What to do in Grand Cayman on your own?

[mouseclick1]

Our plans for Grand Cayman are still up in the air. If we decide to just "wing it" and not book an excursion at all, what would our options be once we get off the ship? Is there anything to do within walking distance? Thanks!

 

[GenieDana]

Lots of good snorkeling within walking distance of the tender pier.

Check out:

http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/OffshoreSnorkeling.htm

Of course the mainstay is Stingray City. You will hear lots of recommendations for various operators. My favorite is Nativeway:
($25 per adult, children 6 and under free, smaller groups (20 and less), nice equipment (boats and snorkle gear), you pay on the boat (not in advance), no reservation deposit required, pick you up at pier and drop you back off there, or at 7-mile beach (your choice) and of course a great crew). Here is a link to their website:

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/about.html

 

[mouseclick1]

Thanks for those links; they are great!

Anyone else just head into Grand Cayman without any plans?

 

[Tandyc]

Any suggestions for an excursion because of this special day? Would it be better to stay on the ship and do special Birthday things there? If so, what would they be?

 

[jlawall]

The other poster had great suggestions and a great website. If you just go to seven mile beach, you really aren't seeing GC. It is easy to take a cab there and hang out on a beach with a bar and a roped in area. The highlight of our western cruise was our stingray excursion. If you walk left from where you tender the dive shops which book stingray excursions are on this road. You could do it last minute but it probably work better if you pre-book. We used Captain Marvin's and we had a great experience.

 

[GenieDana]

If Stingray City isn't for you (and your 9 year old), then I would suggest visiting the Turtle Farm. "Crush" and offspring live there! You can handle the turtles if you wish. It was lots of fun for my kids.

 

[webray]

Hubby and I did Grand Cayman without plans. I ordered the AAA tour book to get an idea of what was on the island and we went from there.

When we got off the tender first thing in the morning we grabbed one of the 2 hour taxi tours of the island (something like $15 or $20 per person). It took us past the govenors mansion, the first gingerbread house on the island, to hell, the turtle farm,through some of the neighborhoods and then he offered to drop anyone at the beach who wanted to go. If you didn't want to go to the beach, he took you back to downtown and left you off in the shopping area (which also happens to be right across from the pier) It was excellent and worth every penny.

We looked around in some of the shops..they were ok, nothing exciting. Hubby and I enjoy trying new beers and I had seen a micro-brew pub on the way back out of the taxi window. So, we decided to walk that way and get some lunch and have a couple beers. There were two actually...both oceanside just a short walk. The first was Rackham's...it had the Stingray light and dark beers. Also the best gift shop we found. We ended up buying the majority of our souveniers in there. Great selection. The bar is out behind the gift shop...overlooking the ocean...very, very nice. The bartender was great...she even took pictures of the two of us together. Now, we opted not to eat here because the next place we were trying had 5 beers and we figured food with the five beers would be better...lol. The food at Rackhams looked and smelled wonderful..and we found out that the menu is larger than at the other place..so we will definately eat at Rackham's next time.

So, we decided to go to the next place..Big Bamboo. This was also wonderful..great people, and they cooked up fresh food for you right there on the deck. We had the catch of the day...very, very delicious. The beers were also wonderful.

After that...we stopped at a couple more places...checked out the Hard Rock and tendered back to the ship.

It was a wonderful day!

 

[ThreeCircles]

One thing that we did in Grand Cayman was visit the Grand Cayman Historical Museum near the dock. I think it was about $10 or so for admission (minus the $3 student discount!) and was very much worth it. The museum is not large but will keep you busy for a while. They have very neat exhibts on the history of the island, the flora and fauna, and the traditions and culture of the native people.

Close to the dock, interesting and educational, and inexpensive! I give it a thumbs up!

 

[Tandyc]

This is the perfect excursion for us! Thank you so much for mentioning it! Both my DS will be thrilled to handle turtles!

Thanks again.

 

[princessdaisy]

Do you just grab a taxi to the turtle farm? does anyone know how much the fare would be for family of 3 (and baby)...I think my 10 year old and 1 yr old would like visiting the turtles..does anyone know how much admission is? any info. would be appreciate.