nkd

We are thinking about going to one of these islands for diving, relaxation, snorkeling, beaches, crystal clear blue water, white powdery sand, good food, wildlife and no shopping. Would recommend we stay in Little Cayman or Brac Cayman? How easy is to get hotel/resort accommodation without previous reservation in September? Thanks

nkd

Almost forgot to ask about any visible damage from hurricane Ivan on these two islands. Should we avoid any resorts because they are not fully restored yet? Are beaches recovered?

caribtraveler

Hi. We just came back from the Caymans. We did a day trip to Little Cayman. If you click on my name you will find my trip report with some photos. I didn't put a lot of pictures of Little Cayman in my report but I can post more if you want. Let me know. We didn't do a trip to Cayman Brac so I cannot compare. But we LOVED Little Cayman with its amazing Point of Sand beach. I didn't notice any hurricane damage on Little Cayman but we had never been before so there was no before/after comparison for us. There definitely was NO OBVIOUS damage.

tigerhawk

Cayman Brac is the larger of the 2 and the easier to get to. There are basically only 2 resorts on Little Cayman so last minute no reservations probably won't fly. Also the only flights to Little Cayman are on Island Air - they only fly turboprops, the landing strip is grass with no lights [so no nighttime landings or departures] and when you check in at Island Air desk in Grand Cayman they weigh all your luggage including carry-ons and charge you - several years ago it was 50 cents a pound for anything over 40 pounds I think. There isn't anything else to do on Little Cayman but dive or snorkel - no real restaurant scene other than the resorts. Jets can land on Cayman Brac, it is larger with a few more hotel and dining options - but I still doubt it's a drop in and find a hotel at the last minute kind of destination.

The Caymans in general are expensive. They fix their currency at 1 Cayman dollar = $1.20 US -- and all the food stuffs and drinks are imported. Therefore it's not unusual to pay the equivalent of $10 US or more for a fancy drink like a Mudslide on Little Cayman.

nkd

Thank you caribtraveler and tigerhawk, we decided to go to Brac in December

Ann123

How as your trip to the Brac? We are thinking of a trip there and wondered how it fared with the hurricanes..

TomCayman

Ann123, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman took little damage from Hurricane Ivan back in Sep 04.

Do note that Divi Tiara is now closed, so the only hotel as such is Brac Reef, although there are other condo and guest house accommodations on the Brac.