Cayman Brac/Little Cayman Dive Report

[Damselfish]

3) I read that LC's Blood Bay Wall (BBW) is probably the top dive site in the Caribbean. But after BBW, is there anything else? With (hopefully) about four days of diving, would they be better spent on LC with BBW or CB and its numerous sites?.

BBW isn't a single site, it's an area like a mile long with a bunch of sites. Right next to that is Jackson bight, with another mile or so of wall/reefs and more sites. (While the Jackson wall sites start deeper, I find the topography more interesting than BBW, and I think it's somewhat less dove because it's a little further from the resorts and sometimes conditions aren't as good so they don't always head there.) And there are other areas they dive as well.

 

[AggieDiver]

The Bloody Bay Wall is used by some as a catch all phrase for all the dive sites on the north side of Little Cayman, but as Damselfish said, there are many sites within the area described as the BBW, and they are all excellent dives. I personally prefer the Jackson's Bight section over the BBW mainly because there is more topographic diversity, but both areas are better than anywhere else I have been in the Caribbean. As for topside activities, unless you really like birding or can make a lot out of shorter hikes to and through caves, there is very little to do on either island...less on LC than CB. I happen to be the type that is fine with doing nothing after a day of diving except laying in a hammock reading a book, so LC is perfect for me.

Last year we rode bikes around to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI or the Little Cayman Research Station) and took a tour there. We also went down and walked the Iguana boardwalk by Pirate's Point and spent some time watching birds around the National Trust building adjacent to the Booby Pond. So there are things you can do to occupy your time if you just can't stand to sit still and do nothing...but they are fairly limited and are not things I would go out of my way to travel to the island specifically to do. But as diversions after the diving is over, they are fine.

 

[bvaughn97]

First, I'll echo the thought that Jackson's Bight area is amazing and was more interesting than the BBW section. It's just more diverse with different coral formations, swim throughs, etc.

Second, one day after diving at LCBR we rented scooters from Mike Jackson and rode around the island. We rode out to Point of Sand beach and other than two other people, we were the only folks out there. It was a pretty beach, but we didn't stay long. You can see Brac from Point of Sand. We then just rode around the island looking for pathways off the road to explore. It took up most of the afternoon, and we had a great time.

 

[-hh]

I know this is kind of an old thread but it's probably the most appropriate one for my question without starting a new thread. It's comparing Little Cayman (LC) with Cayman Brac (CB). We're trying to decide where to, possibly, spend close to a week of vacation. There are some factors to consider.

1) Accessibility. Which of the two would be easier and more convenient to get to and from? Cost would also be a factor.
2) Cost of... lodging, diving, dining, getting around, other tourist, non-diving activities, etc.
3) Closely related to #2, other non-diving activities. We're looking to spend about one or probably two days not diving or snorkeling.
4) The obvious one. After all, this is Scuba Board. I read that LC's Blood Bay Wall (BBW) is probably the top dive site in the Caribbean. But after BBW, is there anything else? With (hopefully) about four days of diving, would they be better spent on LC with BBW or CB and its numerous sites?

Any help in this regard would be much appreciated.

hmm...can you plan for a week on each?

1). The Brac has better transportation access. Little only gets Express flights. Whereas the Brac has that plus occasional 737 jet flights ... and do be aware that the Express has more stringent luggage restrictions than the 737. We generally take the jet even when we have a choice because the two free checked bags - plus that they'll always make the flight - is more important to us than a shorter layover at the Hungry Horse on Grand. Doubly so on our return home, as KX doesn't have good reciprocal agreements with the American carriers to make sure that any KX-caused delayed baggage gets to the U.S. carrier and back to the USA.

2) pricing is roughly the same IMO; maybe a shade higher on Little. I'd not use it as a differentiator. Do be aware that Brac Reef is going to be closed approx Aug-Nov for major renovations. For great food but only 2 dives/day, go to Pirates Point.

3) it's imo easier (& cheaper) to rent a vehicle on the Brac and there's enough non-diving stuff (although it's still pretty slim) to merit more than a one day rental. FYI, figure around $200/week for a car on the Brac, plus licence & fuel.

4) as others have mentioned, BBW is a dozen sites over a mile, plus an equal quantity in Jackson's Bight. However, as nice as these LC sites are, they are a bit "monotonous" due to their similarities. Particularly since the tourism influence keeps to a 'beaten path' ... I've been going to the Sister Islands for the past 25 years and probably have easily 20 dives just at Mixing Bowl (for example) of the ~200 dives I have just on Little. In contrast, one of my best trips ever to Little had rough weather coming in from the North, so we couldn't go dive the "famous" stuff for the first week - there's some really interesting (& more virgin) sites elsewhere on Little that get no respect...and despite all these years, most of these have still only been logged by me but once.

...and this in a nutshell happens to also describe all of the Brac: there's few "famous" sites to pressure the staff to go visit, so they're free to go wherever is best based on their judgement of the weather, what's been seen lately, etc. if I were to rank all of the sites, I'd probably surprise a lot of people in how many Brac sites befor many BBW moorings. Plus there's even a. couple of Brac dive sites that I'll take over anywhere on Little in a heartbeat, partly because they're different, etc...although a caveat I should mention here is that some sites aren't shallow: the Brac's Southside walls being a prime example.

-hh

 

[caymaniac]

...and this in a nutshell happens to also describe all of the Brac: there's few "famous" sites to pressure the staff to go visit, so they're free to go wherever is best based on their judgement of the weather, what's been seen lately, etc. if I were to rank all of the sites, I'd probably surprise a lot of people in how many Brac sites befor many BBW moorings. Plus there's even a. couple of Brac dive sites that I'll take over anywhere on Little in a heartbeat, partly because they're different, etc...although a caveat I should mention here is that some sites aren't shallow: the Brac's Southside walls being a prime example.

-hh

I resemble that remark!

 

[KathyV]

Just a clarification, BRBR and LCBR both offer 3 dives per day (2 morning and 1 afternoon) along with the option for a couple of night dives - if there is enough interest among the guests.

The only time we have done a whole lot of diving in a short time in the Caymans was on the Aggressor liveaboard. We did 4 to 5 dives per day with no problem, including night dives almost every night.

Most of the sites we dived on the Aggressor were accessible to land-based operators but it was still fantastic because we were able to do many dives on the nicest sites available off all 3 Cayman islands. We spent most of the time diving Little Cayman.

It was a great trip; but keep in mind that we had good weather. If the weather was bad we would have be stuck living on a boat and diving sites close to the Grand Cayman shore! In that case I would rather be warm, dry, and in a hotel on GC with a drink in my hand!

If you want to do a lot of dives per day at a land-based site in the Caymans then I think that Grand Cayman is your best option; they have several easily available and accessible shore dive options in addition to boat dives.