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

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Reef Divers/Cayman Brac Beach Resort: "Great resort, great diver operation, struggling reefs", Dec, 2019, by Hugh E Aaron, FL, US ( Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 11388.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This year (2019), we spent the week before Christmas at the Cayman Brac Beach Resort. Last year (2018) we spent a week in November at their sister resort, Little Cayman Beach Resort. Both resorts (along with Cobalt Coast Resort on Grand Cayman) are owned and operated by Clearly Cayman Dive Resorts, based in Florida. Our experience this year on the "Brac" was very similar to our experience last year at "Little." Both resorts and both dive operations are extremely well run. The resorts both offer comfortable rooms with all the necessary amenities, tasty buffet meals and great resort facilities. The Brac resort's bar and pool area are larger and a bit more upscale than the equivalent areas at Little. But for most people, the two resorts would be interchangeable. We thought the diving might be a little better at Little (no pun intended) but others thought it was equivalent on Brac. The diving is done from well maintained Newtons. The resort is located at the tip of the island. Most of the dive sites (and there are many) are no more than a 15-20 minute boat ride. All the dive sites have moorings. Reef Divers dives both side of the island depending on which side has more wind protection. It is an ideal setup. Now the bad news. The reefs are continuing to struggle. Last year we noted an extensive amount of macroalgae on the reefs at Little. This year, there was just as much macroalgae on the reefs. However, we noticed a lot more coral disease. The two biggest concerns seemed to be stoney coral tissue loss disease and bleaching. I was told by one of the long time divemasters that they had four months of 86 degree water temperature this past summer. She said that the coral looked a lot better now that it did a couple of months ago. Like some other old timers (I started diving in the Caribbean as a kid in the 70s), my wife and I found the reef disease depressing. However, most of the others diving with us commented that they thought the diving was great. Many were already planning to return next year. I suspect the resort and dive operations are so good that people simply overlook the problems with reef health. Also, they probably realize that much of the rest of the Caribbean is in no better shape and, sadly, probably worse in many places. Plus, there were a lot of healthy fish, very little current and the visibility was consistently quite good. Overall, the diving was comfortable and pleasant. As for us, we are going to continue to seek out healthier reefs (e.g., Red Sea, Indonesian, etc.) for as long as we, our bank account and the reefs survive. That said, the Clearly Cayman Resorts are a whole lot easier to get to and more affordable than some of the more off the beaten path places we divers go. If you are looking for a first world vacation that requires virtually no planning and is reasonably inexpensive, the Clearly Cayman resorts offer a lot of value.
Websites	Reef Divers Cayman Brac Beach Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	USVI, BVI, California, Hawaii, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Caymans, Curacao, Dominica, Roatan, Belize, Saba, St, Barths, St Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, Culebra, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Bahamas, Bonaire, Thailand, Australia, Egypt
Closest Airport	Cayman Brac	Getting There	Nonstop directly to Cayman Brac (Saturdays only) from Miami. Quick flight from Miami
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp	82-82°F / 28-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	First dive each day (typically a deeper profile) 50 minutes Subsequent dives each day (shallower) 60 minutes
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There was a shelf on the boat that was supposed to be for cameras but it tended to collect a bunch of other stuff. Surprisingly, there was no rinse tank on board for cameras as is often found on other dive boats. Although, a fresh water hose was readily available. On shore there was a dedicated rinse tank. When I asked about a shore based charging station so that we could charge up during lunch (the boat returns to the resort for about 1.5 hours during lunch) I was told "no, but that's a good idea." I ended up running back and forth to my room to charge the camera during lunch. That was only a minor hassle. The crew was more than willing to help photographers get their camera gear in and out of the water. I noticed that the crew hosed down cameras before they put them on the table. That was thoughtful.

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

Reef Divers/Cayman Brac Beach Resort: "Great resort, great diver operation, struggling reefs", Dec, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

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