We're going back to the Brac!

[KathyV]

Much to my surprise we are heading to the Cayman Islands for the second year in a row!

Every year we like to take a 2 week trip that includes diving in the Fall. Over the years we have taken 4 trips to the Caymans. The first 2 trips were to Grand Cayman with land-based diving. The 3rd trip was a week on the Cayman Aggressor, diving mostly off Little Cayman followed by a week on Grand Cayman. And last year we spent a week on GC at the Turtle Nest Inn and a week on Cayman Brac at the Brac Reef Beach Resort. All of our Cayman trips have been great and we loved the TNI and BRBR last year.

This year we have again been looking for a great place to vacation, but we kept comparing everything to GC and CB last year and found nothing that was quite as appealing in our price range. So when we got an email from BRBR advertising the "2 for 1 Back to the Brac" Fall special, we instantly decided to go back for some more fun!


We are doing basically the same trip, a week at the TNI on GC and a week at the BRBR on CB; now all I have to do is find reasonable airfare. We will be flying from Chicago and I think that last year we took US Air to Charlotte and then to GC; then Cayman Air (?) to and from CB.

Does anyone have advice for air travel from Chicago this year? Thanks in advance for your help! I am excited to be going back to the Cayman Islands!

 

[-hh]

Much to my surprise we are heading to the Cayman Islands for the second year in a row!

Yeah, that's just how it starts out with us too ... we haven't yet scheduled our 2013 trip yet, but we know that we'll be going at some point.

We are doing basically the same trip, a week at the TNI on GC and a week at the BRBR on CB; now all I have to do is find reasonable airfare. We will be flying from Chicago and I think that last year we took US Air to Charlotte and then to GC; then Cayman Air (?) to and from CB.

Yup, Cayman Air to/from the Brac is still the only choice.

Does anyone have advice for air travel from Chicago this year? Thanks in advance for your help! I am excited to be going back to the Cayman Islands!

Nothing too specific, although I do recall that in past years, Cayman Airways has occasionally had a scheduled nonstop flight between GCM and Chicago. I believe they're seasonal, so it can be hit or miss to find. If it is running for your time period, it would probably be the most convenient.

You're already aware of the US Air flight from Charlotte. American used to have a nonstop out of Rahlegh-Durham, but I'm pretty sure that that flight became a connecting flight through Miami several years ago. Delta's is through Atlanta. United (Continental) has a nonstop from Houston and a seasonal one from Newark. Cayman Airways also has service to Houston to consider. Finally, they have limited service GCM-JFK, but as of the last time I looked at which days it ran and the hours, I'd probably not recommend it...especially for someone not starting/ending in New York.

One simple rule of thumb is to catch a cheap flight (random US carrier) to Miami, then pick up a Cayman Air flight for going the rest of the way. On occasion, we've flown down to MIA on a Friday night, spent $100 for a 'free airport shuttle bus' hotel room (Hampton Inn), then back to the airport for a Saturday AM flight on Cayman Airways.

However, when you look at Cayman Air's flight schedules, they also fly into Orlando and Tampa ... these can be worthwhile to check into building the same type of strategy. What I'd do here is to check out Cayman Air's flight from each of these Florida cities to Grand, then look to see what it would cost for you to get from Chicago to each of these cities to figure out which one is cheapest...tempered by which still has good connections - - I'd assume that there won't be any inter-airline hand-off on your checked bags, so you'll want to plan an extra-long layover with which to get your checked bags off the first flight, then recheck on the next airline, go back through security, etc.

Finally, no matter what you've worked up, do make sure to check out the airlines' checked baggage policies, as paying for bags will probably change the conclusion for which one is cheapest.

Hope this helps.

-hh

 

[AggieDiver]

We have the same issue every time we sit down to plan a trip. We always seem to find that we just can't get the same level of effortless diving and relaxation anywhere but the sister islands. We just went through the same exercise a little over a week ago and then booked a week at Little Cayman Beach Resort.

As for airfare, you might be able to get something decent on United through Houston. They have a non-stop from Houston to GCM that the prices seem to have come down on a bit recently. Might be able to get good fares from ORD via Houston. The other option I would explore is the Cayman Airways one -hh suggested...either direct from Chicago or going via another carrier to Miami and then to GCM/Brac on Cayman Airways. It kind of depends on which place you are staying first. If you are going to the Brac first, then Cayman Airways out of Miami makes sense because they have flights available that skip the stop in GCM. If you are going to TNI first, then that doesn't really matter to you.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Here is a wesbsite that might be of help with flights:

Airlines that fly to Grand Cayman Island

Cayman Air does have flights from Texas and Chicago on a seasonal basis,not sure of the exact dates.Nice thing about Cayman Air is their baggage allowances as opossed to the other airlines.

 

[AggieDiver]

The problem with the flight to Dallas, Tx is that at least at the times I was looking, the flight from Dallas to GCM was on Sunday, and the flight back was on Saturday. So if you really want a full 7 day vacation, you can't do it.I would much rather see that schedule reversed and fly down on a saturday and not come back til the following sunday.

---------- Post Merged at 05:20 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:15 PM ----------

Here is a wesbsite that might be of help with flights:

Airlines that fly to Grand Cayman Island

Cayman Air does have flights from Texas and Chicago on a seasonal basis,not sure of the exact dates.Nice thing about Cayman Air is their baggage allowances as opossed to the other airlines.

Also very interesting to note that that website doesn't show the non-stop flight from Houston Intercontinental on United the days we are flying. When I look at United's website, the flight has available seats. So it appears their search engine has some flaws.

 

[KathyV]

great information, thanks!

---------- Post Merged at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:55 PM ----------

I know! I kept looking for something different but nothing else measured up, especially after we saw the 2 for 1 special.

Thanks for the information, we are going to TNI on GC first.

---------- Post Merged at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:55 PM ----------

great site, thanks!

 

[EastEndDiver]

Here is the website for Cruise ship schedule.Always good to stay out of Georgetown when multiple ships are in.

Ship Schedules

 

[KathyV]

Here is the website for Cruise ship schedule.Always good to stay out of Georgetown when multiple ships are in.

Ship Schedules

Thank you and Amen to that! We love the quiet, quaintness of Bodden Town that is away from the cruise traffic and tourist attractions of the 7 mile beach! But it is still a pretty easy drive to Georgetown, so you can enjoy that area during the less busy periods, and the TNI package includes a rental car so that's great.

If I were traveling alone I would probably want to stay near the 7-mile beach because I don't care for driving on the left side of the road, but happily my husband enjoys it!

Last year we were able to use a Garmin GPS to help us find things on GC, does anyone know if a TomTom will also work on GC? Thanks!

---------- Post Merged at 09:05 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:38 AM ----------

...Yup, Cayman Air to/from the Brac is still the only choice.

Nothing too specific, although I do recall that in past years, Cayman Airways has occasionally had a scheduled nonstop flight between GCM and Chicago. I believe they're seasonal, so it can be hit or miss to find. If it is running for your time period, it would probably be the most convenient.

You're already aware of the US Air flight from Charlotte. American used to have a nonstop out of Rahlegh-Durham, but I'm pretty sure that that flight became a connecting flight through Miami several years ago. Delta's is through Atlanta. United (Continental) has a nonstop from Houston and a seasonal one from Newark. Cayman Airways also has service to Houston to consider. Finally, they have limited service GCM-JFK, but as of the last time I looked at which days it ran and the hours, I'd probably not recommend it...especially for someone not starting/ending in New York.

One simple rule of thumb is to catch a cheap flight (random US carrier) to Miami, then pick up a Cayman Air flight for going the rest of the way. On occasion, we've flown down to MIA on a Friday night, spent $100 for a 'free airport shuttle bus' hotel room (Hampton Inn), then back to the airport for a Saturday AM flight on Cayman Airways.

However, when you look at Cayman Air's flight schedules, they also fly into Orlando and Tampa ... these can be worthwhile to check into building the same type of strategy. What I'd do here is to check out Cayman Air's flight from each of these Florida cities to Grand, then look to see what it would cost for you to get from Chicago to each of these cities to figure out which one is cheapest...tempered by which still has good connections - - I'd assume that there won't be any inter-airline hand-off on your checked bags, so you'll want to plan an extra-long layover with which to get your checked bags off the first flight, then recheck on the next airline, go back through security, etc.

Finally, no matter what you've worked up, do make sure to check out the airlines' checked baggage policies, as paying for bags will probably change the conclusion for which one is cheapest. Hope this helps.-hh

...As for airfare, you might be able to get something decent on United through Houston. They have a non-stop from Houston to GCM that the prices seem to have come down on a bit recently. Might be able to get good fares from ORD via Houston. The other option I would explore is the Cayman Airways one -hh suggested...either direct from Chicago or going via another carrier to Miami and then to GCM/Brac on Cayman Airways. It kind of depends on which place you are staying first. If you are going to the Brac first, then Cayman Airways out of Miami makes sense because they have flights available that skip the stop in GCM. If you are going to TNI first, then that doesn't really matter to you.

Here is a wesbsite that might be of help with flights:

Airlines that fly to Grand Cayman Island

Cayman Air does have flights from Texas and Chicago on a seasonal basis,not sure of the exact dates.Nice thing about Cayman Air is their baggage allowances as opossed to the other airlines.

Thanks for all the great advice! I worked with Reef Fanta Seas (the group that handles BRBR and LCBR reservations) and we tried the different options you mentioned. What worked out best for our dates and locations was to book all flights on a combined ticket.

We will be taking American to GC with a stop in Miami, and Cayman Air to and from CB. Yes, the baggage fees are killers, this year I am determined to pack less stuff! I always say that but it is difficult when you are bringing equipment and clothes for 2 divers for 2 weeks. Well, at least we know that both TNI and BRBR have washers and dryers so I will try to bring minimal clothes.

 

[-hh]

FWIW, something that's helped us out with reducing baggage is that we don't carry cotton T-shirts anymore...switched over to the "high tech fabric" ones, which are both more comfortable and easy to wash (and fast drying). For a two week trip, I'll usually pack only 3 or 4 of them.

Their daily wash-n-dry can can be as little as throwing in the bottom of the tub (along with the bathing suit) while taking a shower after diving, then throwing them out on a line in the sun ... even without a "towel squeeze", they'll usually be dry in <2 hours even on an 80% humidity day on the Brac.


I think I usually find them from online stores (maybe Sierra Trading Post?) for around $15 each. This and this are probably good examples.



-hh

 

[KathyV]

FWIW, something that's helped us out with reducing baggage is that we don't carry cotton T-shirts anymore...switched over to the "high tech fabric" ones, which are both more comfortable and easy to wash (and fast drying). For a two week trip, I'll usually pack only 3 or 4 of them...I think I usually find them from online stores (maybe Sierra Trading Post?) for around $15 each. This and this are probably good examples. -hh

Thanks! I definitely want to reduce the baggage, not only because of the fees but because I am tired of schleping so much stuff around when I travel!