17 top things to do in Grand Cayman

There is more to Grand Cayman than lovely beaches, five-star resorts and monetary providers.

The greatest of the 3 Cayman Islands, this Caribbean idyll sets the bar substantial when it arrives to captivating cultural, culinary and organic sights. Untamed mountaineering trails, handsome heritage internet sites and otherworldly marine encounters variety among several unforgettable issues to do in Grand Cayman. Get ready to go past the spectacular still mainstream Seven Mile Seashore with the adhering to unmissable activities.

Cayman is a preferred pitstop on Caribbean cruises – and the funds, George Town, is virtually constantly the initial sight passengers see. No matter whether you are looking for issues to do for the duration of a port of phone or checking out the island independently, strategy to commit an hour or two exploring this small metropolis. 

George Town is extremely photogenic, with wooden buildings in jewel shades lining the waterfront. They household a mishmash of venues, from responsibility-free of charge suppliers selling fragrance and diamonds to neat cafes serving up Buddha bowls, vegan brownies and almond-milk lattes. You will also place the Cayman National Museum together the waterfront: it’s worthy of popping in for a lesson on regional heritage. 

This offbeat locale is the polar reverse – equally geographically and figuratively – of the tidy funds. The Mastic Path weaves its way by means of a protected mangrove forest on the island’s east side, featuring a flavor of Cayman in its most purely natural point out. 

Substantial humidity and a deluge of bugs make walking the 4.6-mile trail a reasonably non-touristy factor to do in Grand Cayman. If you’re joyful to slap on some insect repellent and pull on comfortable shoes, you’ll be greeted by an array of lush area flora and fauna. A blessed several could even get to glimpse the elusive (and endangered) blue iguana crashing through the undergrowth. 

A scarce trace of Cayman Islands historical past, Pedro St James is Grand Cayman’s oldest stone composition. Its 18in-thick walls and imposing structure have acquired the framework the nickname “Pedro’s Castle.” 

The 18th-century plantation residence sits past Spotts Bay and the moment served as the residence of the island’s very first governors. Today, it’s a amazing heritage museum, complete with a standard outside kitchen. As you tour all 3 tales, consider notice of the handsome mahogany interiors and the sweeping sights of the Caribbean Sea from its many verandahs.

Pedro St James also hosts normal and a person-off situations. Check out the weekly stargazing evenings or, if you’re going to in February, go to the yearly Coco Fest. 

Lookup for the most effective points to do in Grand Cayman and this will probably arrive up as number a person – with good cause. Stingray City refers to a sandbank in the island’s North Audio that has become a accumulating issue for dozens of stingrays about the several years. Supposedly, this congregating started a long time in the past when fishermen applied to intestine their fish at that quite place.

Pay a visit to with a tour and you are going to come across the guides can understand lots of of the stingrays separately. The sandbank is fewer than a meter deep, which makes it easy to hop into the h2o and get up near to these majestic – and pretty welcoming – creatures. The courageous between you may want to stroke their leathery pores and skin, or even cradle one particular carefully just beneath the water’s area.

This modern-day dining, retail and enjoyment complicated is a popular hangout for each locals and expats, and it is handily available from Seven Mile Seashore by using a footbridge next to the Burger King. Camana Bay has some of the finest clothes searching in Grand Cayman, as well as a range of cafes.

Head to the waterfront area to interesting off with luscious ice cream from Gelato & Co. in advance of ascending the methods of the Camana Bay Observation Tower. The large stairwell is lined with a fantastical less than-the-sea mosaic the sights from the prime allow you enjoy just how flat the island is. Going to on a wet day? The cinema demonstrates all the most current blockbusters.

If you are in look for of unique issues to do in Grand Cayman, a nighttime excursion to Bioluminescent Bay suits the invoice. This modest, secluded bay is not significantly from Rum Level nevertheless only definitely accessible by h2o thanks to the circle of residences along its shoreline. 

Join a boat journey immediately after dim to get to the water and expertise hundreds of tiny bioluminescent plankton sparkling all close to you. Owing to reviews of jellyfish at sure situations of the 12 months, you could possibly favor a kayak tour this kind of as those presented by Cayman Kayaks. Note that the amount of luminescence may differ dependent time of the month the finest time to go is in the course of a new moon.

Not considerably from the commence of the Mastic Trail is the entrance to this a lot less wild but no fewer peaceful purely natural attraction. Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is laid out in a collection of themed gardens, like the charming Heritage Backyard. A quaint wood house sits at its heart, surrounded by many fruit and spice trees indigenous to the area. In some cases blue iguanas can be observed wandering by the flowerbeds you’ll also be able to spot them at the Blue Iguana Conservation middle at the northern edge of the park.

While you could possibly count on to sip rum cocktails at the evocatively named Rum Place, it is really a vodka-based drink that’s best connected with this laid-back cove. Basically an alcoholic milkshake, the mudslide is the most preferred buy at the Rum Level Club the concoction was accidentally invented again in the ’70s when a bartender substituted fresh cream for Baileys in a White Russian. Refreshing and filling with just a dash of cinnamon, a mudslide is a present on a sizzling day.

You do not require a auto if you are staying together Seven Mile Seaside – while choosing 1 provides a way to knowledge the sleepy, non-touristy side of the island. During a leisurely working day of driving, you can cease in at different, quirky websites alongside the way. 

The Blowholes, craggy limestone rocks just prior to East Stop, are wonderful for image ops. There’s also Barefoot Seaside (as blissful as it sounds) and the Cayman Parrot Sanctuary, fantastic for children. Cease off for lunch at Tukka to dig into tasty Australian-Caribbean fusion dishes like lionfish tacos and lobster spring rolls. When you dine, transform your gaze seawards to place the ragged masts of the Wreck of the 10 Sail poking up through the waves.

Barkers Countrywide Park sits less than a mile from 7 Mile Beach but feels a globe absent. The narrow stretch of wilderness on the western suggestion of Grand Cayman is flecked with mangrove forest and fringed by a prolonged white-sand beach front that is far more probable to be occupied by seabirds than people today. 

Barkers is Grand Cayman’s hotspot for wind sports many thanks to its steady breezes. If windsurfing is not your factor, there is one more way to soak up the area’s virgin magnificence. Quite a few riding stables sit alongside the highway main to the park, each and every a person supplying treks along the sand. It’s truly worth paying out additional to experience bareback as your horse swims in the heat ocean waters.

Cayman has a phenomenal variety of dive web pages, especially the remarkable Cayman Trench drop-off near Minimal Cayman). Off Grand Cayman, the former submarine rescue vessel USS Kittiwake was sunk off Grand Cayman’s west coast in 2011 and now types an artificial reef teeming with marine lifestyle.

Anxious about diving? Pack a snorkel mask alternatively and head to Spotts Seaside to swim together with pleasant sea turtles. Prime moments for recognizing them gathering sea grass from the ocean ground are very first matter in the morning and in the hour prior to sunset when the sea cools down a bit.

Two key foods festivals and 200+ restaurants give Grand Cayman serious culinary qualifications. There is someplace to fit just about every craving, whether or not you want Michelin-star fantastic dining, hearty Italian cuisine, sensational seafood or plant-primarily based delights. 

You can also take pleasure in a style of the Cayman Islands at spots like Cimboco, Grape Tree Cafe and Boggy Sands Kitchen. Chicken! Chicken! is the place to go for spicy jerk rooster, even though Rackam’s in George City harbor serves delectable conch fritters, a specialty of the Cayman Islands.

Many rum distilleries in Grand Cayman welcome website visitors for tasting sessions. Cayman Spirits Co. is a popular decide on, thanks in portion to its Seven Fathoms rum, stored in oak bourbon barrels and aged 42ft (or seven fathoms) down below the ocean’s surface area. Beer extra your point? The Cayman Islands Brewery in Patricks Island delivers beer tastings, and has a shop wherever you can decide up crates to go as well as a variety of Caybrew memorabilia. 

The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands is an inspiring starting place for an art-themed working day out. Sandwiched among Seven Mile Beach and Camana Bay, the purpose-developed complex is a treasure trove of mixed-media pieces and good artwork. The major ground characteristics everlasting exhibitions by nearby artists, although the ground stage hosts rotating exhibits. 

For art in a few dimensions, Davinoff’s Concrete Sculpture Backyard up the highway from the Crystal Caves capabilities a dozen daily life-dimensions sculptures of land and sea mammals. Alternatively, search out all in excess of the island for the big sculptures of blue iguanas that kind element of the Blue Dragon Path, a Nationwide Trust art task showcasing numerous sculptures by different community artists. 

Sucker for a ideal sunset? Just along from Seven Mile Seaside, just one of the very best places is locally liked Cemetery Seaside, named for the graveyard you have to walk by means of to obtain it. A key west-experiencing position implies most evenings you can sink you into the delicate sand with a bottle of beer and enjoy the sunlight dip efficiently under the horizon.

One particular of the newest additions to Grand Cayman’s sights is also one of the oldest natural options on the whole island. The so-referred to as Crystal Caves in Old Male Bay have been formed over 1000 decades in the past and residence exceptional limestone rock formations. A modest cluster of the 100+ caverns are at present secure for website visitors. Guide a guided strolling tour and get ready to be wowed by icicle-like stalactites and sparkling crystals dripping from the ceilings.