Hell and Turtle farm

[Angela61280]

Hey everyone,

 

We're leaving in 9 (jump up and wiggle wiggle... Single digits whooooo!) days with 3 yo ds. I'm thinking the turtle farm and hell. Curious about taxis. Are they in the same directions? Which should we hit first, I'm thinking Hell cause I know ds will get dirty/wet with the turtles? What should be the approx cost for the taxi? Will I have a problem getting a taxi back? Is it worth it to haggle with the excursion guys at the pier, or just do it alone?

 

If there is an excursions I should consider instead please let me know.. I'm open to suggestions as well (but I just don't think ds would be up for the stingrays this time around).

 

Thank you!!!!

[mnsweeps]

Hey everyone,

 

We're leaving in 9 (jump up and wiggle wiggle... Single digits whooooo!) days with 3 yo ds. I'm thinking the turtle farm and hell. Curious about taxis. Are they in the same directions? Which should we hit first, I'm thinking Hell cause I know ds will get dirty/wet with the turtles? What should be the approx cost for the taxi? Will I have a problem getting a taxi back? Is it worth it to haggle with the excursion guys at the pier, or just do it alone?

 

If there is an excursions I should consider instead please let me know.. I'm open to suggestions as well (but I just don't think ds would be up for the stingrays this time around).

 

Thank you!!!!

 

Just yesterday, I booked the Stingray, Hell and Turtle farm Carnival excursion for 5 of us. The price seems to be comparable to what others offer.

[nonnie&dgd]

Captain Marvin's has a hell and turtle farm tour. It has other stops as well. It is $30.00 pp and children under 4 are free.

[im4golf]

I noticed that one myself. A little nervous as I'm not use to booking other than Carnival excursions. Has anyone used this company before? Thanks for your replies.:)

[Angela61280]

Someone from my roll call just booked them.. But I looked them up on trip advisor and it looks legit. I might see what the tour companies at the dock are offering. We're leaving in a few days, I'll come back and let you know the outcome im4golf

[cruiserssandr]

I noticed that one myself. A little nervous as I'm not use to booking other than Carnival excursions. Has anyone used this company before? Thanks for your replies.:)

Captain Marvin has been around for many years. His tours are top notch. Hope to tour with this company when we are in Grand Cayman in Nov 2014.

[B&J_Pgh]

how do we contact him?

 

How to find him at the Pier? Does he do advance reservations?

 

Has anyone done a review of this excursion?

[nonnie&dgd]

how do we contact him?

 

How to find him at the Pier? Does he do advance reservations?

 

Has anyone done a review of this excursion?

 

You can check trip advisor for reviews. I booked with him on his website. I think he only does advance reservations, but i might be wrong.

[B&J_Pgh]

but not familiar with tripadvisor. We are just starting to venture out on our own (not doing the ship excursions) so I'm not up-to-speed.

 

Our first hiring of a taxi in St. Maarten's taught us a lot!!!! We are a LOT more suspicious now. But the savings has been rather extraordinary.

[B&J_Pgh]

. . . but concerned that there are no postings after 2009 on him and his tours??????????????????????????????????????????

[B&J_Pgh]

here's what I have found so far:

 

the question is posed by someone going from the Westin

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147367-i321-k7133388-Taxi_to_Turtle_farm-Seven_Mile_Beach_Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

 

about the bus lines

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147365-i261-k5532257-Public_Bus_Route_and_Fare_Information-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

[nonnie&dgd]

. . . but concerned that there are no postings after 2009 on him and his tours??????????????????????????????????????????

 

Under Captain Marvin's Seven Mile Beach on Trip Advisor there are 507 reviews. The last one was posted 02-25-14.

[beshears]

I just want to mention that the turtle farm is fine, but as for HELL, it is just a bunch of BLACK rocks, and not many at that.

[Shmoo here]

 

[OCruisers]

Also saying to avoid Going to Hell! The 3 yr old would be bored silly. :rolleyes:

About the only thing to do there is mail post cards with a Hell post mark or to buy a t-shirt or something that says "I've Been To HELL!"

Take a 3 year old there and you will feel as if you have been. :D

LuLu

~~~

[mrpayroll]

I just want to mention that the turtle farm is fine, but as for HELL, it is just a bunch of BLACK rocks, and not many at that.

 

I agree. If you are going there for your son's sake, i don't think he will be impressed. Just take a cab to the turtle farm and spend a little more time there.

[Dmgor59]

I agree. If you are going there for your son's sake, i don't think he will be impressed. Just take a cab to the turtle farm and spend a little more time there.

 

What is the cost of a cab and how long of a trip is it?

[Angela61280]

Just a follow up....

 

We did end up taking the city bus to the turtle farm. Dh and I were kind of wary getting off the boat and jumping on the bus, so we decided to price out a taxi, just to see.... The cab driver was like, I can take you there, but you guys should take the bus because the taxis are very expensive and walked us over to the bus stop. There was a local hanging out at the bus stop that asked us where we were headed to and took care of getting us on the right bus and letting the driver know where we were headed. The trip to the turtle farm was pretty straightforward and our bus driver kind of gave us a narrated tour lol. (Ps the turtle farm is a ways out from the port). On the way back, it look about 15 minutes to catch the bus back. While we were waiting we met another family that was waiting for a taxi to the hotel and we told them about the bus, they decided to do the bus with us as well. When the bus came, we ended up taking a lot of back roads and seeing a lot of the homes around the island. Many many locals take the bus, and just flag it down in the street.. In fact the bus driver will basically honk at anyone walking down the road to see if they want a ride. The buses are basically the van like taxis you grab on the other islands. I would totally take the bus in cayman again. I felt safe on it with my 3 yr old dh (for the rest of the mama out there)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[OCruisers]

Just a follow up....

 

Thanks for your time to report back! Glad it turned out to be a good day! :)

LuLu

[CaribbeanBound]

We did the turtle farm and hell this past March.

 

This was our third trip to Grand Cayman. The first two trips we went to Stingray City with NativeWay tours. This trip we were looking to check out 7-mile beach, the Turtle Farm, and go to Hell. We tendered into shore on local charters which took about 15 minutes. The ship started tendering at about 8:00 am.

 

Georgetown has a great "public bus" system that is pretty easy to find from Royal Watler Terminal by walking about two blocks inland on Fort Street to the corner of Edward St and Fort Street. (From North Cruise Terminal, follow Cardinall Street two blocks and turn left on Edward Street and walk two more blocks). The buses (little minivans that hold up 10 - 16 passengers) leave every 15 minutes or so (between 6:00 am to 9:00 pm) from a small lot near the public library across the street from Heroes Square. They go pretty much all over the island to the major attractions.

 

The bus drivers (who speak English) will drop you off anywhere along a route that you want to go. The fare is usually $2.50 U.S. and you pay when you leave the "bus." To catch one going back, you stand on the opposite side of the street from where you're dropped off (or locate a covered bus stop), keeping in mind that locals drive on the left side of the road. If you see a minivan coming, wave at it and it will stop. If it honks at you when approaching, it is because the driver is asking if you want to get on the bus.

 

The difference between the bus and the taxi (other than price): Taxis license plates are red numbers on a white background; the bus has white numbers on a blue background. Logos located on the front and rear of buses identify routes: Route 1 (yellow) and Route 2 (lime green) cover George Town to WestBay (which includes Seven Mile Beach, Turtle Farm, and Hell) and that's all we needed to know. Here's a look at all of the bus routes.

 

Hell is only worthy of a 15-20 minute stop --- about enough time to view and take photos and mail a couple of post cards. Hell has jagged rock formations made of ironshore, a type of limestone with a black coloration due to algae. This bleak landscape is how some folks might imagine Hell on Earth would look like. If you look carefully you'll notice Iguanas dotting the rocks. There are two main buildings in Hell: a tourist trap and a Post Office with a fence separating the two. You can view the formations from either location. I recommend asking your driver to drop you off at the Hell Post Office. There are 3 little souvenir shops next to the Post Office which offer what we thought were better post cards than the tourist trap next door. Post cards are 50 cents and stamps to the USA are 25 cents. It was fun to go just so we can say we "went to Hell and back".

 

Although Hell and the Turtle Farm are only 1.5 miles apart, there are no sidewalks between the two. Riding a bus is recommended. Seven Mile Beach is a definite bus ride from either.

 

The Turtle Farm, home to 16,000 turtles, is a government-run operation which raises the endangered green sea turtles to increase their population in the wild. Established in 1968, it's the world's only commercial green-sea-turtle farm. "This eco-sensitive turtle farm exists to provide the local market with edible turtle meat (preventing the need to hunt them in the wild) and to replenish the waters with hatcheling and yearling turtles. Visitors can observe turtles in every stage of development in 100 circular concrete tanks. Turtles here range in size from 6 ounces to 600 pounds. At a snack bar and restaurant, you can sample farm-raised-turtle dishes". Not entirely true. The restaurant no longer serves turtle dishes.

 

Adult cost is $18 for the "Turtle Farm Exploration Tour" which includes just the Turtle Farm (where you can pickup and hold baby turtles) or $45 for the "Turtle Adventure Tour" which includes the entire park. Children 5 to 12 are $9 and $25 respectively (and under 5 are free). You might be able to take advantage of a couple of discounts. The Turtle Farm offers a 20% discount when tickets are bought in advance, and Explore Cayman says you can get a discount of 10% at the Turtle Farm if you walk up to the ticket booth and mention "EXPLORE". This not-so-secret word will also get you 10% off at the Schooner's Bar & Grill and Splash Gift Shop.

 

We bought tickets online in advance and traded our vouchers for wristbands. Upon entering the farm, the first tank you see is loaded with HUGE 6-foot sea turtles. Several other tanks hold turtles of varying sizes. Loose chickens and iguanas also roam the property. There are a dozen tanks holding baby (1-foot sized) sea turtles. It's fun to catch them for a photo opportunity.

 

Skip the restaurant. While the view along the rail is good and the shade is comfortable, a jerk chicken sandwich, conch chowder, and a root beer will set you back $28 US. The food wasn't bad but at this price it should be tastier. They also no longer serve turtle here. Two locals suggested Myrtles at Queen's Court next to the 7-mile shops (reasonable close to the pier by bus or taxi) as the "go to" place for great turtle dishes. "They do it right". That's a definate stop for us next time we're here. The Turtle Farm is worth a visit.

 

If you choose to take a taxi to or from Seven Mile Beach, the cab fare is $4 - $6 pp depending upon how far up the beach you are. Rates are fixed and posted, but be sure to confirm the fare before the driver takes off.

 

Seven Mile Beach (really 5 miles of nice sand, but who's counting?) is located just north of George Town between the pier and places like the Turtle Farm and Hell. All the beaches on the Cayman Islands are free public beaches. Like everywhere, some of the hotels will charge you to use their chairs and facilities. Since Seven Mile is a sand beach, don't expect much snorkeling, although I understand you can swim about 100 - 200 yards offshore at Cemetary beach and snorkel the reef. The southern part of the Seven Mile is the most heavily developed and closest to the pier.

 

We asked to be dropped off at Cemetary Beach which is further away from the pier than popular beaches like Sea Grape and Public Beach in an attempt to avoid the crowds from the 5 ships in port that day. It has a public beach access path and shade trees. Our plan was to get dropped off at the far end and walk along the beach back towards the ship. We ended up walking about 1.6 miles to Tiki Beach. It was fun and the beaches were beautiful. We got back on the main road and caught another bus for US$2.50 that dropped us off near the tender and then got in line to board the tenders and headed back to the ship.

 

We also considered going to the Caybrew Brewery which is about a 10 to 15 minute bus ride in the opposite direction. (Take bus #3, 4, 5, 8 or 9). The Brewery Tour are US$6 and are available Monday through Friday on the hour from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

 

Picture: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/hell.jpg

 

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

First-hand information on excursions we've taken in 24 Caribbean ports. With photos!

Edited June 2, 2014 by CaribbeanBound