Grand Cayman or Cozumel

[travelinteach]

We want to do one port as a just wing it and see what we see. Would it be better to do this in Grand Cayman or Cozumel??? Any ideas what excursion to do in the other??? When we are ins Grand Cayman there will be 6 ships in port and when we are in Cozumel there are 5. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

[KatyAnn]

We wing it when we go to Grand Caymen. You can walk into town from the pier after the tender drops you off.

 

On our last trip we took a bike tour for $25 dollars for both of us. This gave us a tour of Georgetown. After that we took a bus for $2.50 each way to the beach.

 

We will be back in Caymen in May. We plan to wing it again. We might snorkel, or shop or go to the beach. There are buses and taxis available at very cheap rates.

 

In Cozumel we always go to the AI Nachi Cocum.

[aidansaunt2004]

We loved the Cayman Islands! We were able to find an older woman offering tours. She took us past a beach, we drove around and looked at houses, went to "Hell", visited the rum store and we also went to the turtle farm. I think it was $30. I believe we even had time to walk around the little shops after our tour. It's a pretty place and the locals are friendly!

 

We've been to Cozumel and the water is crystal clear and the port is VERY nice. They have some nice little shops right in the port. We stopped being impressed when we left the port and went into the "town" though.

[fireboat]

At both ports, whenever your ship arrives so does many more. But they both can handle it.

 

Both are good for winging it since they have easy to get to beaches. Cabs are plenty (make sure you read up and the fare structure so you are less likely to get ripped off.) The shopping is good at both place.

 

In GC, we did the swim-with-the-stingrays. We planned it ourselves and got in contact with the tour operators via e-mail ahead of time. But you can book a tour when you get ashore (have a few of the names of the ones recommended on these boards.)

 

In Coz, we rented a Jeep and toured the Mayan ruins. DS & DD wanted to eat at a "real" Mexican restaurant; found a little place on the other side of the island.

 

Since tourism is big and establish, anything is doable. It all depends on what is on your must-do list.

[Soonerbaby]

We planned our activities in Cozumel and winged it in Grand Cayman. We found that the atmosphere in Grand Cayman was much more conducive to just figuring it out when we go there than it was in Cozumel. In Cozumel, we went to Paradise Beach. It was just a few dollars to enter and a few dollars $12 if you want to use all of their water toys (non-motorized). There are also all inclusive beaches/resorts there you can check out. In Grand Cayman, we knew we wanted to shop while others wanted to go to the beach, so when we go off the tender, we took off walking (everything is right there as far as shops & restaurants), and the others grabbed a shuttle to 7 mile beach.

[funfamilyof6]

Definitely Grand Cayman!! The beaches are beautiful there! We did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour with Nativeways and I can not say enough good things about it.

 

If you want to just "wing it", it is easy to get to the beaches from the port. Just go to the Grand Cayman port section to find a beach that will meet your needs. We loved Rum Point, but I believe if you didn't want to do the tour that you would have to rent a car to get there.

 

Rum Point was beautiful, but when I go back to Grand Cayman this summer, I will probably just go to a beach closer to the port to have more beach time. We will be looking for Banana Boats. Have a great time! :)

[mikel24m]

we love Calico Jacks in grand Cayman ,I think its about$4 cab ride ,great beach ,good conch fritters ,clean bathrooms and a beautiful beach

 

Cozumel we go to Nachi Cocum .Very quiet, all you can drink and 3 course meal.Hot tub great swim up pool bar For $50 pp

[ready2cruzagain]

My vote is for Cozumel. We take a taxi to downtown...about $7.00 total each way for a taxi to downtown Cozumel. Love to walk to all the stores and shop.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

JMHO but I would wing-it in GC and plan an excursion in Cozumel. Our past two cruises, we have missed GC twice due to rough seas. It would be better to make "concrete" plans for Coz.

[nobody000]

Im with Grand Caymen. There is so much to do just off the ship. If you snorkle they have Eden Rock and Hamburger Reef in walking distance. Magaritaville and other bars. Or grab a cab to 7 mile beach.

[Keystone Cruiser]

That is exactly our plan for our cruise to GC and Cozumel in April. We decided we would wing it and explore in GC including riding the bus since that visit is a little shorter than Cozumel's where we would have time for an excursion and check out the sights.