Which is the best beach?

[erries]

I'm going to Grand Cayman on a Royal Caribbean cruise next month, and I've never been there before, so I have a question. We have an excursion booked for snorkeling at 9:15am, and it's supposed to last 2.5 hours. So we'll be done before noon, but our ship leaves at 4:00pm, so we'll only have a few hours on the island after our excursion. We'd like to get lunch somewhere near the pier (Hard Rock Cafe, maybe? other suggestions?) and then take a cab to a nearby beach to relax for an hour or two.

 

Which beach would you recommend?

 

I've read such wonderful things about Rum Point, but unfortunately we won't have time for that. I've heard that Sea Grape is nice, and that Cemetery doesn't have any facilities. Are there others I haven't read about yet? Which one is the best? We're just looking to chill out for awhile - nothing fancy. Doesn't have to be completely deserted, but it would be great if it wasn't *too* crowded.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help.

 

Erica

[bookbabe]

I've heard that Sea Grape is nice, and that Cemetery doesn't have any facilities. Are there others I haven't read about yet? Which one is the best?

 

Sea Grape and Cemetary are both sections of Seven Mile Beach, as is Royal Palms. Sea Grape and Royal Palms are pretty similar, with good facilities, rentals and a small bar/restaurant. You can see the beach on the Royal Palms webcam - http://www.reefgrill.com

 

If you're on a private excursion (ie. not booked through the ship) you can almost always get the driver to drop you off at either Sea Grape or Royal Palms on the way back, and eat there, in order to save some travel time and maximize your beach time. You can eat at the Hard Rock almost anywhere, but having lunch out on the beach is something you can't really do at home... :D Then, just grab a taxi back to the ship when you're done.

[erries]

Sea Grape and Cemetary are both sections of Seven Mile Beach, as is Royal Palms. Sea Grape and Royal Palms are pretty similar, with good facilities, rentals and a small bar/restaurant. You can see the beach on the Royal Palms webcam - http://www.reefgrill.com

 

If you're on a private excursion (ie. not booked through the ship) you can almost always get the driver to drop you off at either Sea Grape or Royal Palms on the way back, and eat there, in order to save some travel time and maximize your beach time. You can eat at the Hard Rock almost anywhere, but having lunch out on the beach is something you can't really do at home... :D Then, just grab a taxi back to the ship when you're done.

 

Thanks for the info! You make a very good point about lunch - we can do Hard Rock anywhere, but it's not every day you get a chance to eat on the beach! Now that I know there are restaurants on the beach, I'll definitely consider this.

 

Do these beaches charge for admission? If so, how much?

 

Unfortunately our snorkeling excursion in the morning is through Royal Caribbean, so I imagine it'll transport us all the way back to the pier. I assume it's easy to catch a cab there, though, right? And it's something like five bucks per person each way to get to the beaches? Is it also easy to catch a cab back? I don't want to be stressed out trying to hail a cab to get back to the ship on time.

 

Thanks again,

Erica

[jean-lynd]

No admission charge but there are charges for umbrellas and chairs if you want them. You should have no trouble getting cabs either way or there is always the city buses which are really vans that run continuously.

 

I hope this helps!

[erries]

No admission charge but there are charges for umbrellas and chairs if you want them. You should have no trouble getting cabs either way or there is always the city buses which are really vans that run continuously.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Yes, this definitely helps. Sounds like this will be a relatively cheap, stress-free way to spend the second half of my day at Grand Cayman.

 

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Erica