seen the other threads outlining the dive sites (and diving off boats for Bloody Bay), but not any real comparison of which island is better for snorkeling.


Any compare/contrast would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[caymaniac]

The Brac would be a good choice. The Brac overall would have easier access to snorkeling especially since there is not much to choose from as far as vehicles go on Little Cayman. The diving is a bit better on LC but for snorkeling you can find areas that are conducive to walking off the shore such as this:
Boat ramp on north side of the Brac


On the southwest side of the Brac there is a channel way that small boats use, dive boats and local fisherman use. It would not be good to snorkel in the channel because of the boat danger.
Other areas that make snorkeling accessible are on the northwest end near the old buccaneer hotel area as well as radar reef and you could snorkel to the Russian wreck providing there's not current (which is almost always true). The west end of the Brac has some great reefs but snorkeling there is too dangerous because of current. On the north east end of the Brac there is some snorkeling but the access is not as easy.
On Little Cayman you would first have to get to the north side to snorkel and therein lies a big challenge.

 

[Damselfish]

yeah, Brac over Little for snorkeling. Though if you say GC is too busy, perhaps you haven't stayed on the East end yet? There is pretty nice snorkeling right in front of The Reef and Morritt's resorts. And there are snorkeling tours to the mangroves, though I don't know if that is something you can access from shore.

If you want to focus on snorkeling and branch out - maybe look at entirely different islands?

 

[Doctorfish]

LC has pretty good snorkelling as well but you pretty well need to access by boat as it is on Bloody bay Wall. The wall actually starts at 18 feet at Mixing Bowl so you see a lot from the surface. I've seen squid, rays, scorpion fish, and nurse sharks in the shallows as well as "tame" groupers.
Bonaire has easy shore access for snorkelling and a lot of different sites. The island has a laid back vibe as well. Worth considering.
GC is OK but the easy access snorkelling sites like Cemetery Reef and Smiths Cove tend to be relatively crowded. The shore diving is good at Lighthouse and Turtle Reef but not much to see there in the shallows. The East end of GC is not busy at all and not developed like the West Side, so might suit your needs.

 

[navi_jen]

Hi everyone...I have stayed several times on the East End. But I don't like the construction going on near the Reef and Subway signs that have popped up along the road. I fear it's becoming more and more crowded and developed (I do like the house reef and the snorkeling under Morritt's dock, tho. I once spent an hour watching a turtle play there....was great). But you are right that it's still the best part of the Island (from there to Cayman Kai Public Beach). I had thought about Bonaire...but with only 7 days, that's a seriously long flight from Boston. I can go direct from here to GC, which is super.

I am headed to the Brac. I figured I can snorkel my lungs out, do a couple of shallow afternoon dives on the Brac, and/or take a day (or two) to zip over to the Wall on Little Cayman. Hotel is booked, flights are paid for, and I leave Saturday at 10am. Totally psyched. Now let's hope the rain on Thursday and Friday hold off!

Thanks so much for your recommendations. I will make sure to file a trip report upon my return