Grand Cayman Turtle Farm

[hoff41]

Hey all,

Sorry if this has been answered before, couldn't find it. We are planning on going to the turtle farm (DD's fav animal) when stopping in Grand Cayman.
Is it worth doing the Disney Excursion "Island Tour" to add a little more to the day and not have to worry about getting there, or should we just take a taxi on our own? I would note there are 5 of us (2 adults, 3 children including a 1 year old), in case that makes a difference (e.g. no taxis big enough to get us all there at once)

 

[apathetic]

I'm pretty sure we went as part of the Island Tour. Your stop there is only like 30-45 minutes. If you want longer there, better to do it on your own. That was the only part of the tour I actually liked and would've been happier doing it on our own.

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

It would be very easy to do on yur own. they will have vans at the taxi stand so you should all be able to go together. With 5 it will be significantly cheaper.
Have the driver stop in Hell as you are driving around, not much but kinda cool

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have done both ways.

I preferred the doing it on our own experience.
It allowed for a more leisurely stroll through the park, taking time on things we were interested in. Afterwards we walked across the street and watched a bunch of people swimming with the dolphins.

We easily found a taxi when we got onto GC...it is tendered fyi. He agreed to come back and pick us up at a pre-arranged time.

When we got back to the port we still had plenty of time for some shopping.

 

[DebHorner04]

We were there in June. Just go to the taxi stand, and they will get you there without a problem. I think it was about $8 pp each way. We spent the day there. We bought the pass that gave us access to the entire area. In the morning, we spent time looking at the turtles and iguanas, holding smaller turtles and then swimming in the pool. From there, we went to the lagoon and swam---small turtles, fish, and even an iguana swam past us. If possible, give your DD an underwater camera to take pictures---my DD thought it was fun to try to capture the images of the creatures she was swimming with (and she got a few good photos!). We ended the day with lunch at their restaurant and time in the gift shop. Probably spent close to 4 hours at the Centre. There is a bus stop out front, but we encountered a cab driver inside that took us back to the ship. No issues getting around in a cab/mini bus. Have a great cruise!

 

[DIS_MIKE]

We’re looking to do the turtle farm as well IF we can successfully tender this time.

 

[Mitura]

We did it as part of a Captain Marvin's tour. 4 of us. Get a tour of Hell, and a guided Captain Marvin tour of the Turtle Farm. Did it 2x. Love Captain Marvin. Air conditioned bus, well worth. Better value I feel than the Disney excursion.

 

[Kritn4]

Hey all,

Sorry if this has been answered before, couldn't find it. We are planning on going to the turtle farm (DD's fav animal) when stopping in Grand Cayman.
Is it worth doing the Disney Excursion "Island Tour" to add a little more to the day and not have to worry about getting there, or should we just take a taxi on our own? I would note there are 5 of us (2 adults, 3 children including a 1 year old), in case that makes a difference (e.g. no taxis big enough to get us all there at once)

JUst did the turtle farm in July. We got off the boat and walked the 2 blocks to the city bus (really just a Toyota minivan). Told the bus driver we wanted to go to the farm, no problem. $2 a person each way. The “bus” stops for locals on the way to work, etc. Everyone we came into contact was kind and we never were afraid. Dropped us at the front door of the turtle farm. Enjoyed at our leisure. Went to the front of the building when we were done and within 15 minutes we were back on the bus headed to the port. Was a really great way to see the island. Took you down 7 mile beach and into the residential areas. If you want to see how the locals live, this is the way to go. My 12 y.o daughter learned a lot on this trip. Would definitely do this again (we have been to a lot of islands before and never felt this comfortable with the locals. No harassing you, just happy you are there).

 

[wanderlust7]

We went with Captain Marvin's too and had a good experience. It's $30/person which includes the basic turtle farm admission, and kids under 4 are free.

 

[DIS_Ag]

We did the Turtle Farm 5 years ago and loved it. That was on a DCL PA. We are going back in November on our own. I’m not worried about getting a cab there, by how easy is it to get one back after lunch?

 

[Peanato1]

We did the Turtle Farm last September and I second Kritn4's suggestion of the city bus. Cheap, people are friendly, and you can enjoy the turtle farm at your leisure.

 

[clten]

We are going back in November on our own. I’m not worried about getting a cab there, by how easy is it to get one back after lunch?

Not difficult at all. If you take a cab to the turtle farm, you can pre-arrange with your driver on what time to pick you up. If you don't do that, you can have someone call for a taxi for you. (We had to do that several years ago. We were on a Port Adventure but we were the "left over" bus - didn't have a driver ready when the rest of the group was loading onto other busses, the driver we eventually got was driving and just calling out signs of hotels and restaurants as we passed them - not a very good tour. Since the first stop was the Turtle Farm, we left the excursion, had someone at the desk there call a cab for us and had no issues getting back to the port area.)

 

[RedSox68]

We did the island tour that included swimming with the stingrays. It was an amazing day and the turtle farm was great.

 

[darnheather]

We did Captain Marvin's as well. Had a great time.

 

[Spart02]

For those of you that took a cab, do you remember about how much it was and whether or not they took American currency? For the city bus did they take American currency? Is there enough to do at the Turtle Farm to spend the whole day if you get the full access pass? Thanks!

Also, for those of you that did it through Captain Marvin's...what did you do the rest of the day since their tour is only 1 1/2 hours?

 

[xQuizx]

For Captain Marvin's should I reserve online or just walk up to one of the guys holding the sign at the port? I'm not sure what time we are going to be able to get off the boat with tendering. Thank you in advance!

 

[DIS_Ag]

For those of you that took a cab, do you remember about how much it was and whether or not they took American currency? For the city bus did they take American currency? Is there enough to do at the Turtle Farm to spend the whole day if you get the full access pass? Thanks!

Also, for those of you that did it through Captain Marvin's...what did you do the rest of the day since their tour is only 1 1/2 hours?

I'd love to know all this too.

 

[pascalspal]

We did the turtle farm solo and loved it as well! We stopped at a gift shop in port to get cash out( if believe they took took both regional currency and usd. I remember asking the store clerk what the cabs accepted). We grabbed a taxi to the turtle farm and asked to stop at “hell” along the way. It was a fun 10 min pit stop/photo op! We spent about 1.5-2 hrs at the farm and quickly grabbed a shared cab on the way back to port.

Side note: if you do ask to go to hell along the way just know the roads to get there are quite rural. We feared we were getting kidnapped for a minute, but thankfully we were not hahaha. We are worriers for sure!

 

[tlprice]

We did it on our own and were glad we did the all access pass. The pool is quite nice. I enjoyed snorkeling with the turtles, my daughter not so much. She didn't like the fact that their food and probably poop were in the water with us. Our table mates were on a DCL excursion (not sure if they still do it) while we were there and they had to stop and listen to some guy the whole time while we were able to explore what we wanted, when we wanted on our own. We definitely had a much better experience.

They take USD. Don't forget if you rent a lock for a locker to return it and get your deposit back. I almost forgot! Also, we had to rent the lock at the front desk which is a long way from the snorkel and pool areas. We had already walked over there and then had to walk all the way back. So, you might want to plan ahead on that one.

 

[xQuizx]

We did it on our own and were glad we did the all access pass. The pool is quite nice. I enjoyed snorkeling with the turtles, my daughter not so much. She didn't like the fact that their food and probably poop were in the water with us. Our table mates were on a DCL excursion (not sure if they still do it) while we were there and they had to stop and listen to some guy the whole time while we were able to explore what we wanted, when we wanted on our own. We definitely had a much better experience.

They take USD. Don't forget if you rent a lock for a locker to return it and get your deposit back. I almost forgot! Also, we had to rent the lock at the front desk which is a long way from the snorkel and pool areas. We had already walked over there and then had to walk all the way back. So, you might want to plan ahead on that one.

Hi did you buy tickets at the Farm or online beforehand? We are thinking of going solo as well and were wondering if we should buy tickets beforehand or at the gate. TYI!