Thinking about renting a car & self touring

[suzybeezy]

I've been researching excursions both offered by the cruise line and independent and none seem to "fit" my liking. We'll be arriving in September on Carnival Freedom 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. We have no interest in the turtle farm or sting rays or touring any gardens or historical buildings. We are more interested in seeing a few of the "highlights" of the island and take in some of the scenery. After reading through several threads, I see that a few folks rented a car to go places on their own, and it got me thinking that we could self tour on our own and go to the places we want. I'm thinking that using Cayman Auto Rental would work best, since its so close to port. I haven't read anything really bad about them, and we should be able to rent a small vehicle for like $32 (great savings for two chicks on the loose). :)

 

So my dream itinerary for a self tour would be:

 

Smith Cove

Flip Flop Tree (for a picture)

Governor's Beach

Pease Bay

Blow Holes

Lunch at Tukka's in the East End

East End Public Beach at Colliers

East End's Flip Flop Tree

Cayman Kai or Rum Point

Star Fish Point

 

If there's any time before we need to be back at the dock:

quick stop at Hell

Tortuga Rum Cake

West Bay Beach

 

Now not being familiar with navigating the island and not sure the actual distance of these things (just going based on looking at a map online), I'm not sure if my wish list is too unrealistic or not (I assume it is). But I figure we aren't ones to linger too long in one location, we'll probably just spend half hour or less at each beach locale, then move on to the next. I'm a good driver and great with navigating/directions. Does these seem even remotely feasible? Ok, go ahead and laugh if you need to. :) But looking at the list, can you make any suggestions or give me any tips for navigating a self tour of the island (keeping in mind the type of interests we have)?

 

Thank you so much in advance for any advice you have.

[TurtleTagger]

To hopefully provide some perspective. The non-stop, non-congestion anywhere, circum-island drive time from the West Bay area where Hell is located, around East End and over to Rum Point would be in the vicinity of 1.5 hours. The return to port from Rum Point/Starfish Beach, taking the Frank Sound Road cut-thru would be 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 

 

This order might be better:

Hell

Governor's Beach

Smith Cove

Flip Flop Tree (for a picture)

Pease Bay

Blow Holes

Lunch at Tukka's in the East End

East End Public Beach at Colliers

East End's Flip Flop Tree

Rum Point

Star Fish Point

Grab a Rum Cake in town near port.

[suzybeezy]

Thank you so much. Appreciate the advice as we have no idea the best way to navigate the island. Talked to my other travel companions who really feel renting a car best suits our interests, so we're going to give it a go. If you have any other advice regarding renting a car and touring the island on our own, please share. I'm taking notes. :)

[drew sailbum]

Governor's Beach is the other direction from the rest of your dream itinerary destination and might be better relegated to the "if we have time" destinations such as Hell. The rest is certainly doable.

[suzybeezy]

I just thought that beach looked so pretty based on the pictures I saw online that it was worth taking the time to see it. But if its going to take a long time out of the way to get there, we may need to rethink it. We're open to modify as needed.

[CDNJehn]

suzybeezy - We did the exact same thing our first time in Grand Cayman. Rented from Cayman Auto, which is just a short walk from the port, on the left side. It took a bit of time to process the paperwork, but then we were off. No complaints on the service.

 

The only thing I'll saw about your timing is that you're going to be in Rum Point VERY early. We had this issue with a 7am port time, and our plans for lunch didn't work out. The roads can be challenging to navigate, especially with left hand-driving and the traffic circles. But once you're out of downtown there's basically only 2 main roads. Just following the signs will get you where you want to go. One road circles around the east end of the island (follow the signs to East End) and around up to Rum Point. The other goes north towards Rum Point (follow the signs to Rum Point).

 

We used this driving itinerary as our base, and modified it a bit. www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

We skipped the left turn onto Frank Sound Road (along with skipping the Botanical Park and the Mastic Trail) and followed around the far east of the island. We stopped at the Blowholes and the Lovers Wall. This route will have you pass by Tukka, and the flip flop tree, and then up to Rum Point. We took Frank Sound Road back from Rum Point (rather than driving around East End again). Stop just before the road ends for a photo opp on the left at "Off The Beaten Path Road". Fun!

 

Near Rum Point I would HIGHLY recommend Kaibo Beach Bar for lunch (the cripsy fried fish coconut curry is AMAZING!) and the view is gorgeous. We have been to Tukka for lunch as well, and it too was yummy, but your timing might not be right. If it is, try to Jerked Pork Quesadilla. Should you not be a match for lunch time at either of those, Rankins is great for some authentic jerk or Sunset House was very good as well. Both are on your way back to port.

 

We didn't end up staying at Rum Point very long because it was extremely busy that day. We meandered back down to Smith Cove, which has become our favourite beach. So much so that we were just married there in November. There's decent snorkeling there, and it's usually not that busy. If you stop coming back from Rum Point the parking lot will be on your right, and then just cross the road to the beach. Enjoy!

[suzybeezy]

suzybeezy - We did the exact same thing our first time in Grand Cayman. Rented from Cayman Auto, which is just a short walk from the port, on the left side. It took a bit of time to process the paperwork, but then we were off. No complaints on the service.

 

The only thing I'll saw about your timing is that you're going to be in Rum Point VERY early. We had this issue with a 7am port time, and our plans for lunch didn't work out. The roads can be challenging to navigate, especially with left hand-driving and the traffic circles. But once you're out of downtown there's basically only 2 main roads. Just following the signs will get you where you want to go. One road circles around the east end of the island (follow the signs to East End) and around up to Rum Point. The other goes north towards Rum Point (follow the signs to Rum Point).

 

We used this driving itinerary as our base, and modified it a bit. www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

We skipped the left turn onto Frank Sound Road (along with skipping the Botanical Park and the Mastic Trail) and followed around the far east of the island. We stopped at the Blowholes and the Lovers Wall. This route will have you pass by Tukka, and the flip flop tree, and then up to Rum Point. We took Frank Sound Road back from Rum Point (rather than driving around East End again). Stop just before the road ends for a photo opp on the left at "Off The Beaten Path Road". Fun!

 

Near Rum Point I would HIGHLY recommend Kaibo Beach Bar for lunch (the cripsy fried fish coconut curry is AMAZING!) and the view is gorgeous. We have been to Tukka for lunch as well, and it too was yummy, but your timing might not be right. If it is, try to Jerked Pork Quesadilla. Should you not be a match for lunch time at either of those, Rankins is great for some authentic jerk or Sunset House was very good as well. Both are on your way back to port.

 

We didn't end up staying at Rum Point very long because it was extremely busy that day. We meandered back down to Smith Cove, which has become our favourite beach. So much so that we were just married there in November. There's decent snorkeling there, and it's usually not that busy. If you stop coming back from Rum Point the parking lot will be on your right, and then just cross the road to the beach. Enjoy!

 

Thank you so much for your response. This may be a dumb question, from the link you provided, it shows the driving tour starting in Georgetown, is that where all the cruise ships dock? Additionally, I've tried searching online for a good map that will help for navigating, but can't find a good one that shows the roads plus the places of interests. irl I would use my phone's gps, but I would guess that would be at a cost in GC. And I'm not a member of AAA so do you know of a place online that I can get a good map for navigating or is there one available at the car rental place?

 

I also really appreciate the restaurant suggestions, I'll have to check them out. Since I'm a picky eater, I definitely need to pre-plan where we will be eating while on the island.

[drew sailbum]

Avis Car Rental has what I consider to be the best printed map of Cayman. I don't recall how much detail it has about points of interest.

 

Yes, the ships all arrive in George Town - unless they don't. There is an alternate site in Spotts that is only used if seas are too rough in George Town (sporadically in winter months).

[CDNJehn]

Do you know of a place online that I can get a good map for navigating or is there one available at the car rental place?

 

Cayman Auto gave us a map, plus all of the "tourist" books, like the Cayman Activity Guide, have maps in them. There will be tons of them in port and Cayman Auto had a bunch as well. Where you are headed, you really can't get off track unless you turn down a dirt road for some reason (which will likely end at the interior mangroves OR the ocean ... in which case you'll just turn around). When travelling through Savannah and Bodden Town you could turn off to the right at a roundabout by accident. When you come to the ocean you'll know you've gone too far. :p

 

The dive map in the Cayman Activity Guide shows the route you might take (in red, towards the east) so you can see how there are few roads to get lost on. You'll have to google it because this site is blocking out my link.

 

I know that's easy for someone that's been there and driven all over the place to say "don't worry about it" ... but trust me, you'll be fine.

 

More of a concern is being on the proper side of the road. Anytime you turn the car, into or out of a parking lot OR onto a street, just think "Left, left left". I think you mentioned you'd have a friend with you. Their job is to say "Left" anytime you turn. ;)

[suzybeezy]

More of a concern is being on the proper side of the road. Anytime you turn the car, into or out of a parking lot OR onto a street, just think "Left, left left". I think you mentioned you'd have a friend with you. Their job is to say "Left" anytime you turn. ;)

 

LOL yes that is my one concern as I'm normally really good with directions. I will make sure to tell her she has a job - being my co-pilot, at least until I get use to it, and even then its probably a good idea for her to continue reminding me just to be safe. :D

[Eliot Ness]

We did that a few years back but we used Avis which was the recommended company back then. The most stressful part of that trip was finding the Avis rental place (somewhere near the airport) upon return and seeing the long lines. Fortunately I had allowed enough time to get through the lines and shuttled back in plenty of time.

 

I had read about all the Star Fish but either we were directed to the wrong area or the timing wasn't right to see them. We we did time things so we were at Rum Point for a while, which is a pretty neat place we had been to once before on a Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour. Driving on the other side of the road wasn't too bad and I'm glad I can say we did it, but I'm not sure I'd do it again.

 

Renting from Cayman Auto will probably make things a lot easier and I'm sure you'll have a great time.... I hope you see some Star Fish!

[CDNJehn]

Do you know of a place online that I can get a good map for navigating.

 

I searched through our 'junk' from our weddingmoon and found the Cayman Activity Guide. The maps it in are good. They are not too clear because they're all satellite views, but they have drawn a red line on the routes so at a glance it's really easy to follow.

 

There's also a coupon for a free Tukka Lemonade

and discount coupons for Tortuga Rum Cakes.

 

You can check it out online. Click on the Activity Guide link on the right and then click current issue from the drop-down menu. The maps and coupons are near the end.

[BigRed93]

I think you have a good plan and I wish you luck. The driving on the left side of the road, especially with the traffic circles, would do me in. I have a hard enough time crossing the street without getting hit because I look the wrong way. Now I look both ways multiple times. ;)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[TurtleTagger]

Here is a pretty good self-drive tour that I found on TripAdvisor:

http://snorkelblog.tumblr.com/post/9249828912/grand-cayman-driving-tour

 

Hits some of the more interesting sights off the main Seven Mile Beach area and the Google Map denotes many other sight-seeing options.

[suzybeezy]

I searched through our 'junk' from our weddingmoon and found the Cayman Activity Guide. The maps it in are good. They are not too clear because they're all satellite views, but they have drawn a red line on the routes so at a glance it's really easy to follow.

 

There's also a coupon for a free Tukka Lemonade [ATTACH]282775[/ATTACH]

and discount coupons for Tortuga Rum Cakes.

 

You can check it out online. Click on the Activity Guide link on the right and then click current issue from the drop-down menu. The maps and coupons are near the end.

 

Excellent! I love coupons! I already found the guide and will be printing out all the pages that I need. Thanks a bunch!

 

Here is a pretty good self-drive tour that I found on TripAdvisor:

http://snorkelblog.tumblr.com/post/9249828912/grand-cayman-driving-tour

 

Hits some of the more interesting sights off the main Seven Mile Beach area and the Google Map denotes many other sight-seeing options.

 

I think this is the self-drive tour I'm going to go with, but modify it a little to skip things that don't interest me. I spoke to a gentlemen at the car rental place and he said he'd give me a map and highlight it for me to help me navigate. It should be an adventure! I'm a little apprehensive but excited for it at the same time!

[Caribbean_Dreamer37]

How did your adventure with a rental car work out? I may consider doing the same thing, when we visit the island.

Excellent! I love coupons! I already found the guide and will be printing out all the pages that I need. Thanks a bunch!

 

 

 

I think this is the self-drive tour I'm going to go with, but modify it a little to skip things that don't interest me. I spoke to a gentlemen at the car rental place and he said he'd give me a map and highlight it for me to help me navigate. It should be an adventure! I'm a little apprehensive but excited for it at the same time!

[suzybeezy]

How did your adventure with a rental car work out? I may consider doing the same thing, when we visit the island.

 

It worked out fantastic! It was very easy to adapt to driving on the wrong side of the road. We got to see things on both the east and west side of the island (something no tour offers). It was slightly confusing getting to the blow holes, but well worth it. I would rent a car to do my own tour again in a heartbeat! I posted a review (by day) link in my signature, so you can read more in detail about my adventure in Grand Cayman.

[CDNJehn]

It worked out fantastic! It was very easy to adapt to driving on the wrong side of the road. We got to see things on both the east and west side of the island (something no tour offers). It was slightly confusing getting to the blow holes, but well worth it. I would rent a car to do my own tour again in a heartbeat! I posted a review (by day) link in my signature, so you can read more in detail about my adventure in Grand Cayman.

 

Amazing, so glad you had a great time. This is the best way to see that side of island. :)