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Dive Review of Brac Reef Beach Resort in
Cayman Islands/Cayman Brac

Brac Reef Beach Resort, Aug, 2014,

by David Bader, NC, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 7699.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Brac Reef resort was very nice and the food was excellent. Rooms were clean and maintained well. Hotel has a nice pool, tennis/basketball court, table tennis, and of course a bar. Meals were included in our package and served buffet style. Always a choice of meat, fish, salad, fruits, bread, and desserts. Only three dives are done a day so the resort tries to fill the time with bingo, trivia, movie, and party nights to fill the time. The island is only 10 miles long and can be seen in a three hour car rental. Staff were all very friendly and polite. Quick to help out when needed.

Reef Divers run morning two tank dives and one afternoon dive daily. Optional night dives are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays but no one signed up while we were there. We did sign up for an optional trip to Little Cayman for a $35 charge.

The dive shop offers valet service, in fact they insist upon it. You get a gear bag when you arrive and they pick up your gear outside your room the first morning you dive. Gear is taken to the boat and set up for you, rinsed daily, and reset after each dive. Only thing you have to worry about is your mask, fins, and neopreme. You rinse them at the shop and hang nightly in their gear room which is locked each night. On the boat, you walk to the dive platform sit down and they bring your gear to you. Just stand up and giant stride in. While this sounds like a great and easy plan, I like taking care of my own gear set-up. When I checked my gear on the first day I was told they would do anything that needed to be done (i.e. don't touch the gear). Twice I had to take my gear off during a dive to fix an issue that wouldn't have happened had I set the gear up. When I questioned this policy, I was told that someone slipped and fell once on a boat and sued the company. They now don't let anyone walk around in full gear. I wore a wetsuit on the first dive but quickly packed it up after sweating the whole dive.

We had several bad storms the beginning of the week which left the water murky in the shallows. We saw no large pelagics which is not what I expected. When I last dove the Caymans 16 years ago, we saw sharks on almost every dive. Lionfish were seen on every dive but the dive crew quickly dispatched them when possible. There were lots of grouper, turtles, some tarpons, angels, and other smaller fish. The barrel sponges were some of the largest I've ever seen but the reef lacked much other color. I find that typical of Caribbean reefs anymore. There is no shore diving at the resort. Shore diving can only be done on the other side of the island which would require a rental car.

All in all, I had an enjoyable time and would return in the future. The only holdback would be the limited diving of 3 dives a day.
Websites Brac Reef Beach Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving All over
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy, surge
Water Temp 87-88°F / 31-31°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions First dive 110ft/50min, Second dive 60ft/60min, afternoon dive 60ft/60min
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Shop has a separate rinse tanks for cameras and gear but no rinse tanks on the boat. Boat has only a "dedicated" table but I had to move my camera after a diver placed a mask on my camera lens.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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