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

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Reef Divers/Cayman Brac Beach Resort: "Back to the Brac (Cayman Brac)", Nov, 2019, by Jeanette Hartshorn, MO, US ( Contributor 19 reports with 17 Helpful votes). Report 11330.
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	Over the years, we’ve been visiting the Cayman Islands (Grand, Brac and Little) on occasion for nice clear, calm and warm water diving. The last time we dived the Brac was 6 years ago; had fantastic visibility and the reef life appeared healthy. This visit was different. We had noticed a lot of algae suffocating the hard corals, which really made the underwater color rather drab. We also noticed this time that there was a lot of sargassum being brought into the shoreline where the boat docks are. In this area 6 years ago, we always saw spotted eagle rays, including their young, coming in for an evening feeding under the dock lights; no sargassum. Not now. This sargassum, according to the staff there, is omnipresent and thick at shoreline. Underwater, we did see plenty of interesting tropical fish thankfully, including the ubiquitous groupers, snappers, schoolmasters, grunts, trunkfish, filefish, hamlets, chubs, drumfish, etc etc. We were even so fortunate to spot some rays, including a spotted eagle ray, some nurse sharks and turtles, and even a pair (male and female) of flying gurnards! The Divemasters rigidly stick to a 60min max bottom time but actually complete their “tour” of the reef in a fast 35minutes, leaving the group to cruise around on their own underneath the boat for the remaining time. As a photographer, I prefer to swim slowly during a dive to look for little critters and to capture photographs of reef life. I would have preferred more time spent along the wall. In my opinion, Reef Divers leads too large of a group, usually 12-16 divers. I was very impressed with the operation hosting Adaptive Scuba Divers from Craig Hospital’s program for the week. These are divers who have sustained spinal cord and other extremely serious injuries. The freedom of being underwater allows these divers the movement they otherwise don’t have on land. They have individual support from their buddy teams, and Reef Divers accommodates their needs on the dive boats. It was amazing to see them, to see the smiles on their faces. The resort has been updated recently. The rooms are comfortable with small patios/ balconies. The bar area has also been updated and expanded to include a beautiful pergola area above where sunrise yoga is offered! Food is reliably very good, and lots of delicious buffet offerings. There is also a new restaurant on-site, called Island Prime, which supposedly offers some fine seafood and steaks. Ahead of our stay, I made a reservation there for one of our dinners. But when we showed up for our reservation, they apologized and indicated they did not have a record of the reservation and unable to accommodate us (they weren’t open). Well, disappointment. Apparently there is a disconnect between whomever is in their booking office and the actual restaurant. The resort is very nice, the diving was fine but it was a little hard to see a decline in the health of the reef. See my blogsite for other destinations: [underwatersplendor.com link]
Websites	Reef Divers Cayman Brac Beach Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Bahamas, Florida, Atlantic, Lake Champlain, Caribbean, Mexico, Indonesia, Maldives, Hawaii, Cocos Island, Galapagos
Closest Airport	Cayman Brac	Getting There	via Cayman Airways from Grand Cayman
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	no currents
Water Temp	84-°F / 29-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	80- Ft/ 24- M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	60min max bottom time; no deco diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	[None]

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

Reef Divers/Cayman Brac Beach Resort: "Back to the Brac (Cayman Brac)", Nov, 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