drew sailbum

It is a short taxi ride.  No reliable bus transport to that area.

ATMs in Cayman dispense local currency and a few offer US dollars as well.  No Euros at the ATMs but a bank could sell you some if you bring ID.

Cayman Islands Brewery is on Shamrock Road, about a 15 minute drive east of town away from the port.  Buses to the Eastern Districts pass by regularly, or a taxi driver would be happy to take you.

For new divers I suggest booking privately as you can discuss your experience level with the dive shop and they can better meet your needs.  As new divers you should opt for shallower dives, so two dives to 60 feet would be a better match for your developing skills.  Small operators have better flexibility to meet those needs.

The Lobster Pot Dive Center is a sort of coop of several small operators located a short distance north of the tender piers.  They can take good care of you.

Perhaps the best option is the semi-submersible boat through Nautilus Tours.  It is within easy walking distance of the tender piers.

There is a Glass Bottom Boat trip to Stingray City operated by Red Sail Sports.  It departs from Rum Point and is not a drive-slow-to-see-the-fishies type tour.  When the boat is traveling to and from Stingray Sandbar is is going fast and that stirs up a lot of bubbles that obstruct the view through the glass bottom of the boat.

For visitors who do need a visa the application is made through the British Embassy serving the country where you reside.  The UK has an embassy in Riyadh to serve residents of Saudi Arabia.

IIRC the Big Black Dick rum is a product of the Blackbeard 's liquor store chain. There is a Blackbeard's location at Grand Harbour to the east of town and at The Strand and Cayman Falls along Seven Mile Beach. They had a location in the lower level of the Landmark building on the waterfront but no longer list that location on their website.

They may have started marketing BBD through other stores in town, Perhaps others can provide specific recent sightings.

There are a couple shops around George Town that sell souvenir plates that they have bought from Vehicle Licensing and other shops have replica plates that never were actually used. You can buy previously used plates straight from the Vehicle Licensing office. Each plate costs CI$16 = US$20. These are typically used plates that have been turned in for one reason or another.

The George Town office on Crewe Rd is a bit out of town and might be a pain to get to and be VERY crowded. There is an office in West Bay near the police station and another in Breakers toward the eastern end of the island. Neither of those offices are likely to be busy. I would strongly encourage calling ahead to be sure either of those last two offices actually have what you want in stock.

Cayman has gone through a transition in plate design within the last year or so. Most plates used to be yellow or orange with black numbers or white plates for rental cars. The new plates are all white and the color of the numbers varies a bit. They may not have many of the new plates available yet.

Motorized boats are not permitted in the area where the mangrove tours go in Little Sound. It's kayaks or swim.

For those looking for it, the escape room, Locked Inn Cayman, is at 18 Fort Street. It's on the second floor of a building on the right side of the road (as you walk away from the waterfront). That is an easy walk from the tender docks in George Town.

This could be an interesting activity close to town for those who might rather do something other than shopping.

How far is Calico Jacks from the pier?

Almost four miles. Take a taxi or bus.

Coffee will be available in many tourist gift shops with packaging that seems nicer than that which is available in the supermarkets. But it will cost more. Much more per ounce.

But supermarkets such as Olimpica and Exito (two in the Old CIty) won't have much variety. An average supermarket in the States will have more variety.

Street vendors typically are cooking right in front of you using a gas hotplate or grill. So long as meats are cooked to appropriate serving temperatures it should be fine.

But the city is dotted with small family run cafes where the locals will grab a quick bite. Might not sound exotic, but fried chicken is often the featured item. But a more traditional meal, bandeja paisa, will be on offer at many restaurants serving comida tipica (typical food). Soups such as ajiaco, or sancocho are quite common as well. All are very popular Colombian dishes, though those specific items originated elsewhere in Colombia.

For cuisine truly local to the coast, unlike much of the country, Cartagena turns to the sea. Varieties of ceviche, pargo frito (fried snapper), or other seafoods are often served with arroz de coco (coconut rice). Caution... Colombians like their fried fish VERY fried, and generally not breaded. Chase your meal with a local beer. Aguilla is probably the best known.

Regardless of your entree, many dishes will be served with arepas (close to a flatbread), and/or patacones (mashed and fried plantains).

In my experience hotels still reserve use of towels, chairs, cabanas, and beach umbrellas and such to hotel guests with a room. Use of such amenities is not generally extended to day visitors unless they pay for a room.

Other customers are welcome to patronize their bars and restaurants or the services of an on site watersports company, spa, or retail shop. Use of public bathrooms is generally open to all such customers as well.

When in doubt, ask.

Sandy beach. Drops from knee deep to chin deep sharpyl and quite near shore. Water is usually relatively calm as it is all along Seven MIle Beach. And water is clear and warm, though perhaps a little cloudiness right at shore where sand gets stirred up - depends if there is a little wave action or not..

And definitely agree with TravellingBritNY above. It doesn't really seem like the buses are on any schedule at all. They come when they come.

But buses are definitely more frequent between the depot in George Town and the district of West Bay than to any other destination on the island. The good news is those are exactly the needed routes for our cruise ship visitors visiting some of the most popular destinations such as Seven Mile Beach or the Turtle Farm. Rarely would I expect a wait of more than five minutes for a bus along those routes during cruise ship visitor hours. :)

But a trip to East End or North Side by bus? You might wait for an hour and then see two or even three buses pass within 5 minutes out there. :( Best stick to a rental car for visits to destinations in those eastern district such as Rum Point, the Botanic Park, the Blowholes, or the Cayman Crystal Caves.

For whatever reason bus service in the South Church St area, where Smith Cove and Sunset House are located, is really very inconsistent. For those destinations I concur that a taxi will be much more reliable.

With that many it will be a busy day. The major tourist spots may be noticeably more crowded. I like to suggest renting a car and exploring away from the crowds. Many rental companies will pick you up near the port and take you to their airport office to complete the rental. One local company, Cayman Auto Rentals, is on the waterfront and within walking distance of the port.

There might be a traffic backlog coming back into town from the Seven Mile beach area in the afternoon. If you are planning a stop in that part of the island do it in the morning and head east afterwards so you don't get stuck in the afternoon traffic.

Drive east and see Pedro Castle and the Botanic Park. Enjoy a nearly empty beach at Coe Wood Beach right in the heart of Bodden Town. Shop for crafts at Pure Art on South Church St. Or just make a drive around the less populated East End of the island.

I took my mother on this trip and I was quite a bit over 230lb. Mom is not a tiny woman. But there was no issue.

Seas were quite clam that day. I can imagine it might have been trickier if the water was choppy.

Hemingway's is at the Grand Cayman Beach Suites (former Hyatt), at 747 West Bay Rd. That is a bit further than Royal Palms, but not as far as Seven Mile Beach Public Beach. All Public Buses with a West Bay route will pass right by the location. Should be CI$2 (US$2.50) per person, each way. Cross the road to catch the bus back towards the bus depot downtown.

The beach frontage is a little narrow there, so lounge chairs were packed a bit close together last time I was there. Don't recall price of umbrellas or lounge chairs.

Since I was last there the menu was updated to reflect an Asian fusion theme (sushi!!), so perhaps another poster will have comments on the current fare. I have always been very pleased with the food, though prices were high enough that it was more of a special occasion place rather than everyday dining for me. GOOD, but worth it and one of my choices when I could treat myself. I don't recall a minimum spend, but I could easily spend CI$40 (US$50) or more on a nice meal for one. More with wine.

Trivia tidbit. This location was used in the filming of the movie The Firm (based on John Grisham novel) back in 1993.

In theory there is a George Town area bus route that passes there. In practice I have only ever seen such a bus on the road two or three times over MANY years living in Cayman.

Better a taxi or walking it.

cb at sea, really! While there are jet ski rentals by Calico Jacks (and several other spots along Seven Mile Beach) that is not the place to go for taking jet skis to Stingray City which is what the OP asked about. Wrong side of the island.

I know of Fat Fish running such trips. Ebanks Watersports is the other that I know of. I have no idea who the booking site such as were mentioned upthread uses.

Ahem.,... I've been putting off writing this but here goes....

Yes, people can own the beach in the Cayman Islands. The deeds for their properties include a seaward border at the mean high water mark which is the point high tide reaches on an average day. From the mean high water mark to the edge of the water itself is crown property, and thus absolutely public. But that is a VERY narrow strip of land, probably not wide enough to put a towel down and have it stay dry.

Owners of property can ask that you leave. And if you refuse to do so they could call the police to have you trespassed from the premises.

What has been raised of late is another aspect of Cayman law that harkens back to Common Law (the era before law was written). And that is the right of the public to continue to access private property if the owner did not raise an objection to public access for a period of, IIRC, 20 years. Should such a period of time lapse then the public would forevermore have an easement and the right to access such portion of private property which had fallen into common public use. Some in Cayman say this applies to certain parts of the beaches which are on private property.

Cayman has recently enacted a written law to amend the prior law that governed such easements so that now a person could petition the government to file suit on behalf of an individual who is proposing to assert a right of public access. (Previously it was the individual's burden to pursue legal action, which could be quite costly). This Prescription (Amendment) Law, 2017 has not yet (AFAIK) been put to test. As such I am not aware of any parts of the beach which have been deemed in a court proceeding to be an easement with a public right of way access on private property.

It seems to me that it might be difficult to prove that the current and/or prior landowners let a period of 20 years lapse without ever asserting their right to control access to their property. I am aware of what appears to be a public road in George Town that is actually on private property. The owner of the land that road sits on hires a security guard once every few years to close the road for a day, thus raising an objection for unfettered public access. And so long as he does that at least once every 20 years then the public does not gain an easement to his land. Similarly an owner of a beach parcel need not police his beach every day. Just once every many years is enough.

For anyone really wanting to spend their cruise stop digging through the details of Cayman law to assert a right to access a particular parcel of beach I would first suggest a bit of reading. One of the local law firms in Cayman, Ogier, has a reasonable write up of the beach access issue.

As always, I am not a lawyer. I am not your lawyer. I am not connected in any way to Ogier or any other law firm. I do not own any beachfront properties so don't really have a dog in this fight.

In this context "shuttle" means taxi from the port. Such taxis are shared ride.

This is opposed to taxis hailed elsewhere on the island which are not shared ride and will cost more.

Photography equipment is a niche item that can be had at very competitive prices. I've bought cameras and lenses here that rival any price i could find on the internet.

Local craft products such as Cayman Pepper Jelly, Caymanite jewelry, or paintings from Pure Art can be a unique souvenir of your visit to Cayman.

There is no guarantee at any particular site outside of the Turtle Farm. In hundreds of scuba dives over the years I would estimate seeing at least one turtle in about 20% of my dives. Turtles can be anywhere, with no particular concentrations noted.