BVI vs Cayman Brac

[KathyV]

Rebecca's cave is a very moving experience. A Brac family sheltered from a fierce hurricane inside the cave during the 1930s and their baby girl died of exposure and was buried in the cave. Later her family erected a simple stone marker for their lost Rebecca.

We often like to prepare our own meals, too. When we are in places like Bonaire or Grand Cayman we usually rent a condo or apartment but on CB and LC we prefer the small AI resort because supplies may be limited. The grocery stores are fine and you won't starve, but the availability of fresh dairy and produce varies with the schedule of the supply barge. At CBBR there is a small frig in the room and ice is readily available. We often pick up a bottle of liquor and some mixers and prepare drinks for ourselves.

There are a few restaurants on Brac, the Captain's Table is a nice local spot and the Friday night barbecue at CBBR is terrific. I understand that the restaurants at Le Soleil D'or are fantastic but pricey. There are a few other small places. Since we stay at the AI we don't eat off campus very much, but we always a rent a car for a day to explore the island.

Brac isn't the type of place that attracts newbies or families with children, in fact I would say that it appeals to an older demographic, like me! I appreciate the valet dive services from reef divers.

The spa at CBBR is small but clean and nice and the prices are quite reasonable. I always get a massage when I'm there. But appointments book up fast toward the end of the week so make an appointment early.

 

[diver0008]

...free bicycles for the use of guests...

$5/24h

 

[KathyV]

$5/24h

At CBBR we were always able to use the bicycles at no charge but at LCBR they charge a small fee. I don't know if that has changed.

 

[mcohen1021]

Good to know re: Rebecca's Cave, the story I saw was very interesting... I saw it was for sale even...

I typically purchase 2 bottles duty free on my way to my destination (it was 50% less than buying on the GC for example)... My 2 bottles would end up being some Reposado and Cointreau... The lime juice and sugar I can get locally. Rum and Vodka will will be my sisters responsibility, On Ambergris, the 2 fingers local run was cheap and very good though,

I already sent my sis the spa link, got to get her motivated...

Time to check frequent flier flights soon

Mark

 

[KathyV]

Good to know re: Rebecca's Cave, the story I saw was very interesting... I saw it was for sale even...

I typically purchase 2 bottles duty free on my way to my destination (it was 50% less than buying on the GC for example)... My 2 bottles would end up being some Reposado and Cointreau... The lime juice and sugar I can get locally. Rum and Vodka will will be my sisters responsibility, On Ambergris, the 2 fingers local run was cheap and very good though,

I already sent my sis the spa link, got to get her motivated...Time to check frequent flier flights soon Mark

If you are traveling to Brac via a connection in Grand Cayman, then be aware that you have to pack bottles of liquor and other liquids inside your checked baggage. When you arrive in Grand Cayman you have to go through immigration and collect your baggage to go through customs. At that point if you are carrying if you are carrying a bottle(s) of duty-free liquor from your local airport it's not a problem.

But then you have to recheck your baggage for the interisland flight to Brac (or Little) and go through security to get to the departure lounge. They will confiscate your bottle(s) in security because they are greater than 3 oz and don't fit in a baggie. Even if the bottle is sealed in a duty-free bag they will still take it away from you. There are liquor stores in the departure lounge but they will only sell to international travelers, not for local transport.

Don't try to carry it on, wrap it well and put it in your checked luggage before checking in for Brac. If it's an option for you, Cayman Air offers some flights directly from Miami to Brac which avoid the need to go through security on Grand Cayman before traveling to your final destination. The airport on GC is undergoing major renovation and hopefully they will make interisland travel easier in the future.

We sometimes buy a bottle locally on Brac but keep in mind that most of the stores are closed on Sunday.

BTW, if you can expand your trip a couple of days and spend some time on Grand Cayman your sister might enjoy that! We like to spend time on GC and then travel to one of the sister islands.

 

[mcohen1021]

So you're telling me, you can't buy 2 bottles at a duty free in the terminal before getting on plane in GCM to Brac? I was able to do that in BZE prior to the puddle jumper to Ambregris...

Sis has been to GCM, I've been 3x. If I do anymore scuba on GCM, it will be shore diving from Sunset House or east end only. Or Orange Canyon, which I really like.

Since we're trying to burn miles, it will be DFW to GCM to Brac.

be back after lunch

 

[KathyV]

So you're telling me, you can't buy 2 bottles at a duty free in the terminal before getting on plane in GCM to Brac? I was able to do that in BZE prior to the puddle jumper to Ambregris...Sis has been to GCM, I've been 3x. If I do anymore scuba on GCM, it will be shore diving from Sunset House or east end only. Or Orange Canyon, which I really like. Since we're trying to burn miles, it will be DFW to GCM to Brac. be back after lunch

Yes, that's what I am saying. We always like to pick up duty-free liquor at the airport before we head out on vacation. It's much cheaper than the liquor available in Cayman. I don't remember any problems with Ambergris Caye either, but I don't think that we had to go through security again in Belize before traveling to Amergris, is that correct?

The interisland transport system via GCM is cumbersome and annoying and I hope that they make it easier when the airport renovations are finished.

You can buy duty-free liquor at your local airport and take it through immigration and customs when you arrive at GCM. But then you have to go outside, turn, and almost immediately come back inside the main terminal to check in for Brac (or Little) and recheck your luggage and go through security - and they will confiscate your internationally purchased, duty-free liquor in security because it is a large bottle of liquid.

When you are at your home airport, you don't buy liquor until after you go through security and you can't bring bottles through security at GCM, either. They should have a pathway to the departure lounge behind security for travelers going to the sister islands - or traveling on to other international destinations (e.g., Cuba) but they don't have that yet.

Pack some easily accessible bubble wrap and plastic bags, wrap up your bottle(s) well and bury them inside your bags but not touching, before re-checking them for Brac, then head into security with your baggie and without any large containers of liquids in your carry-on.

And when you go shore diving again on GC be sure to check out Turtle Reef at Macabuca!

 

[PatW]

I have been diving to Virgin Gorda about 4 times. Generally at the BVI, the dives are not really deep. You have a great wreck in the RMS Rhone. You have a number of good reef dives. I don't recall any wall dives. A problem with the BVI's is the locals fish the heck out of the reefs. I have seen squirrel fish for sale as food in the local markets. I don't recall seeing grouper or snapper on the reefs. Also, it was a pretty long boat ride to most of the sites so 2 dives per day was as much as we could do and that was often missing lunch. Now the BVIs are nice. There is quite a bit to see on land. The people are gracious.

I have been to Cayman Brac about 4 times. Cayman Brac has some really great wall dives. They do tend to be deep as in 60' at the shallowest place on the south walls (which are really good) and about 50' on most of the north walls. If you go to Brac Reef Resort, you can do three dives per day. That means you are usually doing one deep wall dive first thing in the morning, surface interval, followed by a shallow reef dive. In the afternoon, you usually do a dive on a shallow reef but sometimes they will do a bit of a drift with a limit of 60'. For new divers, Little Cayman might be a better option. At Little Cayman, the boat almost always moors in 20' of water and you can do your safety stop on a coral head. But given your group, I would think that all of your divers could handle Brac's dives with ease. You rarely get significant current on Brac. And usually the visibility is excellent (100'+ is common) Brac and Little Cayman have different diving. I think Brac is a bit better and my wife thinks Little is better. My wife loves the sheer walls on Little Cayman. I like the south walls at Brac (but often because of wind and wave, they dive the north side but there are some excellent walls there too. For diving, the Brac is far better than the BVIs by any measure I can think of. There are places where the diving is as good: the south reefs at Cozumel but not the ones further north, the reefs at Key Largo and South Caicos. But I have been to Turneffe, Roatan, Utila, Key Largo, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Salt Cay, South Caicos, Cozumel, Palm Beach, Pompano and Jupiter. The Brac's diving is as good as any of them.

Brac has a fair number of entries for shore dives. You could rent a house and a car, go pick up tanks at one of the two dive shops and shore dive. I know some rental houses are right on the beach and you can just go out and dive. I think for most people, they would not get all the way out to the wall. But you could do a fair bit of diving relatively cheap that way and supplement it with boat dives. The dining options on Brac seemed a little limited to me but I have not looked into them. It could be better than I think. I have always stayed at Brac Reef Resort so my knowledge there is incomplete. I know that there are several decent sized grocery stores (well for a small island) so buying food for meals should not be a problem. On the BVIs, we stayed on Virgin Gorda. We generally at breakfast and lunch at our accommodations from stuff we got at the local market and ate dinner at one of the local restaurants. I cannot recall eating at the same place twice on any trip. Virgin Gorda has a bunch of places to eat.

Both Brac and Little Cayman have similar marine life. On most dives you will see a hawksbill turtle and they often ignore divers. Some think they have the right of way and divers have to yield to them. Both places have good populations of the endangered Nassau grouper. Many of them are quite used to divers so you can get just as close as you want. Generally one sees grunts, schoolmasters, snapper, several species of grouper, angel fish, morays, stingrays, sometimes eagle rays, nurse sharks and sometimes reef sharks. I usually see reef sharks on the south walls. The corals are in pretty good shape on both islands. Brac also has the famous wreck dive, the Keith Tibbets which is an intentionally sunken Russian frigate. It is a nice wreck dive. It has been down for about 20 years now and has decent marine life attached to it.

Cayman Brac has a fair number of birds: brown boobies, terns, egrets, herons, among others. You can rent a car and get a guide to go hunt for the famous Cayman Brac Parrot which is a small species of Amazon.

 

[mcohen1021]

Another 2 awesome responses. You guys are definitely helping, so glad this board exists. I could not get better info researching on my own. Yes, I think my group can handle most of the dive spots, my sister has done Cozumel a few times, I by default keep an eye on all of the folks in my group. Out of all my ocean diving, Cozumel is where I've done the most, since its so easy for me to get there and cheap.

So, duty free purchases, need to make sure I am not trying to go through security with it... It sounds like a pain.

So PatW, I can't say I blame your wife re: the sheer walls of Little Cayman, I'd be right there along side, looking over the edge myself looking for a passing something... I saw ALOT of animals sitting still looking over the walls @ Providenciales, where many of our group missed it.

With the birds, we have herons/egrets in our back yard here at home on a daily basis, so we'd have to check out the others.

I think we have dates picked for frequent flier miles, house rental picked, and operator picked. Now we just need the trip to hurry up.

Feel free to keep sending recommendations my way!

Mafrk

 

[mcohen1021]

BTW - is cayman Airways the only way to get from GCM to Brac?