MUST SEE Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman. Raise your cyber hand if you’ve watched The Firm. Growing up in the 90’s, we  were definitely intrigued with John Grisham, Tom Cruise, and the Cayman Islands. My husband and I visited awhile ago (almost 7 years now!) with our then 1 1/2 year old and really enjoyed 7 Mile Beach (pictured below). One thing that I love about our family is all of the travel we have been able to include in our lives. It has been rare lately that we are all home at the same time. Our sister and brother, Priya and Chris, recently visited this past June (actually at the same resort!), and they discovered some great must-see activities and must-eat restaurants that we missed. I guess we will just have to go back.

Meet Priya.

(All photo credit: Priya, with minor edits by Mackinaw Road. This post contains affiliate links.)

Name and Blog Name/URL

Priya

Island You’ll Be Talking About and Why You Chose This Island?

My husband and I recently traveled to the Grand Cayman Island for a vacation and fell in love with it! We wanted to go somewhere where we could relax on the beach with tropical drinks in-hand but also enjoy some daytime activities and excursions. Most importantly, we didn’t want to spend a whole day or more traveling to get to our destination.

How Many Days Would You Recommend Staying on This Island?

I would recommend a week to 10 days (my husband and I stayed for a week); however, even a long weekend would make the trip worthwhile.

Favorite Thing About/Memory From Your Trip to This Island?

My favorite memory was kissing a wild Stingray! We went on an excursion through Red Sail Sports (https://www.redsailcayman.com/) and they took us out to Stingray Sandbar and Rum Point – the whole day was truly memorable. Despite being wild, the Stingrays are used to tourists and are very friendly. Rum Point was also beautiful! I have to admit, upon arrival I didn’t quite understand why it was such a popular attraction…but once we got out on the crystal clear ocean on paddle boards it was picturesque!

“Can’t Miss” Activity on the Island? What activities/opportunities does this island provide?

Our absolute favorite activity was snorkeling at night in the Bioluminescent Bay. As you swim through the thousands of plankton particles in the water, they light up and glow! It was such an amazing, beautiful, and rare sight to see. There are only a handful of places in the world where this phenomenon occurs. We purchased the excursion through Six Senses (https://sixsensescaymanadventures.com/) and they were great. They picked us up from our hotel, provided us with the snorkeling gear and other supplies that we needed for the swim, and dropped us back off to our hotel at the end. Since the tour must be done at night in order to see the plankton glow, we also got to enjoy a sunset boat ride on the way to the Bay. Also, this tour is for everyone. Even those who didn’t want to swim/snorkel including young children were able to remain on the boat and still see the water light up. Note: before you book your trip, be sure to check if the Bio Bay tours will be operating during your stay. There are certain dates/timeframes throughout the year when the phase of the moon prevents the plankton from lighting up. Many boat operators won’t conduct tours during those times.

Best Restaurant/Place to Eat?

My husband and I stumbled upon a local tikki bar/restaurant called Coconut Joe’s which was just a few steps away from the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort where we stayed. It was casual, lively and soon became our favorite brunch and dinner spot.

What Surprised You About this Island?

Although we did some research prior to our arrival, we didn’t realize just how much there was to see and do on the island until we were actually there! We ended up making most of our plans after asking other hotel guests and locals what they enjoyed doing most. Whether you’re there with a significant other, a family with young children and/or older adults, or a group of friends, there is plenty to see and do. While we enjoyed relaxing on the beach, we were pleased that we could easily do some day-time excursions as well as fun activities at the resort such as standup paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkeling.

Any Travel Advice for those considering this island as a destination (e.g., where to stay, ease of getting there, how best to get around, language, money)?

Regardless of whether you stay at a hotel, resort, or airbnb, I would recommend staying on 7 mile beach. If you stay on the other side of the island, the beaches tend to be more rocky and difficult to access. We were very happy with the Marriott on 7 mile – the beach was beautiful, especially at sunset. (You can check out the resort and/or book your next vacation here.)

The resort itself was very pretty and well decorated with a bar/dining area in the lobby as well as a restaurant and bar overlooking the ocean.

We were able to walk from our resort to Georgetown (about a 30 minute walk) which is a touristy spot but has a lot of fun shops and restaurants.

On the way back from Georgetown, we utilized the bus system which I would recommend as it is very accessible and inexpensive. Marriott also had free bike rentals that unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to use during our time there. We did rent a car for one day from Andy’s Rental which is right across the street from the Marriott and it was pleasantly inexpensive. We used the car to drive out to the Crystal Caves which is another great site to see.

Driver’s beware, though: it was a little tough driving on the left side of the road, especially with how many round-abouts the island has, so unless you have some experience or don’t mind taking it slow, I would caution against this (luckily my husband picked it up rather quickly and did great!). Most places in the Grand Cayman accept the US dollar but will give you change in their local currency so we used our credit card a lot (which luckily did not have an international fee – be sure to check with your credit card company before your trip!).

If my readers want to hear more about your island, do you have a link to your full article?

Unfortunately not, but the Cayman Islands’ Official Tourism website has a lot of great info! https://www.visitcaymanislands.com/en-us/

Many thanks to Priya for all of this amazing information! Here is a pin as you plan your visit:

Don’t forget to check out our other Island Interviews here 🙂