Travel: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

To change things up this holiday season, we decided to fly to the Caribbean and spend a tropical Christmas in Grand Cayman! It was so nice to get away and relax by the beach and not have to deal with weird Texas weather. I’m lucky to say that I’ve been to a few islands in the Caribbean and I must say, most of them are pretty amazing…..So, I’m happy to share that Grand Cayman was up to par!

If you have been thinking about visiting this lovely island in the Caribbean and been wondering what all you can do, I have compiled a list with tips and a few attractions that we really enjoyed during our stay:

The Cayman Islands is an autonomous British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. This territory consists of three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The capital city is George Town, which is located on Grand Cayman, the most populated of the three islands.

Things to see:

Seven Mile Beach: Although it’s really only about 5½ miles long, this gorgeous beach strand has white sand and crystal-blue waters – it’s just as pretty as a postcard! There are a several hotels along the beach but the beach itself is public, so you can just jump in anytime!

Cayman Turtle Center: Is a conservation facility and tourist attraction located in the West Bay district. It was initially established to breed the endangered green sea turtle for commercial purposes back in 1968. Although it is still in operation as a farm to sell product, this facility has also done some important turtle research and conservations projects.

Camana Bay: Is a nice retail and entertainment district by the bay, where you can find several cute shops and restaurants.

Fun Fact: There are tons of chickens roaming around the island and cars just stop to let them cross the street!

To make our life easier and see the best of Grand Cayman, we decided to just take a tour with Capitan Marvin. We chose the tour option that takes you to the following places:

Stingray City: OCEAN PARADISE! Here you get to swim and feed stingrays! These rays are very friendly and used to visitors, since this is the number one tourist attraction in the Cayman Islands.

Fun Fact: You can feed calamari to the stingrays during your visit and their mouth totally feels like a vacuum! Pretty weirdddd, yet funny!

Starfish Point: Is a secluded beach, not far from where the stingrays are that has a large number of starfish. You can hold and take pictures with the starfish, but make sure you keep the starfish in the water at all times!

Cayman Crystal Caves: This attraction just opened in 2016, and it has become one of the most popular spots in Grand Cayman. Tours are approximately 1 ½ hours and they take you through the surrounding tropical forest area and 3 spectacular caves.

Pro Tip: If you are going during the holiday season, make sure you make your reservations a few days in advance because many things get booked fast and some places are closed. We almost missed out from all the fun because of that.

To finalize our Grand Cayman fun-tivites, we decided to go DIVING!! It was my very FIRST time diving and I’m not going to lie, I was bit nervous at first…but after I took my first splash with all the gear into the ocean, it was all worth it! I totally felt like I was in a scene of Finding Nemo!

We used Don Foster’s Dive Cayman to plan our adventure. What we liked about them was that they offer many options for different diving levels and their facility is adjacent to the Devil’s Grotto, one of Grand Cayman’s most famous shore dives!

Another popular snorkel and diving spotis Kittiwake Shipwreck. This spot is an ex-US Navy ship that was purposely sunk off of Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach in 2011.

Getting around:

To be honest, Grand Cayman can be a bit pricy… especially since $1 Cayman Islands Dollar equals $1.20 USD. (Jan 2020) Usually, a taxi ride from the airport to the hotel area is about $40 USD and taxi rides can go up to $15 USD for just a 10 min drive. Sorry, no Uber folks! But don’t worry! Public transportation is pretty convenient and cheap. Each ride on these vans are $2 CID per person and you can just hop on and off whenever you want!

Places to eat:

Heritage Kitchen: My best friend recommended this cute place to me and it was great! Simple, colorful and yummy local seafood flavors!

Da Fish Shack: This chill restaurant and bar is in George Town near the port where all the cruises dock. We ended up going here twice! Super chill vibes and good food…best part, it has awesome ocean views and it’s a great spot to catch the sunset.

Kaibo: This restaurant is the perfect place to relax, sink your toes into the sand, taste Caribbean flavors and see some nice yachts! This place is located in Rum Point, which is in the North Side of the island and you can get here with a tour or by water taxi.

Anchor & Den: This cool spot is located inside the Grand Cayman Marriott Hotel, and you can find different flavors, eclectic cocktails and even DJs spinning some chill tracks. What makes this space unique is the diversity of their food which includes a fresh juice bar, Gelato Stand, Creperie Station, Raw and Sushi Bar and some Mediterranean bites.

Are you ready to pack your bikinis and head over there now or what? haha I hope my list was useful and can help you plan your next tropical getaway very soon! 😉

#adios

Dorina