Cayman Brac & Little Cayman – Cayman Islands

Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the Sister Islands of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory), offer quiet, mostly current-free diving. On Little Cayman Bloody Bay Marine Park holds more than a third of the island's roughly 60 sites on a wall that starts as shallow as 5 m and plunges to great depth; Jackson Bight, Great Wall West, Marilyn's Cut and Mixing Bowl are among the named sections. On Cayman Brac the MV Captain Keith Tibbetts, a former Soviet-built Cuban frigate scuttled in 1996, is the signature dive. Marine park zones (including a no-diving overlay on the Sister Islands since 2021) are set by the Department of Environment.

Facts

• Best season: Year-round; hurricane season 1 Jun–30 Nov; north-side Little Cayman sites can be closed by strong north wind
• Water temperature: About 27–29 °C (81–85 °F); 3 mm wetsuit usually enough
• Visibility: Typically 18–45 m (60–150 ft); a steady north wind reduces clarity on northern sites
• Currents: Generally not an issue; the Tibbetts has none
• Marine park rules: Little Cayman has marine park zones, a replenishment zone and a designated Nassau grouper spawning area (no fishing for Nassau grouper 1 Nov–31 Mar; no fish pots or spearfishing within one mile). Department of Environment: +1 345 949 8469, DOE@gov.ky
• Hyperbaric chamber: The nearest chamber is in George Town, Grand Cayman

Season

• Best months: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May
• Acceptable: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
• Water temperature: 27–29 °C

Diving is possible year-round; hurricane season 1 Jun–30 Nov. Little Cayman's north-side sites (Bloody Bay Wall, Jackson Bight) are not accessible year-round because of weather. The month ranking is based on hurricane season only.

Dive sites (18)

Cayman Brac

• Cemetery Wall – 15–40 m, intermediate
• MV Captain Keith Tibbetts – 12–34 m, intermediate
• Radar Reef – 10–30 m, intermediate
• Wilderness Wall – 15–40 m, intermediate

Little Cayman – south & west

• Charlie's Chimney – 14–27 m, intermediate
• Pirate Point Reef – 14–27 m, beginner
• Soto Trader wreck – 10–18 m, intermediate

Little Cayman – Bloody Bay Marine Park (north)

• Cumber's Caves – 12–36 m, intermediate
• Donna's Delight – 10–40 m, intermediate
• Eagle Ray Roundup – 5–30 m, intermediate
• Great Wall East – 6–18 m, beginner
• Great Wall West – 10–40 m, intermediate
• Jackson's Reef and Jackson Bight – 9–36 m, intermediate
• Lea Lea's Lookout – 10–36 m, beginner
• Marilyn's Cut – 10–40 m, intermediate
• Mixing Bowl (Three Fathom Wall) – 5–30 m, beginner
• Randy's Gazebo – 12–25 m, intermediate
• Sara's Set – 7–27 m, intermediate

Operators (3)

• Reef Divers (Little Cayman Beach Resort) – resort, Little Cayman Beach Resort, 1128 Guy Banks Road, Little Cayman
• Reef Divers (Cayman Brac Beach Resort) – resort, Cayman Brac Beach Resort, 383 Channel Road, Cayman Brac
• Southern Cross Club – resort, Little Cayman

Site positions are approximate, drawn from operator maps and published guides, and are for orientation only – never for navigation; where a position could not be verified this is marked. Marine park rules apply: touch and take nothing, no gloves, no fishing or spearfishing in the parks; check the Department of Environment's current regulations and zones. Little Cayman positions along Bloody Bay Wall are estimated from the resort's dive map, which gives names but no coordinates.