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

Reef Divers/Little Cayman Beach Resort, May, 2007,

by James A. Heimer, TX, United States (Contributor Contributor 15 reports). Report 3356.

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 N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments First the bad. The connecting flight from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman limits checked luggage to 55 lbs and one carry-on of 15 lbs and all gear is weighed. Overweight is allowed, but charged at $.50 per pound. If there is a lot of luggage (each of our group had one dive bag, one bag of clothes, and one or two carry-ons for cameras and housings), some will be left behind for delivery the next day. As a result, about half of the group either had to rent dive gear for the morning dives the first day or were unable to take photos until their gear arrived. Nothing got lost or damaged in shipment, and the Little Cayman Beach Resort handled getting all the luggage from and to the local airport. On the way home, as much luggage as possible had to be shipped out at 3 pm the day before departure to make sure it was in Grand Cayman for connecting flights to the US. Inconvenient, but it worked.

Everything else was great. The dive operation (Reef Divers) was exceptionally well run with a boat captain dive master and second dive master on board. Kudos to Ron and Sunny and Alex, who all worked our boat. Boat was large enough for our group of 17 to comfortably get to the dive sites (20 minutes to the farthest Bloody Bay wall (which is the North side of Little Cayman) dive sites, and even the trip to Cayman Brac to dive the Tibbets (Soviet warship) was not unbearable. Divers take a seat at the stern with weights, fins and mask, then dive staff brings BC & tank and helps the diver strap in. Cameras are handed over after entry. The procedure is reversed for exiting.

The dive briefings were thorough, and one of the dive masters was in the water to conduct tours or spot the good stuff. We had rain for an hour or two everyday, but that didn't affect the diving. Night dives were cancelled due to rough water (only at night), so our routine was two morning dives, lunch, and one afternoon dive every day (morning only on last full day).

Corals were in good shape, especially the soft corals. There was an abundance of the usual tropical fish, though large fish were scarce. This did not apply to the three "domesticated" groupers that followed the divers around on a couple of sites. Turtles were abundant - we had four in sight at once at the end of one dive. Sailfin blennies, jawfish with eggs, sting rays, and lobster, seen on most dives. Saw one eagle ray while diving the tibbets and one nurse shark (one black tip also reported) on BB wall. Thousands of photos were taken by our group.

The accommodations were motel grade, very clean, but lacked some light. Maid service daily. Wireless available for $25 per week. The food was outstanding. Did I say outstanding? The chef must be in the witness protection program after a mob hit at a popular NY restaurant. Massive breakfast, lunch of soup, sandwiches or a choice of hot entrées, and dinner with at least two meat dishes, one fish dish, potato or pasta, salad bar and dessert bar. Did I mention the dessert bar? Wine, beer, and cocktails available for purchase from the bar, and there is a nice pool and very nice hot tub.

Except for the (minor) hassle of getting there - great experience!!!!

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, N&S Calif, E&W Coasts Mexico, Norway, Tahiti, Bahamas, Belize Honduras, USVI, Malaysia, Indonesia, Malaysia
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, cloudy Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 81-85°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-150 Ft/ 9-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Max recommended depth of 110 feet; time and max depth specified for each dive, but divers allowed to dive their computers within the time allowed; divers required to enter, dive with, and exit water with their buddies.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Group consisted of 17 members of Houston Underwater Photographic Society, all with large underwater housings and strobes; two tier camera table in front of cabin supplemented by storage on forward shelf was adequate, but left no room to work on gear. No camera rinse tank on board; large dedicated camera rinse tank at dive shop on pier available at end of dive trip.
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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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