We're Stuck in a Rut - But It's a Beautiful Rut - Going Back to Cayman!

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KathyV

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We've just booked our fall vacation to celebrate our Anniversary. Once again we considered several different destinations but we both really just wanted to go back to Cayman. So our deposits are paid and our flights are booked. We will spend a week on Grand Cayman followed by a week on Little Cayman.

We went to GC and Brac last year so we're really looking forward to going back to LC and seeing all the new changes and renovations at the Little Cayman Beach Resort.

Now we just have to wait months and months before the time is finally here - but that will give us some time to save money for our trip! I think that we got a good deal on accommodations on GC and with the all-inclusive package on LC but the airfares have increased since last year.

I can't stop smiling and I am glad that we will be going back to those lovely islands!
 
My wife (the nondiver) and I feel the same way about Bermuda, so I understand completely. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you staying on GC?
 
We've just booked our fall vacation to celebrate our Anniversary. Once again we considered several different destinations but we both really just wanted to go back to Cayman. So our deposits are paid and our flights are booked. We will spend a week on Grand Cayman followed by a week on Little Cayman.

We went to GC and Brac last year so we're really looking forward to going back to LC and seeing all the new changes and renovations at the Little Cayman Beach Resort.

Now we just have to wait months and months before the time is finally here - but that will give us some time to save money for our trip! I think that we got a good deal on accommodations on GC and with the all-inclusive package on LC but the airfares have increased since last year.

I can't stop smiling and I am glad that we will be going back to those lovely islands!
Good for you! Looking forward to your trip report.
 
Sometimes going back to somewhere familiar is a wonderful feeling. Hope it's a great trip!
 
My wife (the nondiver) and I feel the same way about Bermuda, so I understand completely. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you staying on GC?

Cayman is expensive but so is Bermuda. We like to spend 2 weeks on vacation and so we look for clean, pleasant, but economical accommodations. On Grand Cayman once again we will be staying at the Turtle Nest Inn in Bodden Town and we love it there. It's a good fit for us but not for everybody - it depends on what you want to do on your vacation; if you want to do a lot of diving, or spend a lot of time on the beach, or walk to many different nearby restaurants then there may be better options for you. And since you are traveling with a non-diver the Seven Mile Beach area may be the most desirable location but it is the most developed area, with the most people, and it is the most expensive.

When we are on GC we mostly relax, rent a car and visit different spots around the island, snorkel and shore dive - and maybe do a few boat dives - and so TNI works well for us and for our tastes and our budget. It is centrally located so not too far from anything, and there is good snorkeling right in front of TNI's beach.

Then we travel to one of the sister islands to spend most of our second week boat diving and relaxing at a Clearly Cayman (all-inclusive) Resort on either Cayman Brac or Little Cayman, but I don't think that the sister islands would be as pleasant for a non-diver as GC.
 
Sounds like it will be a great trip. We also keep going back to the Cayman Islands and alternate between GC and LC. We have been to many other dive destinations in the Caribbean and Central America, but keep circling back to Cayman because of the combination of convenience, good diving, safety, cleanliness, weather and clear water. Hard to beat these islands for a Caribbean dive holiday.
 
Sometimes it's easiest to take best advantage of a place you already know well.

My wife (the nondiver) and I feel the same way about Bermuda, so I understand completely.

Hope you'll write trip reports when you go; Bermuda is one of those places that doesn't produce a lot of trip reports on the forum for whatever reason.

Richard.
 
We have been to Grand Cayman on two occasions. We loved diving the east side, but the west was not quite as interesting to us. Where you guys are staying both are convenient. We will be diving Little Cayman for the first time this summer and can’t wait. Do you have any dive site recommendations? Enjoy your trip!
 
We have been to Grand Cayman on two occasions. We loved diving the east side, but the west was not quite as interesting to us. Where you guys are staying both are convenient. We will be diving Little Cayman for the first time this summer and can’t wait. Do you have any dive site recommendations? Enjoy your trip!

Yes, Bodden Town is convenient to all sides of Grand Cayman but the traffic heading to/from George Town, 7MB, and the airport can be bad during rush hours. We usually time our excursions to those areas to avoid the worst traffic; for example to shore dive the West Bay sites north of 7MB.

It's always pretty easy to go east and north from Bodden Town with little traffic, and there are dive ops on the East End like Ocean Frontiers and Red Sail Tortuga that are convenient for boat diving.

In regards to good dive sites around LC, we usually defer to the divemasters and boat captains because they can make the best recommendations for the conditions, and they try to avoid duplicates and make sure that everybody on the boat has a good time.

Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson's Bight have the nicest LC reefs IMO. The reefs start shallow and are close to shore so you don't have long boat rides. BBW is a sheer drop to infinity but the Jackson's Bight section of reef has a double-wall construction. There is a smaller, shallow inner wall close to shore separated from the steep wall drop-off by a sandy area.

You will see beautiful corals and sponges and reef life as well as larger animals around LC like turtles, eagle rays, sting rays, and some sharks may also be cruising along the wall. You can either choose to follow the divemaster or go off on your own as a buddy pair.

A very popular feature (that I don't much care for!) are the many swim-throughs and tunnel features of LC's reefs. Some people love them but my ears don't handle sudden depth changes very well so we usually swim over the top and meet the rest of the divers at the other side.

When it is windy and rough the LC dive boats may not be able to get out into Bloody Bay and in those cases they usually dive the south side of the island. It is nice diving but "typical Caribbean reef diving" and not as spectacular as BBW.

I understand that (weather permitting) they have started offering a 3-tank dive excursion with diving and lunch at their neighboring resort on Cayman Brac at no extra charge. The Tibbett's (a Russian Frigate wreck) is the most popular dive destination on Brac and they usually spend the morning dives there.

The two sister resorts have always offered excursions to the other sites, from Brac to LC to dive BBW, and from LC to Brac to dive the Tibbetts, but they were always 2-tank dives and you went back to your home resort for a late lunch. They also used to charge a "fuel surcharge" for the excursion and there was a minimum number of divers required to make the trip.

Now it is a 3-tank dive at no extra charge (unless you are on a 2-tank package) and you stop at the opposite resort and have lunch there; so it gives the guests at each resort a chance to check out the neighboring property and reefs, to help them decide if they might like to stay there in the future.

I hope that you have a great trip and please write a report when you return!
 
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