Grand Cayman Island
Best of Caribbean Travel
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Why Did I Want To Visit?
Growing up, I had heard about Seven Mile Beach, the friendly people, and the stunning turquoise water. I was finally able to check this off of my bucket list when I decided to make my dream come true - a birthday present for myself to celebrate turning the big 50!
The trip exceeded my expectations!
Background
Christopher Columbus landed on the Caymans in 1503. At that time, he named the islands Las Tortugas due to the multitude of turtles found swimming in the waters. Eventually, the name changed to Caymanes (now Cayman) for the alligators native to the island. By 1670 the islands were acquired by the British Crown and continue to be under British rule to this day.
The islands themselves consist of triplets (just like my family): Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. The island chain is 167 miles northwest of Jamaica, and George Town (the capital) resides on Grand Cayman.
Today
Grand Cayman Island is best known for the breathtakingly beautiful Seven Mile Beach, which has been named one of the top 25 beaches in the world by TripAdvisor, Need more reasons to vacation in the Cayman’s? Its also been chosen as one of the best family vacations in the Caribbean. With pristine white sand, warm water, marine life, and crystal blue water, the Grand Cayman Islands are heaven for those who love to play and relax in a perfect tropical paradise.
I Have To Do What?
For transportation on the islands, I recommend booking a rental car for your time on the island to get around. Just remember that the Cayman Islands, as I mentioned, are a British Colony, so...
If you are from the United States (like myself), who drive on the right side of the road, driving on the left side of the road was scary at first. Just ask my kids who were passengers in the car on the way to our rental house! It took some getting used to making right turns, and realizing-oops those are cars right there.
Show Me The Money$
The currency is the Cayman Island dollar; however, everywhere will readily accept U.S. dollars.
Scuba Diving Grand Cayman
I've always snorkeled, but a few years ago, I checked off another item on my bucket list and became a certified diver. Locals will tell you that the diving here is the best in the Caribbean, and they wouldn't be wrong in saying that!
The Cayman Islands has been a favorite with scuba divers for the water's visibility, variety of marine life, walls, reefs, wrecks, and an outrageous variety of dive sites (they boast 365-that's one a day for a year!). It's no wonder the three islands have been named a Scuba Diving Magazine Readers Choice award winner.
I am not sure which made me happier: the water temp being so warm or the crystal clear water or the ability to dive/snorkel straight from the shore! Shore dives helped keep our cost down-only had to rent equipment instead of tacking on more money for the boat ride out to the dive site. My teenage boys snorkeled while we went out diving. Easy access to the reef for divers and snorkelers made everyone very happy. When we did go out on a boat dive, the ride out was very short, about a 10-minute ride.
Top Dive Sites To Get You In The Mood
Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman-according to Jacques Cousteau, this is the best diving in the world! A diver can check out the marine life clinging to the sheer wall that drops almost 200m, what you get to see-rays, turtles, grouper, and bioluminescent corals.
USS Kittiwake, Grand Cayman-off the shore at Seven Mile Beach, explore all five levels of the vessel. Max depth is 20m here, so effortless for all skill levels and even snorkelers to visit.
Babylon, Grand Cayman:-famous Grand Cayman wall wraps around the entire island, with the North Wall being the most breathtaking. What you get to see here-parrotfish, barracuda, turtles, and sometimes hammerhead sharks.
Stingray City, Grand Cayman- this area is a sand bar where fishing boats used to clean their catch here, attracting the local stingrays who are now very tame and able to feed them by hand. Go diving here in 4m to see some enormous rays looking for a snack.
Ann’s Angle
Stingray City did not disappoint! I booked a tour through a private tour company that was highly rated-which in this case, they deserve high marks. Acquarius Sea Tours did a fantastic job of providing a fun and safe outing for the whole family. We stopped at three locations on our tour. Between the engaging crew and gorgeous blue water, we had the time of our lives! See some of the pics of that trip that they took of us.
Dive Shops
There are numerous wonderful dive shops on the islands. Here are ones that I used and had excellent customer service and friendly staff:
Incredible Bio Bay!
Bioluminescence is light produced by an organism using a chemical reaction, which means that the plankton emits a mesmerizing blue glow in the water.
Bioluminescent Bay is one of the few places in the world where you can experience this phenomenon. The bay is located on the north shore of Grand Cayman, near Rum Point.
It's best to see this wonder at night when the night sky conditions are best. Check with a tour operator for when these tours are available. We went out on a boat tour, and there are also kayak tours of the bay.
Turtles Everywhere
I love turtles. So with that being said, I made my family go to the Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay since we were already in the vicinity. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the turtle viewing. We did not get a pass for the water amusement park/slides-kids gave that a hard pass. We went through the open turtle areas and held little turtles and chatted with the young man in that area. We were the only tourists in this area, so we did have his full attention. The water slide area would be on my list of places to take my kids if they were younger.
Magical Seven Mile Beach
Oh, I almost forgot, I did get to Seven Mile Beach. The beach itself is breathtaking-white sand, crystal clear water. There is public access to the beach along the whole expanse of the beach. We spent some time on the beach relaxing and just people watching-always a fun combination.
Would I go there again? Absolutely! I didn't want to go back home but work calls, and I have bills to pay until next time Grand Cayman.
Dining-Try The Grouper!
There are so many opportunities to have fantastic food on the island, below are just a few ideas. Just make sure that you try the grouper while you can! Grouper is a so delicious and it doesn’t get any fresher than in the Caribbean.
One of the places in the Rum Point area that we went to a few times was Kaibo Restaurant and Beach Bar. I would recommend their Tuesday night BBQ on the beach. It was a great place to spend the evening! Everyone was happy-a tropical drink for me and my 22-year-old daughter, whiskey for the boyfriend, and plenty of all you can eat buffet for my 19-year-old boys. Oh, and the beach and sunset were ok too. In addition to the bbq at Kaibo, we made reservations for our last night on vacation with the upstairs restaurant. The upstairs restaurant had fabulous service, food, and ambiance—more on this dinner in my Random Ann Moments.
We so wanted to get to try Big Tree BBQ! Maybe on our next trip, we can make it to Gun Bay (on the east side of the island) and give it a try. Rave reviews and menu options for this unique Caribbean dining spot (literally under a big tree) sound delicious.
Da Fish Shack had the tastiest grouper tacos I have ever had! Beautiful outdoor dining on the water, with a variety of menu options. Find this restaurant in George Town.
Accommodations
The sky's the limit when you are looking for a place to book here on the island. There is an abundance of hotels, all-inclusive resorts, and rentals to choose from on the island.
Once you know what size of a space you want to book, the next step is to determine where. Location of where you want to stay depends on what kind of ambiance you're looking for:
Rum Point: for a secluded getaway, where you can relax and take in island life, this is the place for you. I rented a house right on the water for our stay, and it was magical. We were right on the beach, and the house had plenty of room for all of us (five total, with three of them being my kids) to each have some space at the end of every day.
George Town: the opposite of Rum Point, George Town is the capital of the island, with tax-free shopping, lively bars, and dining choices. Cruise ships come into port here, so there are times when there is an influx of visitors to this area.
Seven Mile Beach: What can I say, this location is perfect if you want a stunning sandy beach with vivid blue water. This area offers dining options, shops, and equipment rental (jet skis, paddleboards, etc.).
Want to check out accommodations?
For hotels, and all-inclusive click here.
Random Ann Moment
I really enjoy grouper whenever I can find it. I had read online about how Kaibo Upstairs restaurant had THE best grouper on the island. So, even though it is a pricey place to eat, I thought, why not on our last night on the island. The upstairs is fancy compared to the bbq and downstairs eatery. The atmosphere is very tropical with a handsome bar inside ( check it out for sure!). I was so excited to try the grouper!
Our waiter (who was as tall as the ceiling-6'7'easily) told us about the specials. He proceeded to state that the grouper was crusted with crab. Ugh, not crab, please don't let it be crab! I am highly allergic to shellfish. Sure enough, what I heard him say was crab, and no, they cannot serve it without the crab-all the grouper had already been pre crusted – IN CRAB. My family happily ordered the grouper special, and alas, I can't even remember what I ordered- I was so disappointed. According to my family, the grouper was superb.
Apparently, it IS the best grouper on the island!
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