LC is quiet and polite. Everyone - locals and visitors - want it to stay that way. They are *serious* about wildlife preservation and limiting development. Birding will be your new hobby - bring binoculars. Iguanas are your new friends.

Everything is relative, and to me, this is the most awesome place on earth and i've traveled a lot. There is nothing to do but go diving or fishing, read, explore beaches that u ride your bikes to, read, watch tv, sit and watch the ocean and the lizards... ah.

People r there to get away from it all, including other people, so people won't try to make friends with you and bother you. Everyone is oh so waspy polite of course tho. (The only place ppl seemed overly friendly was at Pirates Point Resort. If you are traveling alone or want to socialize, go there. Everyone on the island knows the owner too. Its nice for a break from the seclusion.)

We were there in Feb. and they had a mardi gras parade. It was cute - each business made a "float" and a lot of visitors got involved too. I think there were more ppl in the parade than there were watching it. Because its so small, even being there for a week you start to pick up the island gossip. Its a small town - there is one policeman, 4 kids attend the local school. The visitors i met were return visitors too. No crime (I left my bike unlocked at the car rental place for 2 days and it was in the same place when i returned the rental car), small town - it really is another world. I feel like i'm breaking some unspoken rule that one should not tell other people how wonderful LC is lest it become too popular and lose its quiet and charm. Maybe i'll b blacklisted from the island. Hmm maybe i shouldn't post this.

Food: when we arrived on GC we took a taxi to the big grocery store (Foster's IGA, Phone: 949-5155) and wine shop near the airport before getting the little plane to LC. Foster's has everything a typical US store would have including soy products, health food, and thai and indian mixes. You should buy as much as you can on GC because the grocery store on LC is small and expensive (more than NYC prices), altho they have soy milk too. Produce is brought to LC every week (providing the delivery barge can dock; i was told that there are times when the seas are rough and the barge can't dock) and fresh produce is hard to come by at the end of the week.

We later learned that you can fax an order to Fosters store and they will deliver it to the airport on LC or something like that.

Dinner at LCBR is $40USD and didn't look appealing so we didn't even try it. I heard from many ppl that Pirate's Point meals are excellent and worth whatever they were (i forget). I'll try PP food next time. There is one restaurant on the island not associated with a resort, The Hungry Iguana. It like NYC prices and we didn't get around to trying it. Next time.

Snorkeling: Snorkeling is best on the north east side of the island. The best is actually a shallow dive site called Jackson's something or other and in that area. You can ride your bike there. So bring a backpack to put your snokel gear in. Snorkeling at Point of Sand (need a car to get there) is marginal, despite what locals tell u, and snorkeling just off Pirates Point sucked. The south side of the island in recent years has had a lot of sand swept against it from hurricanes.

Diving: i've dove in micornesia, southern egypt red sea, bahamas, atlantic north of bahamas, MX, and all around the carribean. LC diving is up there with the best of em, except for the colors. i don't know why - the fish life is plentiful like crazy (including reef sharks), and reefs are very healthy, but for some reason u don't get the colors u get in other places. And cold - it was the coldest place i ever dove (unless i'm losing tolerance for cold in my old age). I think the water temps were in the 70s. Next trip i am bringing a 5mm suit instead of the standard 3mm. And i'm bringing 2 so that i can take off the wet suit after the 1st dive, and put on a dry one for the 2nd dive. i'm used to liveaboard diving but i like diving w/ Conch Club Divers. Dive with them! The dive boats at LC Beach Resort struck me as cattleboat-ish and seemed bigger. But maybe i was just enamoured with how professional and diligent the Conch Club Divers ppl were. I felt they were more like peers or friends rather than ppl working at jobs. I look forward to seeing them again.

Oh and u can get better rates if u book your dive package directly thru the dive shop because the booking office in the US tacks on a 10% booking fee. CC Divers is owned and run separately from the condos even tho they are on site.

Prices: Yeah getting there and staying there is a tad more expensive than other places in the carribean, but u get what u pay for and its worth it if u want peace and quiet.

Downside to Conch Club Condos: If your condo is in front of a pool, when other ppl use the pool its kinda weird cuz it feels like they are in your space. And also, some ppl have small children and don't even make an effort to have their kids NOT scream. Its a condo complex and u can hear other ppl's conversations. But ppl on LC in general are quiet and polite so its not too big of a deal unless u r near screaming children or a loud annoying person (i only ran into loud annoying ppl at LCBR.)

Also, each condo has a diff owner, so the details of each are slightly diff. Like the decor of ours was cheesy 80s-old-lady decor, and had no sea kayaks with it. Other condos had sea kayaks. Our was clean and had everythingin the kitchen we needed so i can't complain really.

I've booked my next trip already. I can't wait.

From my bookmarks:
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PS - Please don't go there if u r loud.

If you are into hammocks, beach, SCUBA, fresh water pools, relaxing, and quality time, then you will love the Conch Club. If you want nightlife and planned activities, stay away. For many, many years now, this is our ultimate family vacation spot. The condos are nicely decorated, clean and perfect for families / groups of friends. Diving is INCREDIBLE and the Conch Club Divers are the best. Ask Anne and Tim to introduce you to Ben and Jerry (the squirrelfish-hunting groupers). Although the condo kitchen is completely stocked with necessities to cook (minus the food), you’re on vacation! Go for the buffet at the resort. Just be glad you had to ride a bike to get there to work off all the extra calories of their delicious cheese cake. Although the cost and travel to get to Little Cayman seems horrendous, the serenity is priceless.

We have visisted Little Cayman many times and have only recently discovered the Conch Club Condos. We found them perfect for our needs and will definately return next year. Set in a traquil atmosphere the Conch Club provided us with the perect home away from home for our vacation. We had all the amenities of home with the beach right out our back patio. We scuba dived with Conch Club Divers with Anne and Tim who were brilliant. Top diving in the world. We would provide our own breakfast but chose to use the restuarant of the Little Cayman Beach Resort since everything could be charged to our room. Spectacular meals, great service and we have nothing but praise for all the staff that made our vacation the best one.

Little Cayman is a very special place where you can totally chill out on a small, friendly, naturally beautiful island. The island is about 98 miles north east of Grand Cayman and about the same distance south east of Cuba. On this pristine oasis, one can find modern clean townhouse style condos in the Conch Club in Little Cayman. Each of the 20 oceanfront units are adequately furnished and able to accommodate up to six people (8 for 3 bedroom units) very comfortably. Scuba divers are close to the Bloody Bat Wall marine park where many dive publications consistently rank the diving in the top 3 dive destinations in the world. For non-divers, the Conch Club offers a secluded, peaceful place to relax and enjoy the almost perfect year round weather. I have stayed in the Conch Club a half dozen times year after year and keep coming back for unsurpassed beauty and solitude. They offer a great value for the money compared to many other Caribbean destinations.

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