Tell me your favorite excursion for Grand Caymen!

[beach410]

Planning on a summer cruise, looking for a tour under $50 pp, there will be 5 of us. We have been twice to GC, once on Captain Marvins, which we enjoyed and another time we winged it and just went with a tour operator at the pier for some sight seeing and beach. Been there, dont that, would like to try something else. I have searched the ports of call boards, lots of questions, but not lots of answers.

 

We are traveling with two 18 yr olds (DS and his DGF) and a 14 yr old. (DS) Please share your experiences!

[JohninDC]

Unless you want to do the snorkel and stingray thing again (you can book with Capt Marvin or Moby Dick for under $50 ;)) you might skip any tour and just cab it to 7-mile beach and relax. Great beach, chairs for rent, food and drinks, etc...

 

You will get better responses to this question if you post it on the Cayman Island board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

 

Good luck! :)

[beach410]

Thanks, there are lots of questions on the ports section, but not a lot of answers. Most people spending time on the ports sections are looking to plan, not looking to answer questions about their favorite activity.

 

I am looking for others own experiences, open to other sting ray options, but would like to here from others their stories and favorite tour operators, etc.

[suezyq50]

Captain Marvin's. We have gone twice. Can't experience that any where else.

[gobucks_43228]

We just go to the beach and relax. Took a cab for $7 to Royal Palms and walked away from the crowds. There is a resturant/bar there as well

[ferretface]

Swimming with the dolphins!! It was incredible. We went in January. It was a combo of stingrays and dolphin swim. Wonderful

,

Phyllis

[Razor_Poke]

If I ever get back there, I'll cab it to cemetery beach and snorkel on my own. It's a quiet beach where last time we encountered maybe 20 other people and it was a 4 cruise boat day!!! Great snorkeling, easy in and out, even a few shade trees. The only downside is you won't find any facilities or food vendors close by, so eat a good breakfast on the ship and, well um, figure out how to deal with the other:D

 

If you must spend money, the turtle farm and swim with dolphins are fun.

 

Grand Cayman is a very safe port of call. You won't get ripped off by cab drivers, extorted by cops or assaulted by street vendors. I left my wallet laying on a shop counter in GC ....... went back 30 minutes later and picked it up with no issues.

[DaDivaMom]

Grand Cayman Auto Rentals is about half a mile from the cruise port, turn left and it's a blue building past the fish market. You can rent a 7 passenger van with insurance everything for 86 bucks. Head over to Rum Point for the day. Great beach, food and drinks available for purchase, free chairs & hammocks. Wave runners & such for rent and MUCH quiter than 7 mile. We love it.

[pjtulsa]

I took a group or 17-18 yr old girls on the Reef, Rays & Rumpoint trip with Native Way. I think it is $62 pp but it includes lunch so that is worth something. The girls loved it.

 

If you do decide to head to 7 mile beach, skip the cab & use the Bus. Its only $2.50 pp each way instead of $5.00 pp in a taxi. You can use the bus to go to Hell or to the any of the other places like the Turtle Farm. Its also nice to ride with the locals and the bus (long van) goes into the local neighborhoods so you get to see areas you dont see in a taxi.

 

Remember things like food and drink are expensive as everything is in Cayman Dollars and much higher than other ports.

 

Hope you have a great day.

[Cruisegirl6]

Stingray city! If you want beach seven mile beach is beautiful and if you want a local place on beach with music and drink margarhitaville

[Thebox]

Hopped on a van at the pier to Royal Palms ($4 pp each way.) Got there around 10:30 (first people leaving the van - maybe a 10 minute drive) and had our pick of loungers. Stayed for a couple of hours and took a van (plenty of cabs/vans outside the beach club) back to the pier. Walked aprox 500 yards to Eden Rock (has blue divers flag). Rented snorkel gear (if I remember correctly about $15 per person) and snorkeled from their ladder entrance.

 

Easy relaxed day with some snorkeling on our own. Turned out to be the best planned day of the cruise. We're going back in July and will probably repeat the day -- except we'll eat at Royal Palm. Food grilling smelled fantastic, plus they've added a pool. Enjoy your trip!

[zstell]

Grand Cayman Auto Rentals is about half a mile from the cruise port, turn left and it's a blue building past the fish market. You can rent a 7 passenger van with insurance everything for 86 bucks. Head over to Rum Point for the day. Great beach, food and drinks available for purchase, free chairs & hammocks. Wave runners & such for rent and MUCH quiter than 7 mile. We love it.

 

EXACTLY what we did earlier this month. Have done the stingrays a few times and wasn't impresses with 7 mile beach. Rum Point was so nice and it was great to be on our own schedule. First time renting a car in another country, but very easy driving!

[zstell]

Grand Cayman Auto Rentals is about half a mile from the cruise port, turn left and it's a blue building past the fish market. You can rent a 7 passenger van with insurance everything for 86 bucks. Head over to Rum Point for the day. Great beach, food and drinks available for purchase, free chairs & hammocks. Wave runners & such for rent and MUCH quiter than 7 mile. We love it.

 

EXACTLY what we did earlier this month. Have done the stingrays a few times and wasn't impresses with 7 mile beach. Rum Point was so nice and it was great to be on our own schedule. First time renting a car in another country, but very easy driving! As a sidenote, the drinks were very expensive, imo. More expensive than the ship.

[wildabouttheworld]

Just back from Grand Caymans last week and did the ray reef and rum tour with Native Ways and it was fantastic. It was $62.50 pp adult (lunch included). There were only 17 in our entire tour. We snorkeled, went to the stingray sand bar, went to a starfish reef, then spent a few hours at Rum Beach ( a little piece of heaven ) where we were served lunch. It was about a 5 hour tour. A nice bus takes you to thier boat. The boat has water and punch and all your snorkel equipment on board. There is a bathroom. Our captain and guide were amazing. They are first class. This was the highlight of our cruise. No pre pay required just a reservation. You can pay on the boat. It was an amazing adventure and I will do it again when we go back. We were next to boats on the stingray sand bar that had dozens of people crammed in like sardines. If I had paid for one of those tours I would have been devestated. Our boat was spacious and we got individual attention. I cant say enough about them.

[cruisediva07]

DaDiva and Zstell,

 

How long was the drive to Rum Point? How were the roads?

 

We've never rented a car or driven out of the US, but we loved the short time we spend at Rum Point on a stingray tour and would like to go back for a longer stay. Besides the cost of food and drink, was there any admission when going there on your own?

 

Does anyone know what the cost of a cab for 4 would be to Rum Point?

 

Thanks!

[wildabouttheworld]

We were there a few weeks ago. Used Naitive Ways. They met us at the port and took us in an airconditioned van to their boat, about a 10-15 minute ride. Our tour was the Ray Reef and Rum tour. It was amazing. We only had 17 on our boat. We had punch and water available during the trip. The boat had a bathroom. The captain and mate were wonderful. We got so much individual attention. First stop snorkeling, second stop stingrays. We were surrounded by boats that had dozens of people packed in like sardines. Our small group got off and our captain and mate gave us so much individual attention with the stingrays. Truly a wonderful experience. Next stop Starfish sandbar. They are about 8-10 feet down so you can dive down and pick them up and bring them to the surface and handle them. If you dont want to dive down the captain and mate will go get some starfish for you to hold. the snorkeling there was great. Next stop Rum Point. We got a menu on the boat and lunch was called ahead for us and waiting when we got there. Rum Point is a little piece of heaven. food was really good. You can swim or lay in a hammock or grab a chair. There was a bar there if you wanted drinks. There were watersports and a gift shop. Then we got back on the boat and went back to van and then back to port. Entire trip was about 5 hours. I think it was about $65 pp. You can check their website.

[bookbabe]

I know I wasn't the one you asked, but since I've made the drive to Rum Point probably a hundred or so times, I figured I'd jump in... :D

 

How long was the drive to Rum Point? How were the roads?

 

It's about a 45 minute drive from town. The roads are pretty much the same as you'd find at home...normal paved two-lane roads and highways, for the most part.

 

IMO, the biggest driving differences are that you would be driving on the left instead of the right, and there are roundabouts (traffic circles with multiple exits) instead of traffic lights.

 

We've never rented a car or driven out of the US, but we loved the short time we spend at Rum Point on a stingray tour and would like to go back for a longer stay. Besides the cost of food and drink, was there any admission when going there on your own?

 

No admission charge, but you aren't allowed to bring in outside food or drink.

 

Does anyone know what the cost of a cab for 4 would be to Rum Point?

 

A taxi would be around $80-100 US each way. You'd need to pre-arrange the return trip, as there wouldn't be any taxis waiting there, or even nearby, due to the distance from town.

 

A rental car or an excursion are really the best ways to visit Rum Point.

[rcprncss]

Book babe, wow, that is a lot of $$ for a taxi. Thanks for the info.

[funfamilyof6]

Book babe, wow, that is a lot of $$ for a taxi. Thanks for the info.

 

FYI, Rum Point is not that close to the cruise pier and sometimes you get a lot of traffic in Grand Cayman, I think this is why the Nativeway Rum Point tour is so popular.