Bloody bay wall from cayman brac

[KathyV]

I am not entirely sure it is that much cheaper to stay on Brac anymore. Ever since they upgraded the resort after Paloma, they seem prouder of the rooms on Brac. That is why we haven't been to Brac in a while. When it was cheaper to go to Brac, we would take the trip to whichever island was running the better special when we wanted to go. Now that it is almost the same price to go to LC, we have been going to LC instead of Brac. Given the choice between the two at roughly the same price, I would go to LC every year. But the diving is great on Brac too, so I wouldn't spend a lot of extra money to go to LC over Brac.

That wasn't exactly our experience in comparing prices recently between BRBR and LCBR; we were looking at the same week during fall 2014 and this is how it worked out:

Brac Reef Beach Resort:
"Fall Special" includes accommodations, transfers, taxes, service charges, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and 2 tank dives per day for 6 days for $1185 per person.

Little Cayman Beach Resort:
Pool view rooms available that include: accommodations, transfers, taxes, and service charges, breakfast and dinner (no lunch) and 2 tank dives per day for 6 days for $1585 per person.

That worked out to $800 higher ($400 per person for 2) plus lunch costs for 2 people for a week so we decided to go to BRBR. That's not a whole lot higher but this is the second week of a 2 week vacation and the costs were adding up. If we were only going for a week we may have picked LC.

I agree that LC has the best diving but Brac has very good diving - and there is more to enjoy topside on Brac IMO.

But this is a personal decision and everyone has their own cost/value issues to weigh; they are both fabulous places to visit and dive.

 

[AggieDiver]

Yeah if you compare a special to the regular low season package, the special will always be cheaper. LC did have a fall special too but it booked up really fast. Theirs was something like $1344 for 2 dives per day and all three meals. So slightly more than Brac, but not as much as your scenario. I think now that the two resorts are owned by the same group and jointly managed, you will probably see prices on Brac go back to slightly lower than LC.

 

[KathyV]

Yeah if you compare a special to the regular low season package, the special will always be cheaper. LC did have a fall special too but it booked up really fast. Theirs was something like $1344 for 2 dives per day and all three meals. So slightly more than Brac, but not as much as your scenario. I think now that the two resorts are owned by the same group and jointly managed, you will probably see prices on Brac go back to slightly lower than LC.

I will have to keep my eyes open for future specials at LCBR because that was a good deal!

 

[AdivingBel]

For me two dives a day at LCBR is not enough. I would go stir crazy in the afternoons. I would end up adding most of the afternoon dives a la carte and then it's pretty much a wash with the standard low season pkg. YMMV

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree, Bel, there is little interesting to do on LC other than dive so the PM dive is very tempting.

In going from Brac to LC, one also has to factor in the sea conditions.
If the seas are up, the ride back and forth can be bumpy, wet, and seem awful long.

However, if the conditions make the run across untenable, the diving on the Brac is not so hard to take as a default.

 

[AggieDiver]

I usually tend to do the 2 dive packages because I have MS, and some days it is just too hot in the afternoon and I don't have the energy to want the 3rd dive. Other days I feel great and want to dive forever. My wife is just as happy spending the afternoon in a hammock with a book on days we aren't diving, so it works for us. On our upcoming trip, we actually did get the 3 dive package special because it was a better deal than the regular price 2 dive package once you factor in doing a few afternoon dives during the week.

 

[Doctorfish]

Sitting in a hammock with a book, the ocean breeze +/- a drink in hand isn't such a bad way to spend the afternoon in the Caribbean either.

 

[KathyV]

We take the 3 tank package when it is a better deal but we may not do all of the afternoon dives. If the 2 tank dive is a better deal then that's what we book but we may add on couple/few dives a la carte. We have learned the hard way (not just in Cayman but on other dive vacations) that if we pay for the maximum number of dives in advance we may not be able to take advantage of them all due to weather, or ear infection, or just because we are on vacation and feeling a little lazy!

 

[AdivingBel]

My comment was specific to Little Cayman since there wasn't much else going on topside. You just have to run the numbers. My wife and I went through the same process deciding on the package the first time we went. We weren't sure if we wanted 3 dives a day, everyday. In our case if you added more than two a la cart afternoon dives you were at the price of the 3-day pkg. So even if you wanted to pass on a few afternoon dives it was a wash. The novel realization was LCBR made the diving so effortless that we did 3 dives a day and still had plenty of time for reading books, lounging in the pool, hanging at the bar, etc.. So much so, we commented to each other that we would have gone stir crazy without the afternoon dives.

 

[Bubbles below]

:cheerleader:I usually booked 3 tanks dives per day for me and a night dive. For my husband, I scheduled him two tanks per day. On occasion, he will do a night dive. We're staying at Grand Cayman East w our timeshare, then to LC Southern Cross for 5 nights, and Grand Cayman West for some shore dives for another 5 nights. I'm really looking forward to my birthday in the islands for the month of June. Not sure if we will have time to dive Little Brac. Just have to come back another time.