Top 10 Things To Do In The Cayman Islands!
So...you are thinking about going to the Cayman Islands! What a great choice! There are so many things to do on Grand Cayman from the obvious - like swimming and snorkeling to the not so obvious, like holding baby turtles at the Cayman turtle farm and swimming with stingrays! Whatever it is you want to do from relaxing on the beach to blazing down the beach on a waverunner!
10. PLAY WITH SOME STARFISH
Head to starfish point - you can drive there (45ish minutes from Seven Mile Beach) or take a boat. If you take a boat tour to stingray city (#1 thing to do on Grand Cayman) you can fit in starfish point along with a few other stops. You can also take a ferry to rum point and then walk five minutes or so to Star Fish Point. You get in waist high water and you can take photos with the starfish and pick them up.
9. CHECK OUT THE BIOLUMENESCENT BAY VIA KAYAKING OR SWIMMING
Go kayaking or go swimming in the biolumenescent bay. If you were like me you might not know what a biolumenescent bay is. Basically there are these tiny little organisms called Dinoflagallates and when you move them around in the water they create this beautiful blueish glow. It is quite a cool experience to witness. You can only see the glow at nighttime and you should try to go during a new moon when it is darker out. Find out more Sweet Spot Water Sports.
8. SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS AT DOLPHIN COVE
Swimming with the dolphins is a very fun experience. You get about an hour in the water with the dolphins and you even get to give them a kiss! You do have to wear a life vest and it is probably recommended that you have some swimming ability or are with someone that knows how. You do not have to float on your own because of the life jackets so if you can doggy paddle you should be fine.
They have two Dolphin swimming experiences on the island. We have been to both and I would recommend Dolphin Cove over Dolphin Discovery. Dolphin Discovery has the dolphins in an filtered, water pool in concrete areas, whereas Dolphin Cove is literally in a cove that is part of the ocean.
You cannot take pictures in the water with the dolphins, but they do have a photographer that will take pictures for you. You then have the option to buy a CD or to buy a print of one of the photos. It is not cheap for the CD or the photo - but I think that it is worth it! If someone in your party is not swimming with the dolphins they can take pictures, but it will not be from as good of an angle.
Dolphin Cove also has an area where you can see and hold their parrots. This is also very fun!
7. TAKE A WALK DOWN SEVEN MILE
Really...this should be one of the top things to do! But there were so many other awesome activities I could not figure out where to put it. We like to walk down Seven Mile every morning. If you are staying on seven mile beach (which I would highly recommend you do, or your cayman experience will not be the same) take advantage of one of the longest and most picturesque beaches I have ever been to. There is nothing like a long morning or evening walk with your family, friend, alone or partner! Don't forget to bring a camera because every part of seven mile is picture perfect!
6. VISIT THE CAYMAN TURTLE FARM
This is a very fun activity, especially if you have kids. They have turned a portion of the park into a water park as well. The water park portion is much more expensive, but I think the kids would probably enjoy it. It is also fun to just visit the turtle farm which can take you anywhere from half an hour to two hours. You can hold the baby turtles which is my favorite part because they are so freaking cute!
The Turtle Farm also has my favorite gift shop on the island. It is a bit pricey and even if you do not buy anything, it is still fun to just look around.
5. WATCH THE AWE INSPIRING CAYMAN SUNSET
I am a sunset lover! The Caymans has some of the best sunsets I have ever seen. If you are lucky maybe you will even see the green flash - Just try not to blink. If it is a cloudy evening the sky can turn all hues of pinks, purples, oranges and yellows. It is truly amazing! Or if it is not a cloudy day you can watch the sun go all the way down like a giant glowing circle. It is truly awe inspiring!
4. PLAY ON THE BEACH!
The Caymans has so much to offer, but don't forget to sit down and relax on the beach. You can build epic sandcastles as the sand is the perfect sandcastle building sand around. You can fly kites on a breezy day, toss a football - I mean really the opportunities are endless.
If you take your activities into the water one of my personal favorites is Monkey In The Middle. Whatever you do in the Caymans make sure you just take a few days to relax on the beach!
3. SCUBA DIVING/SNORKELING
The Caymans is not known as scuba diving holiday destination for nothing! It is known as one of the top places in the world to go diving and the snorkeling is equally as impressive. The Fish are abundant in the caymans, you can see loads of tropical fish, the cutest puffer fish, sometimes barracuda (more often when scuba diving), turtles, stingrays and lion fish. The lion fish are actually an invasive species in the caymans and they are actively spear hunted as they have no natural predators and are devastating the native fish. Last December (2017) the caymans has the best fish life I have seen there in a few years. I think that the activism from the volunteers and hunters killing the lion fish has paid off.
There are a lot of tour operators that will take you scuba diving. You can go on a two tank dive or for the full day. The diving off of seven mile is fantastic. It is a bit deep though, I have gone down to 117 feet there. There are cool canyons, some ship wrecks and other options to explore. Usually the tour operator you hire will take you to the best place for you.
You can also go scuba diving off the shore and their are a lot of options to rent tanks, BCDS, and everything else that you may need. There are also options to go on night dives there. Whatever the diving experience you want the caymans is sure to deliver.
If you want a full wetsuit it is something that you need to arrange ahead of time or bring your own. I have never had luck renting a full wetsuit in the caymans as most companies do not rent full ones, much to my dismay.
Snorkeling is also a fantastic option if you do not want to wake up at the crack of dawn, wrestle with a wetsuit and deal with all the other hassles of scuba diving. You can snorkel directly from seven mile. There are a few great little reefs to the left and right of the meridian (a condominium along the beach) . You will be able to see them from the beach. Just look for the dark spots. We like to always take our paddle board out with all of our snorkel gear and tie it to the nearest booey and then jump in from there. This makes it so you do not have to swim as far and can take a break. It would also be a great way to take kids out.
Another great place to snorkel is in front of the governors house. This is a lot closer to the shore. If you head to stingray city ask to stop at Coral Gardens. This is my favorite place on the island to snorkel, but you will need a boat to get to it!
2. HAVE SOME EPIC STAND UP PADDLE BOARD WARS
You can rent overpriced paddle boards from red sail sports at the Westin, that you only get to take out for an hour and you can only go between this buoy and that buoy and no farther than this hotel or that condo. Whereas if you rent one or two for the week, you not only get a way better deal, but you get to have your own paddle boards for your entire trip there.
We like to rent them from Whitesand Watersports. It is compeltley hassle free and all you have to do is call them up and let them know when you are arriving and leaving and where you are staying. They will then leave the paddle boards on the beach for you and the paddles at your door for your arrival. You leave them where you found them and they pick them up. They usually charge $65 for a day whereas red sail charges $45 per hour. 1 board is $235 for a week and 2 boards is $440 for a week. They give you a little discount per extra board you rent. They also offer other water sport activities.
Your paddle board can be useful for sunset paddles, snorkeling, and of course paddle board wars. Where basically you play king of the hill on a paddle board.
1. SWIM WITH SOME STINGRAYS
Take a boat to stingray city! I suggest that you charter your own private tour if you can. If not, I would recommend that you go with a small charter company. This way you have the freedom to do what you want and not get herded around like sheep with a tons of other people.
Stingray City is this magical little place in the middle of the ocean, where the sand comes up to create the perfect little sandbar. In some places it is about three feet deep and in others it is around 5 feet deep. It is usually very calm with a minimal current so you can safely stay in one spot and even the weakest of swimmer will have no trouble.
The stingrays come to stingray city for the delicious squid that the people bring. As soon as you hop into the water the stingrays will be sure to show up, especially if you have something delicious to give them! They are so fun, friendly and inquisitive. They will swim on you, swim around you, bump into you and if your not careful you may get a hickey from one. They are super soft as well, except for of course the spikes on their tales.
IS IT CHILD FRIENDLY:
Because it is so shallow and most often calm - I would say that it is safe for kids. Older kids can touch the bottom and younger ones can be held. It might freak some children out and others may love it.
IS IT SAFE?
This specific species of Stingray is not aggressive and they only attack when provoked. Shuffle your feet while you are walking and they are pretty good at not getting stepped on. They are so used to people as hundreds probably even thousands come to them every day. If you think one is getting aggressive just back off and let it calm down.
I have seen some people try to grab them and pick them up out of the water. While some of the experienced guides do this, I would suggest you don't if you have no experience handling them. From what I see, I do not think they really appreciate being handled in this aggressive fashion.
DON'T MISS OUT!
It really is not an experience to miss. When I go I easily spend an hour with the stingrays and could spend even more time if i wanted to. The great news is you can also couple this trip with a snorkeling adventure at the nearby coral gardens. It is truly surreal and an experience of a lifetime!
THERE IS LOADS MORE TO DO AS WELL:
Above are just my top 10 favorite things to do and places to see, but the Caymans has even more to offer than what I laid out above. Just to name a few more things see below:
- Endless water-sports
- Fly some kites
- Go Kayaking along Seven Mile
- Go Shopping in Georgetown
-Go Shopping in Camana Bay and have some delicious food.
- Treat yourself to a delicious dinner
- Go on a pirate ship, sunset dinner cruise.
- Go to Hell
- Visit the Cayman Crystal Caves
- Go on a submarine from Georgetown
- Stroll in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park
- Go For a Horse Ride
- Visit the car museum
- Watch the fireworks on New Years Eve or set off your own
-Launch Chinese Lanterns
