Home News 2020 April The best activities on the Cayman Islands

The best activities on the Cayman Islands

United Kingdom 1 April 2020

The Cayman Islands offer visitors an incredible choice of beautiful beaches, dive sites and activities to appeal to all. Here’s some of our top recommendations…

TOP FIVE BEST BEACHES

Famed for its iconic Seven Mile Beach, the Cayman Islands also offers smaller beaches and coves dotted around the islands for visitors to discover:

Seven Mile Beach

Award-winning and running almost the length of the west side of Grand Cayman, the pristine white sand and crystal-clear waters of Seven Mile Beach iconic. Perfect for a gentle stroll, snorkelling from the beach, paddle-board yoga on the calm waters, windsurfing or simply relaxing and soaking up the sun.

Smith’s Barcadere

A small but picturesque pocket of sand, Smith’s Barcadere convenient for visitors staying in George Town offers great snorkelling, trees for shade, picnic tables and even a freshwater shower to rinse off after a refreshing dip.

Rum Point

Located on the North Side, it’s got a laid-back vibe and is a popular beach for swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing and lounging around in hammocks. With bench-tables under awnings you can order crispy calamari, surf and turf and jerk chicken. Or treat yourself to a Mud Slide, the cocktail created at Rum Point back in the 1950s – delicious!

Spotts Beach

Often deserted, this small south-facing beach near South Sound is a great place to see green sea turtles swimming in the shallows. Palm trees provide shade and the cabana is the perfect place for a picnic. But don’t tell anyone as it’s one of Cayman’s best-kept secrets!

Point O Sand

Located at the eastern end of Little Cayman, Point of Sand is a shifting cape of pink sand. It’s protected by a barrier reef so is great for swimming and snorkelling and you are likely to be the only ones there…

TOP FIVE LESSER-KNOWN DIVE SITES

The Cayman Islands are widely recognised as the birthplace of recreational diving in the Caribbean, and a top choice for diving holidays. With more than 40 dive operations and 365 dive sites, visitors from all over the world choose to dive in the Cayman Islands for the warm, calm and crystal-clear waters, 30-metre plus visibility and incredible variety of marine life. Scuba diving courses are suitable for eight- year olds and above. Few dive sites in the world offer such a breath-taking dive experience as around the Cayman Islands – there’s 365 to choose from but our resident dive expert has recommended a few lesser known ones.
All of our recommendations suit beginners to advanced – as the clarity of water and marine life is spectacular. Also, ideal for visitors wanting to combine diving with relaxation or seeing a range of unique experiences on island. As the dive sites are close by, divers can enjoy diving in the morning and return to their hotel for relaxation, or to partners/friends who are non-divers.

Babylon – Grand Cayman

Babylon is a spectacular dive and is part of the Cayman coral wall surrounding Grand Cayman. It’s a spectacular dive and the Babylon Pinnacle is on the main feature of the site. Divers can corkscrew around the towering coral structure to see the black coral, whips, fans and corals as well as enjoying the swim throughs at its base. It’s located on the north side of Grand Cayman and towards the East End.

Paradise Reef, Grand Cayman

Just outside George Town Harbour, Paradise Reef has one of the most active and vibrant fish populations anywhere around Grand Cayman. Sharing its structure with two moorings from the wreck of the Oro Verde. Divers can head south across the top of the reef at a 30-foot depth, to discover a mini wall that drops off sharply to 50 feet before turning west to find themselves amongst the wreckage of the Oro Verde.
Mooring on top of a large pyramid of coral, we can easily head South across the top of the reef easily swimming along around thirty foot deep. As we come to a mini wall that drops off sharply to fifty foot, we turn slightly west and find ourselves among the wreckage of the Oro Verde. You will also find Eco Ray and yellow headed jawfish in the sand.

Wilderness Wall – Cayman Brac

Wilderness Wall is found on the south side of the sister island of Cayman Brac. With a dramatic drop-off, this wall offers divers an abundance of captivating sea life, with a variety of vibrant and colourful sponges and corals that will enchant even the most seasoned diver. Wilderness Wall is home to an incredible variety of fish from snappers, groupers, angelfish and jacks, as well as majestic stingrays and turtles that may well swim up to your mask to see their reflection. This wall dive is definitely worth trying.

Lea Lea’s Lookout, Bloody Bay Marine Park, Little Cayman

Bloody Bay Marine Park is in fact, a submerged mountain range that has a wall that drops down a mind-blowing 2000 metres to the seafloor. The top of this wall is home to fascinating creatures like sailfin blennies, arrow crabs and octopus.
Further down see wonderful sights like giant barrel sponges, nasa grouper, barracuda and black durgeon triggerfish that patrol the waters above the coral. Other fish like yellow coney, red hind, groupers and squirrelfish are abundant too.
Floating down the wall is indeed an unforgettable experience, the shadow of the immense wall even lets you swim alongside normally shy fish, like the eagle ray. There are many great dive sites along the wall too including; Three Fathom Wall, Marylin’s Cut, Donna’s Delight, Randy’s Gazebo, Lea Lea’s Lookout, Coconut Walk, Barracuda Bite, Joy’s Joy Jigsaw Puzzle and Fisheye Fantasy.

Mixing Bowl, Bloody Bay Marine Park

Starting at a depth of approximately 18 feet, divers can experience the vertical depths of Bloody Bay wall dives and the great sloping reefs and sandy boulevards of Jackson’s Bight. It’s an excellent spot for snorkellers to experience life on the wall.
Divers will spot an abundance of groupers swimming around you. To the east side there’s a ridge filled with snappers and grunts and bermuda chub. And in the sandy flats you will find stingrays, yellow-headed jawfish and eagle rays. It is a haven for tiny marine life and perfect for macro photographers.

- https://www.littlecaymandivers.com/little-cayman-dive-sites-and-map

For more information on diving in the Cayman Islands visit www.divecayman.ky

Dive Worldwide specialise in a range of diving holidays

https://www.diveworldwide.com/

TOP EIGHT ACTIVITIES

Stingray City

For visitors keen to encounter breath-taking underwater wildlife the first port of call should be to swim with the famous Southern stingrays of Cayman in their natural habitat, Stingray City. A visit to the sandbar, a shallow area of clear water where gentle stingrays have come for many years to feed, is an absolute must if setting foot on Grand Cayman. These friendly creatures welcome visitors throughout the year.

Pedro St James

Curious visitors can uncover the islands’ rich history with a visit to Pedro St. James, the oldest existing building in the Cayman Islands and the birthplace of democracy here. This old plantation house has been used for a variety of establishments over the centuries including a courthouse, jail, Government Assembly and restaurant and stands today as an integral part of Caymanian heritage.

Visit the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park

Opened by her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1994, the 65-acre Botanic Park in Grand Cayman is today recognised as a world-class facility celebrating the Cayman Islands’ wealth of plant and animal life. Featuring a woodland trail, wetlands area and multiple flower gardens, the Botanic Park makes for a great day out.

The wildlife

From bone-fishing to birdwatching, there is an abundance of nature-based activities to choose from across all three islands. The National Trust for the Cayman Islands offers free guided nature walks but it is just as easy to explore independently.

Crystal Caves

Nature lovers must pay a visit to Grand Cayman’s newest natural wonder, the Crystal Caves. Situated in a lush tropical forest in Old Man Bay, the site boasts three spectacular underground caves naturally formed over millions of years.

Bioluminescence

Adventurous visitors can take a night-time, fully guided kayak tour from Grand Cayman’s Rum Point and experience one of the world’s most amazing natural phenomena – bioluminescence. Caribbean

Horse riding on the beach

Something to tick off the bucket list: horse riding along the beautiful white-sand beach finishing off with the horses a refreshing dip in the sea, with you on their back! There are also moonlit rides available for those extra special romantic moments.

Visit the sister islands

For those looking to expand their holiday beyond Grand Cayman, the Sister Islands present a whole host of different activities that everyone can enjoy. Little Cayman, the smallest of the three islands, has the feel of a private island with just a handful of intimate resorts. Many come to relax on secluded beaches or explore the dramatic underwater vistas of the famous Bloody Bay Wall. With its untouched natural beauty, Cayman Brac offers an adventurous Caribbean holiday. Visitors can take in the breath-taking view on the 153-foot Bluff, explore the enticing caves, discover the many wrecks and reefs underwater, or unwind beneath the shade of a palm tree on a quiet beach.

A seven-night stay in mid-November 2020 costs from £1275pp at the Holiday Inn Resort, Grand Cayman. The price includes return flights, taxes and seven nights’ accommodation. For the full range of British Airways flights and holidays to the Cayman Islands, click on visitcaymanislands.com.

The best activities on the Cayman Islands

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