Stranded at Turtle Farm on a Sunday??

[ScubaMama]

I'll be at Turtle Farm (Grand Cayman) on a Sunday, not as part of an excursion. Someone warned me that there weren't any taxis to return on Sundays and they would've missed the ship if it hadn't been that an excursion bus allowed them to board.

Please tell me this was a freak accident. I'll be there with small kids and the though of missing the ship's 3 pm departure is making me a little anxious. I emailed Turtle Farm last week and they haven't replied.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

GC does observe Sunday's strictly a lot of shops are closed on Sunday's. There will be fewer taxis around due to that but there are some as $$$ talks.

 

[all5ofus]

I'll be at Turtle Farm (Grand Cayman) on a Sunday, not as part of an excursion. Someone warned me that there weren't any taxis to return on Sundays and they would've missed the ship if it hadn't been that an excursion bus allowed them to board.

Please tell me this was a freak accident. I'll be there with small kids and the though of missing the ship's 3 pm departure is making me a little anxious. I emailed Turtle Farm last week and they haven't replied.

We were there on a Monday and got "stranded" there. Surprisingly, even though it is the same place as the dolphin excursions, there were virtually no cabs available for the return trip. There were many excursion busses but no cabs.

The workers there directed us to the bus stop which would take us back to the ship and we waited there for the local bus. The bus was just a few dollars per person and got us back in plenty of time, but it was a little more local flavor than we expected. It was all locals on the bus and took us well off the beaten path on the way back. It was fine, but brief couple moments were uncomfortable and it is not the way I would do it again with my kids.

I would either tell the cab driver to who drops you off to come back at a certain time, or have someone working call a cab for you and wait for it.

 

[su_A_ve]

In Grand Cayman, the bus is the way to go. When we took the bus on the way back from Hell, more than half of it was cruisers.

Cab drivers only want to go a certain way. We made a mistake originally when we took a cab to 7 mile beach. We stayed there for a bit, but then we wanted to go from there to Hell. No cab would take us. All they do is either go directly to Turtle Farm and then Hell (and you book it round-trip - you can get off at the beach on the way back but would have to pay another one-way fare), or to the beach (one-way). They directed us to take the bus, and this worked pretty good for us.

The buses are the exact same 15 passenger vans but they run fixed routes and it's much cheaper. Of course it's what the locals use. One thing we find interesting was that we paid when we got off, not when we boarded.

From Hell, we took the bus back to the port and as I mentioned, half the passengers where american tourists.

I wouldn't recommend it for younger kids though, but yes for teens or those kid-less.

 

[MC0810]

We were planning on taking a cab to turtle farm than another cab or bus to the beach. This worries me as I have young children.

 

[gigi1313]

I don't think the public buses run on Sundays...

Honestly, with a 3pm All-Aboard time, on a Sunday in a country where that is their Sabbath and it's widely observed, I would not do anything other than a ship-sponsored tour... the extra money will still be less expensive than finding your way home from Grand Cayman!

In '12 we were on a DCL sponsored excursion on GC and we did the turtle farm and dolphin swim/observer and they ran so late, the kids were not out of the pool with the dolphins until moments before all-aboard, and then they kind of trapped us in the gift shop trying to sell us the photo cd (which i wanted, but feared the time!) but the bus did not leave until everyone from the ship was on it, and the Fantasy waited while we tendered (keep in mind this takes time too!) and left quite a bit after it should have... if we were on our own in the same situation, we would have been in big trouble!

 

[ScubaMama]

Ugh, I feel like I'm screwed. I have a 1 year old so there are no DCL sponsored excursions available to us because of that. Or am I misunderstanding the website and I just need to book the excursion for the 4 year old and the adults? I thought DCL wouldn't let a 1 year old come along for the ride to Turtle Farm and the dolphin place. I'm 6 days away from departure.

 

[gigi1313]

Can you book an "observer" excursion for the one year old? I don't have it in front of me so I am not sure, but I think that's what we booked for my son who was just 3 at the time.

 

[gigi1313]

You could do this tour: Grand Cayman Island Tour (G17)
Location: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Or this one (more expensive):
Boatswain's Adventure Marine Park (G26)
Location: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

 

[Kimberly1]

I never thought about it being a Sunday. We are also going to be there on a Sunday and I planned on doing this on our own. Ugh!

 

[wanderlust7]

We're also going to be there on a Sunday with a 3:30 departure. Planning to do the island tour/turtle farm with Captain Marvin's. it's cheaper than DCL and under 4 is free. They told me that the tour times that would work for us would be 9 or 11 am. After the tour, they can drop off at a beach (find your way back to port yourself) or at the port. We'll probably just get dropped off at port to be safe.

 

[Kimberly1]

We're also going to be there on a Sunday with a 3:30 departure. Planning to do the island tour/turtle farm with Captain Marvin's. it's cheaper than DCL and under 4 is free. They told me that the tour times that would work for us would be 9 or 11 am. After the tour, they can drop off at a beach (find your way back to port yourself) or at the port. We'll probably just get dropped off at port to be safe.

Hmmmm. Thanks! Going to go check it out.

 

[MickeyMeCrazy]

I second Captain Marvin's! The tour is $30 and includes general admission to the Turtle Farm as well as a few other stops at the island. Kids under 4 are free. If you're looking for full access to the Turtle Farm (swimming pool, lagoon snorkle, etc) Discount Excursions offers this as an option. This one is $48 for adults and $38 for kids 4-12.

Both of these tour operators have websites and can be reserved online.

 

[Kimberly1]

I second Captain Marvin's! The tour is $30 and includes general admission to the Turtle Farm as well as a few other stops at the island. Kids under 4 are free. If you're looking for full access to the Turtle Farm (swimming pool, lagoon snorkle, etc) Discount Excursions offers this as an option. This one is $48 for adults and $38 for kids 4-12.

Both of these tour operators have websites and can be reserved online.

Thanks for listing Discount Excursions. This is exactly what I was looking for - a full day at Turtle Farm and transportation!

 

[MickeyMeCrazy]

Thanks for listing Discount Excursions. This is exactly what I was looking for - a full day at Turtle Farm and transportation!

Awesome! Glad I could help!

 

[MUN]

We visited GC on Easter Monday 2 years ago and we took a public bus (think van) to 7 Mile Beach. The bus was cheaper and quicker than a taxi. Even though Easter Monday is a holiday and many shops were closed downtown, there were plenty of taxis and buses. We loved the bus ride and yes we did get a bit of the "local flavor" that an earlier poster seemed to be complaining about. But, I guess we don't feel we are better than the people that we road the bus with. BTW, we loved 7 Mile Beach and we would go back the next time we visit GC.

MUN

In attempt to get back on topic, I would suggest emailing the Turtle Farm (again) with your concern. They will know if taxi/bus service is available on Sundays.

 

[dumbox2]

we did the cap'n marvins turtle farm tour. it was the perfect option for us.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Resident of the Cayman Islands chiming in here...

The public buses definitely run on Sundays. Absolutely certain on that. The only times you might find that they don't run are Christmas Day,

As most visitors to the Turtle Farm are on organized tours that provide transportation there may not be a lot of taxis hanging around looking for fares. If you really want a taxi dial 777-7777 or 888-8888. Both are radio dispatched taxi services.