Cayman Brac & Little Cayman
The two Cayman sister islands: Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Wall is one of the Caribbean's top dive sites, while Cayman Brac has limestone bluffs, caves and wreck dives.
The Cayman Sister Islands lie about 140 kilometers northeast of Grand Cayman. Cayman Brac is about 19 kilometers long with roughly 2,000 residents, and Little Cayman is about 16 kilometers long with fewer than 200 permanent inhabitants. The two islands are separated by a channel about 8 kilometers wide. There are no cruise ships or high-rises here. Life moves slowly, and the islands are known for diving, birdwatching and nature trails.
Areas to explore:
1) Little Cayman: marine park dive sites including Bloody Bay Wall, the Booby Pond Nature Reserve for red-footed boobies, Owen Island, and Sandy Point beach on the eastern end. Rock iguanas are often seen on the island.
2) Cayman Brac: a bluff plateau running the length of the island, with cliffs on the east end, climbing routes, a parrot reserve, caves on the south shore including Rebecca's Cave and Bat Cave, and the Captain Keith Tibbetts wreck off the northwest coast.
Seasons: December to April is the driest and best weather. June to November is hurricane season, but diving is possible year-round, and the sea is warmest in summer.
Getting there: Cayman Airways' regional flights take about 40 minutes from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac. Little Cayman can be reached by plane, or by a roughly 10-minute flight or ferry between the two islands. You need a rental car or bicycle on the islands, as restaurants and shops are few; most accommodation is dive resorts with meals included. Plan 4-7 days, and divers may want to spend a few nights on each island.
Top sights
- Bloody Bay Wall – A vertical coral wall on the north shore of Little Cayman that drops from about 6 m to a depth of over 1,000 m. It is considered one of the…
- MV Captain Keith Tibbetts Wreck – A Russian-built frigate wreck just off the northwest coast of Cayman Brac, about 100 m long, and one of the few Soviet warships that can be…
- The Bluff, Cayman Brac – A limestone plateau running through Cayman Brac, rising to a cliff about 43 m high at its eastern end. It offers hiking, climbing, seabird…
- Booby Pond Nature Reserve – A brackish wetland on the south coast of Little Cayman, home to what is believed to be the largest red-footed booby colony in the Western H…
- Owen Island – An uninhabited islet in the lagoon off the south coast of Little Cayman, reachable by kayak or swimming, with a private white-sand beach.
- Point of Sand – A white-sand beach at the eastern tip of Little Cayman, with clear shallow water for snorkelling and starfish spotting, and views across to…
- Brac Parrot Reserve – A bluff-top reserve of untouched dry forest, home to the Cayman Brac subspecies of parrot, with a loop trail.
- Rebecca's Cave – A rock cave at the foot of the cliffs on the south coast of Cayman Brac, where 17-month-old Rebecca, lost in a hurricane in 1932, was laid…
- Bat Cave, Cayman Brac – A limestone cave in the cliffs on the south coast of Cayman Brac, home to bats, with stalactites and sea views from the entrance.
- Teignmouth Electron – The wreck of the trimaran Teignmouth Electron, sailed by Donald Crowhurst in the 1968 Golden Globe race, lies in the scrub on the southwest…
Where to eat
- Star Island Restaurant – A local canteen on the West End of Cayman Brac with a long menu of local, Chinese and American dishes. It ranks high on…
- Hungry Iguana Restaurant – The only full-service, à la carte restaurant on Little Cayman. It is family-run and right by the sea, and ranks first o…