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

Reef Divers/Cayman Brac Beach Resort: "Cayman Brac trip report November 2016", Nov, 2016,

by Beth Rosenzweig, MA, US ( 1 report with 1 Helpful vote). Report 9354 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments • Accommodations: The accommodations were newly renovated during the last year and lacking for nothing. The rooms were all clean with a fridge, coffee station, nice shower (two heads), deck, cable tv, and working AC. There is a very large pool, Jacuzzi, outside bar, beach with cabanas, all well maintained. There is free Wi-Fi access throughout the resort.

• Food: The food was plentiful, varied, and well cooked. There were many choices at all meals, and if it still did not meet your needs the kitchen staff was happy to provide alternatives. Breakfast was a choice of fresh fruit, banana bread, hot and cold cereals, juice, eggs, bacon, potatoes, omelets, waffles, and more. Lunch offerings included a smorgasbord of sandwich fixings and at least three choices of hot items ranging from shrimp to chicken to beef, with salads on the side. During both lunch and dinner there was a dessert table with three choices that included delicious items such as pie, black forest cake, flan, cookies, and more. At dinner there was always hot bread and soup, many salad concoctions, a cheese plate, and again three hot entrees that always included a carving station, as well as not overcooked veggies. A wide assortment of tea and juices were always available.

• Staff: Can't say enough good things about the staff throughout the resort. They aim to please and were tireless in doing so. If any issues arose, they quickly addressed them with a smile. From the front desk to the cleaning staff to the restaurant workers to the grounds keepers, they all work hard and put the customer first.

• Diving: Unfortunately during the week we were there (11/17-11/24) there were almost near constant high winds (20-25 mph). This had a negative effect on the diving both in terms of which sites we could visit (due to the rough boat rides - 10-ft swells) and the visibility, which ranged from ~40-70 feet depending on the surge and currents. We were not able to dive some of the notably best sites around the island. Getting back into the boat at the end of dives was often challenging due to the rough seas. The sea life was disappointing in terms of variety and quantity. We did manage to see our share of turtles, rays, and copious lobsters (36 on one site alone). Compared to our springtime visit to Bonaire, Cayman Brac diving was strikingly lacking.

• Dive masters: They ranged from terrific to pretty bad. Most were cheerful and tried to make the best of the lousy dive conditions. But in terms of actually guiding the dives, there was little or none to be had. One dive master in particular seemed solely focused on hunting lion fish, to the exclusion of providing any service to the divers in the water with him. On the positive side, Cayman Brac Beach Resort advertises and delivers on their "valet service" in terms of setting up gear if you want them to and bringing your setup to you at the back of the boat, as well as removing it upon returning to the boat.

• Weather: The temperature ranged from ~82F during the day to ~78F at night. But the constant high winds made it feel cooler throughout the week. The morning skies often looked ominous but tended to clear during the day.

• Costs: All told the costs were reasonable considering that we paid one lump sum of ~$1725pp US for 17 boat dives, 7 nights’ accommodations, 3 full meals/day, 3 drinks per person/day, transfers to/from the nearby airport, taxes and service fees. We only had to dip into our pockets to replace some gear and to tip.
Websites Reef Divers   Cayman Brac Beach Resort

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Bonaire, Cozumel, Saba, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Dominica, Curacao, Belize, Utila, Fiji, Maldives, Indonesia
Closest Airport Charles Kirkconnell International Airport Getting There Boston-->Miami-->Grand Cayman-->Cayman Brac

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas choppy
Water Temp 79-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 40-70 Ft/ 12-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Maximum of 110 ft depth, and dive profiles prescribed by dive masters ranged from 50-60 minutes per dive, though we did exceed that many times.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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