Cruises from Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands; Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are the other two, in both geographical area and population density. It is located about 480miles south of Miami, Florida and a mere 150miles south of Cuba. The Caymans offer a temperate climate year-round, with the rainy season being May through October. The average yearly temperature hovers around 79°F or 26°C, making Grand Cayman the perfect holiday destination at just about any time of the year.

A British dependency, the Cayman people are descendants of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh seamen who settled there and married Jamaican immigrants who were already living on the island. English is the universal language, so communicating will never be a problem. As well as the local currency, the Cayman dollar, the US dollar is also readily accepted.

Georgetown is the capital of Grand Cayman and if you arrive by ship you’ll be dropped off practically in the centre of town. Cabs are plentiful, with fares fixed and posted. There is a bus depot located right next to the library, which is across the street from Hero’s Square Fountain, a feature in the centre of town.

Georgetown is not that large. In fact, it can easily be explored in one afternoon. Check out the Cayman Islands National Museum. It contains exhibits depicting the history of the islands, including a priceless collection of Caymanian artefacts collected by Ira Thompson, beginning all the way back in the 1930’s. This museum has been modernised over the years and today includes more than 2,000 items portraying the social and cultural history of the Caymans. The museum also has a gift shop, theatre and café.

Beaches are plentiful, the most famous being Seven-Mile Beach, which is actually only 5½miles long. Diving and snorkelling are popular activities, especially since Grand Cayman is home to the famous “Cayman Wall,” one of the best-known dive sites in the world. There is a choice of scuba and snorkelling operators to take you to this world-renowned site.

Water based activities, including diving, snorkelling and windsurfing play a big role in life on Grand Cayman and there are equipment rental facilities to cover most of them.

Stingray City is a popular spot, where you can get into the water for some one-on-one interaction with these amazingly graceful creatures. You can either snorkel or dive with them, the choice is yours. In fact you can just get into the water without doing either, since the area where they gather is not very deep. If you’d rather not get your feet wet, you can still see and interact with the stingrays during a glass bottom boat tour.

For something slightly different, Cayman Turtle Farm is a great place to spend the afternoon viewing the over 16,000 turtles that make this place their home. A unique breeding ground, it is the only green sea turtle farm of its kind in the world.

Want to see the Cayman wall without getting wet? Atlantis Submarines take visitors on tours down the Cayman Wall everyday in their modern climate-controlled submarine, which is equipped with numerous portholes that enable visitors to take pictures of the multi-faceted sea life encountered there.

If water-related activities are not your cup of tea, perhaps you’d like to “go to Hell”, Hell, Grand Cayman, that is. This little town was named for the volcanic rock formations that are prevalent in the area and which someone once compared to what hell must look like. A small town, it consists of a post office, gift shop and not much else. You can buy t-shirts that say “I’ve been to hell and back” and maybe some post cards. You can mail them to your friends and family back home at the official town post office, so that they will be postmarked from Hell, Grand Cayman.

There’s something to see and do for just about everyone in Grand Cayman. The island has no shortage of bars and restaurants, where you can sit back and enjoy a good glass of rum or enjoy a nice lunch or perhaps a dinner based on the island’s native cuisine.

However you decide to spend your time, Grand Cayman is the perfect place to do it.