Official Language:
English
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Currency:
Cayman Island Dollar & US Dollar
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Population:
Approximately 37,000 people call Grand Cayman home
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Weather:
Climate and current weather information for George Town: Average yearly temperature is 79°F/26°C. Average rainfall is 60 inches mostly in the rainy season, May through October.
Blessed with cooling tradewinds, the Cayman Islands enjoy a temperate climate year-round. The hottest months are July and August when average temperatures top out at 85 to 90°F/30°C; the coolest month is February, when highs range from 72 to 86°F/22-30°C and nighttime lows dip to the mid-60s to lower 70s °F/21°C.
Water temperatures drop during the winter months, ranging from 78 to 82 °F/25-28°C. During the summer, the waters warm to 82-86°F/28-30°C, a balmy bath-like temperature that makes wetsuits strictly optional. The best diving conditions are in the summer (warmest water, best visibility and calmest seas). No matter when you go, a light sweater may be needed in the evenings, or a waterproof windbreaker for boat trips.
Grand Cayman Climate is tropical offering almost perfect beach weather year round.
The average winter temperature is 76°F/24°C which goes up to an average of 86°F/30°C in the summer. Humidity levels range from an average of 68% to 92%.
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Famous for its stunning Seven-Mile beach and an a coral reef that offers top diving and snorkelling. Grand Cayman is the largest (22 miles by 8 miles) and most populated of the three Cayman Islands and is located 150 miles south of Cuba and 480 miles south of Miami. The elegant and busy little capital of Georgetown is a relaxed combination of traditional West Indies architecture and modern office buildings with a reputation as one of the best shopping capitals of the Caribbean.
An island known for being virtually crime free. Tender service bring passengers to piers right at the town centre where you can shop. Seven Mile Beach is just a short taxi ride away. There are plenty of snorkelling tours to the coral reefs and Stingray City. The world-famous Cayman Wall offers excellent diving with vibrant corals, sponges and tropical fish. The islands comprise three islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, all low lying and coral and limestone based. Columbus discovered them in 1503 and named them Las Tortugas, because turtles were the only inhabitants. By 1530 the islands were known as the Caymanas, which means "crocodile". The Cayman Islands then came under the British flag in 1670 and were administered from nearby Jamaica. The islands remained a dependency of Jamaica until 1959, when they then became a self-governing member of the Federation of the West Indies.In 1962 they became a British dependency again. The Caymanians are descendants of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh seamen who settled the islands and later intermarried with Jamaican immigrants. The Caymans' well known banking and financial services industry is ranked fourth or fifth in the world. This tax haven is still a British colony and is home to more than 500 registered banks with more than $463 billion in assets.
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Attractions |
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All ships are required to anchor in the harbor and tender passengers on to the island. Ships tender passengers to one of two George Town docks (North or South), both of which are right in downtown George Town. A new cruise pier is under construction. You'll be dropped a few steps from town, where you'll find numerous shops and restaurants.Cabs without meters are available at the dock. Rates are fixed and posted, but be sure to confirm the fare before the driver takes off. New cabs have meters. You can also hail minibuses which shuttle passengers along the main routes. To hail one, respond with a wave when the driver toots his horn. The bus depot is next to the library (across from the Hero's Square Fountain).
The capital, George Town, can easily be explored in an afternoon; stop by for its restaurants and shops (and banks!)-not sights. The town does have a clock monument to King George V and the post office on Edward Street is the oldest government building in use in the Caymans. Stamps sold here are collected avidly.
The Cayman Islands National Museum:
Island's premier museum, Harbor Drive, in George Town (tel. 345/949-8368), is in a much-restored clapboard-sided antique building directly on the water. (The veranda-fronted building served as the island's courthouse until recently.) The formal exhibits include a collection of Caymanian artifacts collected by Ira Thompson beginning in the 1930s. Today the museum incorporates a gift shop, theater, cafe, and more than 2,000 items portraying the natural, social, and cultural history of the Caymans. Admission is CI$4 (US$5) for adults and CI$2 (US$2.50) for children age 7 to 12 and seniors, free for children 6 and under. It's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 10am to 2pm (last admission is 30 min. before closing).
You might also go to Hell! At the north end of West Bay Beach is a jagged piece of rock named Hell by a former commissioner. There the postmistress will stamp "Hell, Grand Cayman" on your postcard to send back to the U.S.
Cayman Turtle Farm:
The Cayman Turtle Farm is home to 16,000 turtles. It's a unique breeding ground and research center for five species of green sea turtles. (Northwest Point Road, West Bay; daily from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; $6, is the only green-sea-turtle farm of its kind in the world. Once the islands had a multitude of turtles in the surrounding waters (which is why Columbus called the islands "Las Tortugas"), but today these creatures are sadly few in number, and the green sea turtle has been designated an endangered species (you cannot bring turtle products into the United States). The 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 hatchling and yearling turtles. Visitors today can observe 100 circular concrete tanks in which these sea creatures exist in every stage of development; the hope is that one day their population in the sea will regain its former status. Turtles here range in size from 6 ounces to 600 pounds. At a snack bar and restaurant, you can sample turtle dishes. The turtle farm is open daily from 8:30am to 5pm. Admission is CI$4.80 (US$6) for adults, CI$2.40 (US$3) for children 7 to 12, free for children 6 and under.
At Batabano, on the North Sound, fishers tie up with their catch, much to the delight of photographers. You can buy lobster (in season), fresh fish, and conch. A large barrier reef protects the sound, which is surrounded on three sides by the island and is a mecca for diving and sport-fishing.
South Sound Road:
If you're driving, you might want to go along South Sound Road, which is lined with pines and, in places, old wooden Caymanian houses. After leaving the houses behind, you'll find good spots for a picnic.
Pedro St. James National Historic Site:
Savannah (tel. 345/947-3329), is a restored great house dating from 1780, when only 400 people lived on the island. It lasted until 1970, when it was destroyed by fire. Now rebuilt, it is the centerpiece of a new heritage park with a visitor center and an audiovisual theater with a laser light show. Because of its size, the great house was called "the Castle" by generations of Caymanians. Its primary historic importance dates from December 5, 1831, when residents met here to elect Cayman's first legislative assembly. The great house sits atop a limestone bluff with a panoramic view of the sea. Guests enter via a US$1.5 million visitor center with a landscaped courtyard, a gift shop, and a cafe. Self-guided tours are possible. You can explore the house's wide verandas, rough-hewn timber beams, gabled framework, mahogany floors and staircases, and wide-beam wooden ceilings. Guides in 18th-century costumes are on hand to answer questions. Admission is CI$6.40 (US$8) for adults, CI$3.20 (US$4) for children, and free for those age 6 and under. Hours are daily from 9am to 5pm. Tours are from 10am to 4pm
On the road again, you reach Bodden Town, once the largest settlement on the island. At Gun Square, two cannons commanded the channel through the reef. They are now stuck muzzle-first into the ground.
On the way to East End, just before Old Isaac Village, you'll see the onshore sprays of water shooting up like geysers. These are called blowholes, and they sound like the roar of a lion.
Later, you'll spot the fluke of an anchor sticking up from the ocean floor. As the story goes, this is a relic of the famous "Wreck of the Ten Sails" in 1788. A more recent wreck can also be seen-the Ridgefield, a 7,500-ton Liberty ship from New England, which struck the reef in 1943.
Old Man Bay:
Old Man Bay is reached by a road that opened in 1983. From here you can travel along the north shore of the island to Rum Point, which has a good beach and is a fine place to end your island tour. Rum Point got its name from barrels of rum that once washed ashore here after a shipwreck. Today, it is dreamy and quaint, surrounded by towering casuarina trees blowing in the trade winds. Hammocks hang from many of these trees' trunks, inviting you to enjoy the leisurely life. With its cays, reefs, mangroves, and shallows, Rum Point is a refuge that extends west and south for 11km (6 3/4 miles). It divides the two "arms" of Grand Cayman. The sound's many spits of land and its plentiful lagoons are ideal for snorkeling, swimming, wading, and birding. It you get hungry, drop in to the Wreck Bar for a juicy burger. After visiting Rum Point, you can head back toward Old Man Village, where you can go south along a cross-island road through savanna country that will eventually lead you west to George Town.
The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park:
On 24 hectares (59 acres) of rugged wooded land off Frank Sound Road, North Side, offers visitors a short walk through wetland, swamp, dry thicket, mahogany trees, orchids, and bromeliads. The trail is 1km (.6 mile) long. You'll probably see chickatees, which are freshwater turtles found only on the Caymans and in Cuba. Occasionally you'll spot the rare Grand Cayman parrot, or perhaps the anole lizard, with its cobalt-blue throat pouch. Even rarer is the endangered blue iguana. The park is open daily from 9am to 4:30pm. Admission is CI$6 (US$7.50) for adults, CI$4 (US$5) for children 6 and over, and free for children 5 and under. There's a visitor center with changing exhibitions, plus a canteen for food and refreshments. It's set in a botanic park adjacent to the woodland trail and includes a heritage garden with a re-creation of a traditional Cayman home, garden, and farm; a floral garden with .6 hectares (1 1/2 acres) of flowering plants; and a .8-hectare (2-acre) lake with three islands, home to many native birds. (tel. 345/947-3558).
Beaches And Scuba Diving:
Scuba diving is one of the Cayman Islands' main attractions, and the Cayman Wall is a world-renowned dive site. The island abounds with dive and snorkeling operators, such as Ocean Frontiers (1-888-232-0541)and Bob Soto's (1-800-262-7686).
Best Beach for a half-day Seven Mile beach (which is actually about 5 1/2 miles long) starts at George Town and has everything from beachfront bars to watersports, seven Mile Beach is great for catching rays (sun rays, not stingrays) and has watersports rental facilities galore. For secluded beach try Cayman Kai, Rum Point or Smith Cove. Best beach for watersports aside from Seven Mile Beach, the best wind surfing is found off of East End, near Morrit's Tortuga Club.
Stingray City on Grand Cayman Island:
Stingray City at Grand Cayman Island is one of the most popular shore excursions in the Caribbean. Thousands of cruise ship passengers and tourists make the short boat ride from the northern end of Grand Cayman to interact with these graceful sea creatures. Stingray City is found just off the coast of Grand Cayman Island and consists of a string of sand bars that cross the North Sound from Morgan Harbor to Rum Point. Locals say that the stingrays began gathering in the area decades ago when fisherman used to clean fish on the shallow sand bars. The stingrays would forget their normally shy dispositions and feast on the guts of the cleaned fish. Soon the stingrays began to associate the sound of a boat motor with food. In the late 1980s, divers starting feeding squid to the stingrays, which is one of their favorite dishes.Before long, dozens of rays would show up each day to be fed, attracted by the boat engines and the memory of an easy meal.
There are three ways to experience Stingray City. All three involve a short boat ride to the sand bar area at the North Sound. The tours can be arranged on the cruise ship or at the dock. The most popular is a snorkeling trip. Many Caribbean guide books call the snorkeling at Stingray City the "best snorkeling experience in the world." It certainly has all of the characteristics of world-class snorkeling such as superb visibility, numerous friendly stingrays and fish, and easy access. You don't have to have any snorkeling experience to take this shore excursion, and the water is shallow, so you don't have to be a good swimmer.
The second way to experience Stingray City is as a SCUBA diver. It is great diving for all the reasons Stingray City is great snorkeling.
The third way to experience Stingray City is via glass bottom boat. This alternative is a good choice if the weather is too windy for snorkeling
Duration 3-4 hours. this tour offered by most cruise lines, including Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Disney, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Radisson Seven Seas. Best Choice for Sightseeing Nature lovers Atlantis Submarine is a real, 50-foot long submarine that carries 46 passengers 65 to 100 feet below the surface for a close-up look at the Cayman Wall. Not to worry, you won't get wet. Duration about 1-1/2 hours. Price: $82.50-$94.
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More Information |
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Visitor Information -- The Department of Tourism is located in the Pavilion Building, Cricket Square (P.O. Box 67), George Town, Grand Cayman, B.W.I. (tel. 345/949-0623). Hours are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm. Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, 1-800-422-9626.
Useful Links About Grand Cayman:
Grand Cayman Travel Information
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