Where to go? GC vs. Little Cayman vs. Cayman Brac?

[Scuba Monster]

I just got back from Cayman Brac this Saturday. We dived in Little Cayman in March 08, so both islands and diving are pretty fresh. I plan to post a trip report about Cayman Brac with some interjections about the differences between the two this week.

The short version is that I like both. I don’t really feel a need to choose one over the other. If you choose Little Cayman, plan a trip some other time to the Brac, or visa versa. IMO … LC and CB are both worth seeing and diving. We had an eleven hour layover on Grand, so we explored the island by car this past Saturday. My preference, location wise, is the East End of Grand, since it is more secluded. I am considering staying at the Reef or Morrits, when we plan to dive on Grand in the future.

 

[tangfish]

Thanks for all the great advice here folks. I just booked my tickets! So, now, where to stay? I want to stay on the East end of GC, like you folks have been saying. Is there a place called "Neptune" or something over there? So many conversations I can't keep track of them all. Also, where is the best place to stay at on LC? I remember reading that LCBR is more expensive and not as good as this other place, but I can't remember the name of that place. Someone locally pointed me to this place (Southern Cross Club - Diving and fishing vacations on Little Cayman Island in barefoot luxury), but I don't think that is the same place I read about here on SB. I need to book my accommodations and dive ops soon, so all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[carriemak]

We always stay at Little Cayman Beach Resort. We looked at Pirates Point Resort but did not like the fact you have to be shuttled to and from the boat. At LCBR you are at the boat. We also like the fact we can do 3 dives a day at LCBR. When we checked out Pirates Point we were offered only 2 a day.

You will find people love both places and wouldn't trade one for the other.

 

[tangfish]

We always stay at Little Cayman Beach Resort. We looked at Pirates Point Resort but did not like the fact you have to be shuttled to and from the boat. At LCBR you are at the boat. We also like the fact we can do 3 dives a day at LCBR. When we checked out Pirates Point we were offered only 2 a day.

You will find people love both places and wouldn't trade one for the other.

Hmmm... Pirates Point Resort is not ringing a bell. Is there another dive resort that people speak highly of on the island?

 

[carriemak]

Sam McCoy's Lodge maybe, which is very rustic.

 

[Damselfish]

The "resort" hotel options on Little Cayman are LCBR, Southern Cross Club, and Pirates Point. They all have their fans and pros/cons. LCBR is the largest but still not that big. Most people do all-inclusive meal and diving packages at these, it just makes sense. There is also Sam McCoy's, which I've never heard anything good about and wouldn't even consider.

There are also some condos. The Conch Club/Conch Divers is near LCBR/Reef Divers. Some people do meal plans at LCBR as Conch Club doesn't have a restaurant. I think they're still operated by the same family and the dive ops work together sometimes. There is also "The Club" not much further which is probably the nicest accommodations and maybe what you heard about, but I'm not sure about food options there and I don't think they have their own dive op, you would use Conch Club or Reef Divers. There is Paradise Villas by the airport (not a problem on LC!) which are sort of beach bungalow-like. PV is next to the only standalone restaurant on LC (the Hungry Iguana.) I don't know how diving works at PV, last I knew Paradise Divers didn't have a boat anymore and they drove people to Southern Cross Club. Neptune's Berth is another small condo group, just condos and not what I would call a dive resort in any way.

There may be other random rentals available, but that's basically it for places to stay.

Note that staying in a condo on LC is a little different than GC or other large islands in that it's not convenient to run to the grocery store and do all your own meals. The small store is not that well stocked (basically a decently stocked convenience store) and bringing over a lot of extra weight on the hopper is an inconvenient/expensive option. Certainly not undoable if that's what you really want to do, but not something I personally would bother with much beyond the level of cereal for breakfast.


The main resort options on the East End of GC are The Reef Resort, Morritt's Tortuga Club, and Compass Point. There are probably some single rentals around as well. Ocean Frontiers would be the op to dive with. Morritt's has a dive op on site but it's not nearly as well regarded as OF and some folks stay at Morritt's but get picked up to dive with OF.

 

[tangfish]

Thanks Damselfish. Which resorts does Neptune's service? From reading that other guy's post, he seemed pretty happy with them. I realize there's a difference of opinion when it comes to Ocean Frontiers, but I really do not like being on boats with many divers (20 divers or so was referenced a couple times). Also, do you think that the seas will be pretty rough on the East End during December? If so, maybe I should stick to the North side of the West End of the island. Has anyone ever been to or stayed at the Westin? If so, is it a good place to stay for divers? They seem to have reasonable prices right now. I have no idea if this is the area of the island that is overrun with touristy stuff. We want access to some of the dining and nightlife while on GC, but don't need to be smack dab in the middle of it. I'm thinking we'll be getting enough quiet time on LC.

BTW, I'm thinking 6 days on GC and 9 days on LC. Is this a good balance? Will I be bored of the dive sites on LC after that many days, and if so, should I consider a stop on CB?

 

[carriemak]

I don't think you could get bored with the diving on LC, at least I never have!

 

[Damselfish]

Neptune's will service pretty much anyplace on SMB west end, just like any other west end dive op.

I don't know if you can count on Tortuga Divers at Morritt's to be less full than OF, perhaps since it's not so popular, but there's reasons for that so may be a tradeoff you don't want to make. No idea.

December on the East end, who knows. Might be rough might be calm, kind of an in between time. But realize that's true of the North wall as well, so unfortunately you can't just "stick to the north wall", it's not in your control. You can (and should) go with an op that dives the north wall whenever possible, but if the weather doesn't cooperate you may wind up diving west bay (least desirable, though it gets better as you head north.) South can be pretty nice, if the op can do that.

East End diving really includes eastern ends of the north and south sides as well, so there are options and they also go different places based on conditions.

Yes, the Westin is in the busy area of the island. Haven't stayed but wandered around and ate. The thing I wouldn't like about staying there and diving is the whole nice hotel and diving thing - schlepping possibly a distance through halls and elevators with whatever gear you're carrying, dripping through the nice lobby, etc. You probably wouldn't be the only one and if you get a good deal and like the place than cool, but for diving and quiet I would either stay at Cobalt Coast (which is away from the zoo but close enough to visit the zoo easily, quite nice, is a real dive resort, and has shore diving (weather permitting) and dive op on site.) Or at a condo towards the north end of SMB which is much quieter.)

My first trip to Cayman we spent 5 nights on GC and 5 nights on LC. We didn't want to leave LC. So 6 months later we went back and spent like 9 more nights on LC. Since you haven't been there no I don't think you'll get sick of it.

 

[divesergeant]

I keep seeing reference to 20 divers on OF boats. We've dived with them numerous times and never had more than twelve customers on board.

Their customer service has always been exemplary and they treat you like friends.

We've never stayed at Compass Pointe so I can't comment on it. They used to (maybe still do?) have some private rental homes they can arrange for lodging if you do not want to stay at one of their units.

DS