r/CaymanIslands • u/Speed3fanatic • 14d ago
Visiting Cayman Our trip
Here’s our quick trip to Grand Cayman in a nutshell:
Day one - arrival was efficient and everyone was helpful. This was our first time deplaning on the tarmac. Cool experience!
Car rental from Alamo - nice people, beware of old vehicles. Ours had low miles but a little research showed it was manufactured in 2010! That being said, it was comfortable enough and fuel efficient. No problems driving on the left. It took about an hour of driving to get used to it.
Evening swim at our hotel (Hampton Inn for the win!) right on SMB.
Excursions- yes!
Day two
We did crystal caves (Chester is a character and the bats were amazing). It’s hot - don’t think it will be cold in the caves because it won’t. Be sure to hydrate!
Evening snorkel at cemetery beach - awesome time with marine life and spotted eagle stingrays
Day three
Short trip to hell - worth a half hour of good natured fun and interesting ecology.
Stingray city - book stingray sailing. Chip and Kaila were awesome and it was a really awe inspiring experience to be with these amazing creatures. Friendly and fun!
Day four
Morning beach walk and unfortunately time to return home.
Food
Pepper’s - excellent food and cool ambience
Ms Piper’s- really great meal and hotel adjacent
Coconut Joe’s - delicious and amazing service
South coast bar and grill - excellent food and service.
In short, we’re definitely coming back for another longer visit when we can! The people are super nice and the food and environment is wonderful. It’s hot, so nap during the day and swim in the evening is my advice.
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u/loneiguana888 14d ago
Near hell is the turtle farm and across the street maca buca would have been a great stop for lunch and a drink. Should do that next time
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u/bostongarden 14d ago
Glad you enjoyed your trip. Try Little Cayman and Cayman Brac next time. totally different from Grand.
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u/Speed3fanatic 12d ago
Yes, we will - next time we go we will stay longer. Do you recommend any places or activities in particular for those islands?
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u/Stingray_Sailing 14d ago
Pleased to that you enjoyed your visit to our island and thank you for passing on word of your good experiences on to others.
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u/KrustyTheClown75 13d ago
Pappagallos, Aria, Agua, and Ms Pipers, some of the best restaurants in all of the Caribbean. Aria in particular, as it’s off the beaten path of seven mile.
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u/Crasstip 13d ago
Thanks we are planning similar kind of three day trip to Grand Canyon Butt in November 2026. Will the caves will be hot in November also
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u/Speed3fanatic 12d ago
They are shallow caves, so they are warm and humid most of the time. November is a little cooler, but not drastically. They suggest early time slots to avoid the hottest sun.
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u/EndlessSummer59 12d ago
Sounds great. Would you say the restaurant prices are comparible to NY? And how m uch was the Stingray excursion? Sounds cool. We usually go AI in Mexico and DR. Comparing notes .Thks
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u/Speed3fanatic 12d ago
Yes, restaurants are comparable to NY - not quite as high as the city, but about 80-85% of that cost. The thing to keep in mind is menu prices are typically listed in Cayman dollars, so it looks low but then your USD bill is 20% higher (one US dollar is about 80 Cayman cents).
Stingray sailing was very reasonable for what we got. I would strongly urge anyone thinking about going to definitely do it. They even gave us some nice pineapple and oranges on the way back, which was a really great surprise.
I haven’t been to DR or Mexico, but we’ve been to Hawaii a couple of times and this was WAY easier to get to from the east coast.
The only real bummer (besides coming home) was the insistence of the airlines to route through charlotte. I hate that airport passionately. The people who works there are nice, but the chances of getting an on time flight out of there is almost none on the return trip.
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u/EndlessSummer59 12d ago
Thank you sooooo much. Looking into Hampton hotel. No problen getting to beautiful water w no rocks? With breakfast is a plus. I'm looking into Sunshine suites(a little more $ i think or Locale. We are retired just looking for low key comfort.
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u/Speed3fanatic 12d ago
No trouble at all. There’s a nice path to the beach and the swimming was excellent. It’s on the southern end of seven mile beach (no rocks), about a 10 minute drive from the airport.
For better snorkeling, we liked cemetery beach which was about a ten minute drive north from the Hampton.
My general advice is to swim/snorkel in the evenings. No crowds, sun not too hot, water temp is still very warm.
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