Grand Cayman on your own?

[kristieboyd]

My husband does not want to book an excursion and would rather "roam around" on our own. Personally, I think the idea of just roaming around a foreign island with 3 kids is not a great idea. We've never been and I think he assumes it's like Nassau with lots to see right off the boat. I'd like to have a few suggestions/ideas of things we could do just in case the roaming doesn't work out. I know about the Turtle Farm....any other suggestions?

 

[kcashner]

Grand Cayman is the most friendly, safest of the islands I've visited. It is very easy to hop a city bus or a cab to one of the main beaches.

The two best tourist spots are probably the turtle farm and stingray city. If you do the turtle farm thru Boatswain's web site, it includes a discount on tickets and transportation to/from the location. Again, easy. We did it as part of an island tour (same price as turtle farm alone!) and they offered a drop off at one of the main beaches or at the tender port.

ALL beaches are free to the public. There are little brown road signs that indicate public access to the beach (while the beach is free, you can't trespass on private property to get to the sand). The main places (7 Mile and Sea Grape) will have vendors with chairs, toys, food, etc. We really haven't explored the port area much...there are the typical shops, a Dairy Queen, etc. The biggest thing is that the island is clean, relatively safe, etc. If DH wants to explore on your own, go for it.

Captain Marvin's "store" is right next to the DQ. This is where you check in for things booked thru them. I don't know if they can handle "walk ups" if you were to choose that without an excursion booked.

OK, my take on GC is that it really isn't a lot like Nassau. There is the obligatory building at the tender port which looks like a flea market, but after that, this is a NICE port.

 

[kristieboyd]

Great to hear, thanks so much for the information! I'm a person who likes a plan, so hearing this makes DHs idea of wandering about a little less stressful for me!

 

[kcashner]

Great to hear, thanks so much for the information! I'm a person who likes a plan, so hearing this makes DHs idea of wandering about a little less stressful for me!

The easiest ports to not do any planning in advance are Key West and Grand Cayman...at least my opinion.

 

[kristieboyd]

The easiest ports to not do any planning in advance are Key West and Grand Cayman...at least my opinion.

Maybe we can compromise....I'll agree to roam in GC if we can do an excursion in Cozumel! I really want the kids to do the dolphin interaction.

 

[kcashner]

Maybe we can compromise....I'll agree to roam in GC if we can do an excursion in Cozumel! I really want the kids to do the dolphin interaction.

Want my opinion on that one? Discovery Cove in Orlando has the best dolphin thing we've ever done...better than any of the islands. I'd do Paradise Beach on Cozumel and save my money for another day in Orlando on a future trip.

 

[Bear3412]

...... Personally, I think the idea of just roaming around a foreign island with 3 kids is not a great idea....

But PP is correct. This IS the place to do so. It is the safest island in the Caribbean. The locals are all wonderful. It's the other passengers you should watch.

 

[com_op_2000]

DW and I rented a jeep and went out on our own. You can get away to some of the out-of-the-way places and just do what you want. If, you speak Spanish, DW is fluent, it helps as the locals will treat you special and they gave us multiple recommendations/tips/discounts/etc.

 

[kristieboyd]

Want my opinion on that one? Discovery Cove in Orlando has the best dolphin thing we've ever done...better than any of the islands. I'd do Paradise Beach on Cozumel and save my money for another day in Orlando on a future trip.

Thanks, DS is really wanting to go to Lego Land (since he found a coupon for a free kids' ticket in his Lego magazine lol ) so we were thinking about staying in FL an extra day or 2 anyway!

But PP is correct. This IS the place to do so. It is the safest island in the Caribbean. The locals are all wonderful. It's the other passengers you should watch.

Great to know! We've only ever been to the Bahamas and Jamaica, so weren't sure what to expect here.

DW and I rented a jeep and went out on our own. You can get away to some of the out-of-the-way places and just do what you want. If, you speak Spanish, DW is fluent, it helps as the locals will treat you special and they gave us multiple recommendations/tips/discounts/etc.

That sounds like a lot of fun! I think at least 1 person in our party speaks Spanish, so that should help!

 

[NY Disney fan]

Grand Cayman is such a quaint little place. Very neat and clean. Very walkable and also a very small tourist area. The one thing I clearly remember about GC is that it was VERY hot. There are hardly any shady areas in the downtown area (this was 2008) so wear hat and glasses. Or better yet, walk around with umbrella.

 

[DahliaRW]

One thing to know is that the minimum age for the dophins at discovery cove is 6. I wanted to do that, but my youngest will only be 4...

 

[riofriotex]

We just got off the Magic on Saturday. Rented a car in Grand Cayman (Cayman Auto Rentals, a few blocks from the tender pier) and drove to Rum Point. Awesome. It's not necessary to speak Spanish here, but you do drive on the left side of the road in Grand Cayman - and some folks have problems with that.

 

[aanderson5]

We stayed a week and found it very friendly, easy to get around and safe. It is actually very small. We rented a car and spent most of our time at Cemetary Beach which is just north of 7 mile beach. It was quieter and gorgeous. We also went to Rum Point with is great but will take a little longer to get to and will need a car. You definitly don't need to speak Spanish. The native language is English.

 

[AndreaMSU]

This is great info. We just "wandered" in St Thomas and had a good time. We have a 5 and 2 year old.

 

[Barb0829]

great info...thanks...

 

[kcashner]

I think the Spanish reference was to Cozumel.

Grand Cayman is British, and everyone speaks the Queen's English....well, some form of English anyhow.

 

[pooksma]

We did just that last March. Wandered around the town area, lots of fun things to see (look for the big blue iguana! DS also liked the candy shop at the port.). Then we took a cab to the beach for a couple of hours. So far, my fav cruise stop. I felt very comfortable.

 

[John21601]

We did our own thing too. Someone mentioned the city bus. We took that too and it was good and cheap. Be aware though that it's not a bus. It's a van and I don't remember any markings. Just ask any local where to catch it and they'll point out the closest stop.

 

[polynor]

We did our own with our kids (DS 6 and 3). We took the city bus around -- $2.50 pp. Cheaper than the taxi. Of our two ports, we liked GC more because there was more local flavor of the island that we got to see more easily than in Cozumel. The people were very nice and helpful too.

We did the Turtle Farm and then spent all our time at Public Beach (Sea Grape).

 

[riofriotex]

We did our own thing too. Someone mentioned the city bus. We took that too and it was good and cheap. Be aware though that it's not a bus. It's a van and I don't remember any markings. Just ask any local where to catch it and they'll point out the closest stop.

The city bus (van) folks are very friendly. One saw us walking to pick up the rental car and pulled over to see if we wanted to go somewhere.