Rum Point or 7 Mile Beach?

[daisy48624]

We will be in GC in March on the Liberty. We definitely want to do the Stingrays and the Snorkeling, but are curious if we should go to Rum Point Beach or just have NativeWay drop us off at 7 mile Beach. Which beach is better. We are looking for a beautiful beach,where we can get some drinks and food. Should we just do the RRR excursion? Thanks!

[twinkletoes4445]

I think Rum Point is beautiful...it's truly paradise. However, the day we were there is was so crowded. There wasn't a beach chair to be had. We ended up eating lunch and leaving. And we were lucky to find a picnic table for lunch...it was that crowded.

 

I know it can't always be that crowded at Rum Point, but we had our own private stretch of beach (the chairs anyway) out in front of our condo that was calling our name, so we scooted on out of there. We were there on a Monday or Tuesday (I can't remember which day), and there was a boat or two that had brought people in after the stingray tour. The parking lot was alos full of rental cars and local cars.

 

We didn't stop at Sea Grape beach, but it looked really nice. If it were me, and I had the time, I'd spend it at Sea Grape. Sea Grape may be too far down the end of 7MB for your tour to drop you.

 

The food at Rum Point was really good...and it's a neat place, it was just crowded. Have a great time whatever you do! :)

[drew sailbum]

Rum Point has more shade trees, and is 98+% of the time much less crowded than Seven Mile Beach. Every rule has its exceptions, and it appears that twinkletoes4445's visit was one of those, probably coming out on a public holiday.

[twinkletoes4445]

Rum Point has more shade trees, and is 98+% of the time much less crowded than Seven Mile Beach. Every rule has its exceptions, and it appears that twinkletoes4445's visit was one of those, probably coming out on a public holiday.

 

 

We weren't there on a holiday (I did point this out to you earlier). It was Monday Jan. the 9th or Tuesday, Jan. the 10th. Our waiter there told us this was a popular place and it's almost always crowded. Actually, I'd have to check my pictures, but I think we were at Rum Point on Tuesday, Jan. 10th. The parking lot was loaded with rental cars, locals, and a boat or two that dropped off visitors. It is just really popular...and I can see why, it's beautiful. But it wasn't a holiday.

 

Now it really doesn't matter to me one way or another, but I wasn't there on a holiday, and it was crowded. I just want people not to expect it to be empty (like we did)...we were shocked at how crowded it was. We would have still made the drive....because it was lovely.

 

If I had precious cruise time to figure out, I'd want to know what I might encounter. I'm just telling everyone what we encountered. Like I said, there wasn't a chair to be had, and we were lucky to get a picnic table for lunch. We ate, wandered around, and then left. We didn't want to have to toss our towels on the sand. This may not bother others. And I can see where it would load up on a holiday....it's pretty. But I don't know how it could be more crowded. :)

[drew sailbum]

Went back and caught that. And I'll agree that my assumption about your travel dates was in error.

 

That said, with about 4 years living on this end of Grand Cayman, and having worked at Rum Point and Sea Grape, I'll stick by my assessment. The odds of it being more crowded at Rum Point than at Seven Mile Beach is very small, unless you come on a Sunday afternoon or a holiday.

 

Speaking of holidays, Monday January 23 is a public holiday, Hero's Day. I better get out of my driveway early or I'll get parked in by the crowds heading to Rum Point 1/4 mile from my home.

 

 

Indeed, Nativeways runs trips with a lunch stop at Rum Point. This has been much discussed here. Disney Magic offers a shore excursion to Rum Point (1 day every two weeks in high season). There is one more cruise line that has a Rum Point shore excursion in the works.

 

Now if you want a deserted beach, I can direct you to that ANY day. But a deserted beach is just that, no chairs, toilets, restaurants, or other amenities.

[serene56]

Doing a stingray tour will there be enough time to stop at a beach?

[twinkletoes4445]

Drew...you are such a lucky person to live there! I'd prefer a quiet beach spot myself. We certainly saw a lot of those. It was fun to just pull off the side of the road and explore. One place we could never find was Smith's Cove. Is there a sign? We drove past where I thought it was a couple of times, but couldn't find the place.

 

serene56...You should have enough time to do something else besides the stingray tour. What time are you in port, and what time is your scheduled stingray tour?

 

The first time we were there, our ship was in port from 7-4. We did the island tour first thing. Then we did CM's 2 hour trip (11:15-1:15). We had just enough time for a late lunch, and then we had to head back to the ship.

 

Looking back, I would have skipped the island tour, and went to the beach insead.

[drew sailbum]

Smith Cove is down on South Church Street just past The Grand Old House, but I think the sign was one of the many Gone With the Wind signs.

 

As frustrated as we all are with defining all aspects of life in relation to that BIG STORM, there is still work to do... signs were just a bit lower on the priority list.

 

Fortunately, the Cayman Lands and Surveys office can provide you with the most detailled maps of Cayman, through the online street atlas.

 

The direct link for the page with Smith Cove is here: http://maps.caymanlandinfo.ky/ArcIMS/AtlasPages/gcpage57.pdf

 

The overall map of Grnad Cayman is here: http://maps.caymanlandinfo.ky/imagemapfiles/gcindex.htm

[SingleCruiserTagAlong]

I'll be visiting Grand Cayman in February, and sounds like Rum Point is my preference. I'll be renting a car to explore the island. I really want to do parasailing while I'm there. Anyone know if Rum Point has that available, I know of a couple on seven mile beach, but would prefer to do everything in the same area. Also what is the distance of Turtle farm from Rum point, have a few kids that might be interested, also everyone seems to want to visit Hell..LOL Can I do all of these things in 8 hours, and still enjoy a few hours at the beach?

[twinkletoes4445]

Rum Point and the Turtle Farm/Hell are on opposite ends of the island. It seems like it took us 45 minutes to an hour to drive to Rum Point (from 7MB). The drive to Hell/TF took us about 15 minutes. It's not too far down the road from 7MB. Traffic was the biggest problem. Traffic tended to back up around the Ritz area, but once past that, it was smooth sailing.

 

I think you can probably get it all in in one day. The road to RP is full of many scenic areas.

[serene56]

Twinkle We are on the Liberty february 15th is Grand CAyman. We already did the stingrays and was looking for something different. Rum point seemed perfect but the cab fare is jsut too high. and taking an excursion seems the best way to get there.

 

Im still reading though

[twinkletoes4445]

Drew...Thanks for the map info. While there, we picked up the book "Paradise Interrupted" from a local bookstore. After looking at the book, and hearing stories from people who were on the island at the time of the hurricane, I think GC has made amazing progress with the reconstruction. I suppose we could have found Smith's Cove if we really wanted to, but we had so many other places that we were exploring. Smith's Cove will be on our list of things to do next time we are there (and I hope it's soon).

 

Serene...Rum Point is lovely. If you can get an excursion there or rent a car, you will love the scenery. We just were unhappy how crowded it was because we'd heard how deserted the place was. My kids also did not like it because there was too many trees. They wanted to lie on the beach chairs out in the sun. We liked the shade...it was very tropical, but they like to suntan...we don't.

 

The food at the restaurant was very good (the menus are attached to coconuts so they don't blow away). A waiter will take your order, so you can't walk up to the window and order. I think this was one of the places that added on a 15% tip (although I can't remember. There were places that we returned to several times, and on repeat visits, the waitress didn't add the tips, we did). The drinks were yummy, especially the Cayman Colada, my favorite all week.

 

There was a rental place there that rented wave runners, and things like that. There were several hammocks strung between palm trees. There was a volleyball court in the sand. The pier was neat. You could walk quite a ways out over the water...and the water is just as blue as blue can be. There is a nice gift shop. There are really nice shower/restroom facilities. There's another restaurant next door, but I don't believe it opened until later in the day (the patio was screened). There's a painted iguana (near the pier) that is cool.

 

After we left, we drove around the neighborhood that was just past RP. It was really, really cool. The houses were vibrant colors!

 

I don't mean to try and talk anyone out of visiting RP...I'm glad we did, but it wasn't what we were expecting. It could very well be that it was just by chance a busy day...those things happen. But we did enjoy exploring that part of the island. If you've done the stingrays, and have seen the 7MB area, this would be a good place to take a look at.

 

I just wanted to tell everyone what we experienced because I know how little time you have when visiting the island on a cruise. You have to be very careful when planning. And honestly, I would have been unhappy if we'd spent what little time we had on the island, and found the place to be as packed as it was. We had a whole week, so it really didn't matter to us. It was a nice drive...

 

Our condo was next to the Marriott, and we saw several cruise ship passengers hanging out there. In fact, we had several stop and plop down on the chairs at our condo. The only time I saw anyone say anything to anyone was if it was busy. There was a security guard at the condos, and he would wander around and ask everyone if they were staying there. The Marriott was awesome. They have nice restaurants, a bar right near the water, and Red Sail operates out of the hotel. Our kids rented waverunners one day.

 

I also liked what I saw of Sea Grape beach. It never looked too crowded. The biggest problem is the number of ships in port. When you have anywhere from 4-9 ships, that's a lot of people. On the busier port days, there were so many of those tour buses on the roads. But it's good for the economy, they really took a hit with Ivan.

 

Whatever you do...have a great time! :)

[drew sailbum]

...I really want to do parasailing while I'm there. Anyone know if Rum Point has that available?...

 

Rum Point definitely does not have parasailing. The only parasailing operations in Cayman are along Seven Mile Beach.

[manlie]

Drew, do you know roughly what time the ship's tours are at Rum Point? If we rent a car for the day we want to try to snorkel near at Cemetary beach and hit Rum Point for a Mudslide and some sun, so it would be good to know which time to avoid RP. Also, is there anythign left at Cayman Kai (there used to be a little beach restaurant, but that was pre-Ivan).

 

Thank you!

[Merv1]

Hi Daisy! Just got back from our 11 day cruise -- stopping in Grand Cayman. We rented Scooters and drove out to Rum Point (on Saturday the 21st of January). The ride took about 50 minutes. It was BEAUTIFUL, and not crowded at all. Don't know if that is always the case -- it was quite windy that day and the water was rough, but it did not keep us from swimming. Maybe that is what was keeping the crowds away??? We had NO PROBLEM getting a chair. The Wreck (restaurant) right on the beach was great -- I am a vegetarian and was even able to get a veggie burger there. Great drinks as well, and all resonably priced. We then "scooted" over to Seven Mile beach. It is beautiful as well. But, where we parked and entered the beach there were no chairs -- don't know if that is the case on the entire beach. It also was very uncrowded, and was much calmer on that side of the island. Swimming was great. Didn't see any restaurants right where we were either, but I'm sure portions of the beach have them. Personally, I liked Rum Point better, but if it was crowded, I wouldn't, because the beach area is quite small. Good luck!! and have fun!:)

[drew sailbum]

Drew, do you know roughly what time the ship's tours are at Rum Point? If we rent a car for the day we want to try to snorkel near at Cemetary beach and hit Rum Point for a Mudslide and some sun, so it would be good to know which time to avoid RP. Also, is there anythign left at Cayman Kai (there used to be a little beach restaurant, but that was pre-Ivan).

 

Not sure which ships your are referring to. There are trips out to Stingarys City from Rum Point at roughly 11:15 and again at 1:30 ... trips are 1.5 hours, but operate on "island time" meaning they could be quite late departing or returning, particularly the afternoon trip.

 

Cayman Kai was basically spared, certainly as compared to other parts of the island. Most vacation homes and rental condos are in good condition, while several are still being repaired.

 

Rum Point is a specific commercial property in the Cayman Kai area of the island. The Wreck Bar (with food service from the grill) is open at Rum Point. The Rum Point Restaurant, which pre-storm was only open for dinners, has not reopened for various business reasons.

 

Cemetary Beach and Rum Point are in opposite directions from the cruise dock. Use your time wisely, lest you end up stuck in traffic trying to get back to your ship.

[scubapuss]

Red Sail has the water activities like glass bottom boat to stingray city, jet ski's And I believe they told me Parasailing you can contact them.

[I&MsMom]

I may be way off base here, but I think I read here somewhere that Disney offers a ship-sponsored shore excursion to Rum Point. That's the only one I've seen mentioned.

 

Native Way does an excursion which includes snorkeling at a reef, the stingrays, then lunch at Rum Point. It's a 9 - 2:30 tour, give or take. If I've worked out the timing right, we should be arriving at Rum Point around noon-ish, and I've read we head back around 2.

 

Maybe someone who has actually done this could be more informative...

[drew sailbum]

That's about right. Nativeway usually pulls in at Rum Point around noonish, and clears out about 2pm. That's a bit of time for luch, some beach volleyball, and a bit of lounging around.

 

And correct again, Disney Magic does offer a shore excursion to Rum Point. Transport is via bus from the tender dock area to a waiting ferry boat for the ride over to Rum Point.

[sportsmom]

Where is the best place to rent waverunners on Grand Cayman. Is there public transportation - we have a large group. Any beaches with waves?

[drew sailbum]

There is a public transport bus system. It's loosely organized, and can only vaguely claim to stick to any schedule. The bus depot is next to the old library, a couple blocks inland from the harbour.

 

Grand Cayman is a tendering port. If there are waves which would affect Seven Mile Beach, you will be unable to tender in. Elsewhere on the island, the few spots where waves occasionally break can be quite dangerous. Those waves are breaking on very shallow reef.

 

There are a few sites for renting jet skis along Seven Mile Beach. At Sea Grape, Courtyard by Marriott, the Hyatt, the Westin, the Marriott, and a few other spots. Elsewhere on the island, you can rent jet skis at the beach at Rum Point or at Morritt's Tortuga Club in Colliers.