Grand Cayman

Blessed with a plethora of beaches along every coastline, each is a crescent of unblemished coral-sand. From the wildly popular and very tourist-oriented to tiny secluded coves concealed behind towering vegetation, all Grand Cayman’s beaches are public property and open to all. Seven Mile Beach itself – while really only 5.5 miles long – was recently named "The Caribbean's Best Beach" by Caribbean Travel and Life. “SMB” extends along the western shore of the island, forming the waterfront playground for the most popular and commercialized hotels, condos, rental properties, bars and restaurants, all open to the public. Easy access allows bathers to slip into the pristine waters almost anywhere, while small offshore reefs offer good snorkeling, Open grilling is allowed; pets are free to roam the beach off leash; vendors are prohibited and privacy is preserved.

A veritable feast of water sports is readily available, appealing to the timid, the adventurous, the budget-minded and the extravagant. Parasailing, jet skiing, water skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, shore and boat fishing are just some of the options. Tour operators, guides and other licenced professionals stand ready to help. Also accessible are quieter corners of the Cayman Islands, enabling visitors to go kayaking and diving in the mangroves and watercourses of the island’s interior and along the marshy edges of the North Sound and its vast swathes of protected marine areas.

The Cayman Islands are routinely rated among the top destinations in the world for diving, offering a plethora of shore dives; "Wall" dives on the famous "Cayman Wall" and wreck dives. Especially popular in Grand Cayman are the array of tunnels and caverns at Eden’s Rock and Devil’s Grotto, the reef dives at South Sound’s Smith’s Cove and the latest wreck dive near West Bay Public Beach, The Kittiwake.

A short boat ride from the northern end of Grand Cayman, visitors find themselves among a series of shallow sand bars and an abundance of wild southern stingrays congregating in the hopes of food and human interaction. The rays can develop a wingspan up to 3 feet, and are quite accustomed to being handled and fed.

The National Trust operates seasonal tours to wildlife areas throughout the island, observing bats, parrots and other rare birds and wild fauna in their native habitat, including the blue Iguana -- native only to Grand Cayman and among the most-endangered species on earth. Traditional Caymanian homes and architecture are also featured.

Once a multitude of turtles swam the waters of these islands, but today are sadly depleted, nearly extinct elsewhere in the Caribbean, due to overfishing and development. The only green sea-turtle farm of its kind in the world, the Cayman Turtle Farm is dedicated to preservation of the species through carefully managed programmes of nurturing and releasing yearlings into the wild, seeking to repopulate the seas, while farming the creatures for local consumption, reducing incentives for poachers in the wild.

If your passion is to learn about local culture, history, traditions and development, you can spend days doing your own tour. The National Museum, the National Gallery, the Cayman Car Museum, Miss Lassie’s House, Pedro St James, Hell and the National Trust are all significant stops.

Grand Cayman, for a tiny place, offers an amazingly wide array of restaurants. A dozen cuisines are represented, from Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Filipino and some mixed Malaysian and Indonesian -- to Austrian, Italian, German, French, Spanish, British fish ‘n’ chips and other “pub grub” - to Brazilian Churrascaria, Mexican and Trinidadian – American style fast food, steakhouses and coffee shops – and even a Middle Eastern-style takeway, Cayman offers a dazzling array of contemporary and international restaurants. Fresh local seafood, chicken, goat, beef, ackee and a host of regional Caribbean specialities are also widely available

The 48-passenger “Atlantis XI” submarine is a technological marvel enabling everyone, whether a diver or not, to discover the vast coral canyons and brilliant tropical fish of Grand Cayman's Underwater Marine Park to depths of 100 feet. The ship was specifically designed for underwater sightseeing excursions. The spacious cabin is air-conditioned and maintained at sea-level pressure, having no effect on the ears. The smooth 90-minute ride and the sheer clarity of the water are a wonder to behold

The six-seat helicopter offers three tours, Seven Mile beach, Stingray City and the entire island of Grand Cayman. Breathtaking views of our sweeping white beaches and clear blue waters offer visitors a unique vantage point. Specialty tours, including the sister island of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, are also available.