Going to Cayman Brac on Sunday. Looking for info & tips

[Joe Mack]

My wife and I are making a last minute trip down to Cayman Brac this Sunday 8-12-12. Neither of us have ever been to C/B and looking for information and tips on anything and everything. Our plans are to stay at Brac Reef Beach Resort. Based upon most of the reviews on Trip Advisor this looks like a really nice place to stay. We have gotten great information in the past from scuba board folks and their reply's. Once we get back I will put a trip report together and post it to SB. Hopefully that will help others on future trips to C/B.

As always we appreciate the feedback.

I put a Thread yesterday in the (Greater Caribbean & Bermuda) forum because I did not find this sub-forum. Sorry for the confusion folks.

 

[-hh]

Joe,

Brac Reef is a fine place to stay, and the staff at Reef Divers does them a good job.

First, for getting there, you'll probably be connecting through Grand Cayman on a Cayman Airways flight (its easier than trying to find an amphibious taxi to go the 85 miles). After you arrive and get through immigration, you'll have to "circle back" (to your left) to get back to the airline terminal. Check in for your Cayman Airways flight if you have to, etc. For your layover, there's two places to wait. The best place outside of security (if you have the time) is to go upstairs. In the corner of the terminal close to where you entered (coming from customs), there's an exit door opposite of where the entrance for security to go to the gates - - right through that glass door, there's an elevator on your right, and just beyond it, an outdoor staircase. Go upstairs (one flight) and then walk 75ft and park yourself in the shade at the tables at the "Hungry Horse" restaurant, have a beer, meal, etc... the password to their free WIFI is "cheeseburger".

Next, Brac arrival: expect some 'small island' relative disorganization for getting your checked bags. After you're good there, go outside and tell whoever's there that you're staying at Brac Reef. They'll find a minibus driver to take you over ... its been several years since we've done it this way, but this used to be "cash free" in that the driver would get paid by the hotel (and the hotel will put it on your bill). Once the van gets loaded up, it is less than a ten minute drive.

Check-in: Just in the unlikely case that something goes horribly wrong, the hotel manager is Trudy. Be warned that she knows how to run a set of hair clippers ... just ask DM Ian for the story ;-)

For your first day, the breakfast room is (from the front desk), up the hallway, bearing left.
Do check-in at the dive shop before 8am on your first day; the general schedule is depart from the dock at 8:30am, and after you check in at the shop and get your gear down to thet boat, there's also an onboard "diveboat orientation" that will take another 5 minutes to run through before departure. Needless to say, this extra time that's needed here & there for new arrivals can easily make the boat run behind the desired schedule if there's a lot of new arrivals.

You'll be back at around lunch, usually before 1pm. Dinner is IIRC 6 or 6:30pm. The open air bar is very difficult to find...but I'm sure that you'll manage.

For your second day, do be aware that if all the customers get to the boat before 8:30... they are more than happy to depart the dock ahead of schedule (and get first pick on moorings).

Days 3, 4, 5, ... Rinse, lather, repeat. Of the dive staff, BJ and Barbie are probably the best two to ask about the 'real deal' on different island info stuff ... restaurants, where to find parrots, etc. Barb has been on-island for a good ten years, and BJ was born here. You'll probably also meet Photo Pro Ed Beaty on the day the boat will daytrip over to Little Cayman ... the "in the know" cliche for the group's second photo, is "...Because It Was So Much Fun The First Time!". Watch the crew for when to join in.

Here's a map I've put together for various landmarks on the island. Do try to get around the island some on the afternoons, particularly if you're not diving that day. I say this in no small part because the island's economy is still trying to recover from getting whacked hard by CAT4 Hurricane Paloma in late 2008 ... the local food eateries in particular are struggling for customers, and their menus have thinned accordingly...quite frankly, they need visitors to visit & spend money to get themselves back up to speed. My personal favorite for a local style meal is "Aunt Sha's". We also always stop by at the "NIM Things" gift shop so that we can hear the same story from Tenson Scott about how to catch a Wahoo without a hook. Tenson would much rather chat than sell stuff, although his wife Starry wants him to keep on sellng FYI, this is one of the very few places left in the Caymans where you can get Caymanite jewelry...a unique keepsake if it appeals to you; the watercolors are made by their daughter Simone, who's an aspiring artist.

Anything else? If your flight home is on the early morning jet, your wakeup time will be quite early, so it pays to be proactive in getting your gear dried and stuff packed to prevent it from being a late night with minimal sleep.

-hh

---------- Post Merged on August 9th, 2012 at 09:12 AM ---------- Previous Post was on August 8th, 2012 at 05:53 PM ----------

BTW,

When it comes to the dive site briefings, the staff will draw an illustration on the boat's whiteboard. Be sure to ask them to include exactly where the stingrays and turtles are on the dive site <g>.

For example, here's "Wildnerness Wall" .. a Brac southside wall dive that's a favorite of several locals & regulars.

...oh, and taking a digital photo of the whiteboard is a easy/simple way to document the dive sites you've been to, if that's of any interest to you. I should have started a collection years ago!


-hh

 

[chibracdiver]

The food at the Tipsy Turtle, on site at the Brac reef, is very good, but the Captain's Table just down the road a bit is also very satisfying. If you like to snorkel there are numerous sites with easy entry points on both sides of the island. The snorkeling like the diving is incredible. You might want to rent a car for a day or so. B and S is relatively inexpensive and they will deliver a car right to you. Enjoy...

 

[AggieDiver]

-hh seems to have covered most of it. One tip I would give is to make sure you know which plane you will be on going from GC to CB. I believe there are differences in baggage limits depending on whether you are on the 737 flight or the twin otter flight. The overweight charge is only $0.50 per pound, so being slightly over is not a big deal. In either case, my advice is to pack light. It is a very informal place and almost everybody there will be divers. Shorts and tshirts are the standard attire.


I will also tell you what my local dive shop guy told me when he found out we were taking our very first open water trip to Cayman Brac (also our honeymoon) in 1995. He told us going to the Sister Islands would ruin us for diving anywhere else. I laughed and thought he was joking at the time. He wasn't...

 

[Frank Storms]

hh hit the nail on the head--you can't go wrong with the Brac.
We were there last October and will be there again this November.

frank

 

[Deac in the Wake]

When it comes to the dive site briefings, the staff will draw an illustration on the boat's whiteboard. Be sure to ask them to include exactly where the stingrays and turtles are on the dive site <g>.

For example, here's "Wildnerness Wall" .. a Brac southside wall dive that's a favorite of several locals & regulars.

...oh, and taking a digital photo of the whiteboard is a easy/simple way to document the dive sites you've been to, if that's of any interest to you. I should have started a collection years ago!


-hh

I'm sitting in my office, staring out from under sickly pale, fluorescent lighting, staring out at a rainy, overcast, gray Atlanta sky when I come across this picture of the whiteboard for Wilderness. The second thought I had was just how much I take for granted standing on that very boat, looking at that white board, ready to hit the water. Right now I could stare at this damn picture all day.

The first thought I had, obviously, is just how damn much I really REALLY wish I was staring at that actual whiteboard on that boat instead of sitting in this damn, sickly pale, fluorescent-washed office staring at a rainy, gray sky.

Thanks for that -hh.

 

[-hh]

I'm sitting in my office, staring out from under sickly pale, fluorescent lighting, staring out at a rainy, overcast, gray Atlanta sky when I come across this picture of the whiteboard for Wilderness. The second thought I had was just how much I take for granted standing on that very boat, looking at that white board, ready to hit the water. Right now I could stare at this damn picture all day.

The first thought I had, obviously, is just how damn much I really REALLY wish I was staring at that actual whiteboard on that boat instead of sitting in this damn, sickly pale, fluorescent-washed office staring at a rainy, gray sky.

Thanks for that -hh.

My pleasure. And it gives me an idea, too:

Here's a new thread to help Deac to survive the week on ... and hopefully longer:

Cayman Picture of the Day


-hh

 

[diver 85]

My pleasure. And it gives me an idea, too:

Here's a new thread to help Deac to survive the week on ... and hopefully longer:

Cayman Picture of the Day


-hh

hh.........I added a picture to your Cayman Picture of the Day shots.......

 

[-hh]

hh.........I added a picture to your Cayman Picture of the Day shots.......

Great!

Of course, the idea is that the Cayman POTD thread is for everyone to contribute to...the more the merrier!


-hh

 

[caymaniac]

How about this shot of the Brac Reef Resort?