TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Cayman Islands Cruise Stop - Best snorkel beach & lunch

Hello,
First Timer to Grand Cayman. Will be arriving shortly after New years for one day with teenagers.

Looking for great white sand, safe, snorkel beach with something underwater to see preferably with chairs/umbrellas and a place (beach shack or better) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> to get grilled food/drinks.

Does anything fit the bill? If so, what is the best way to get there and back? Taxi? Will taxis be there for the return or will they wait.

Thanks for the help.

Take the cat to Sting Ray city, especially with teenagers. It's not to be missed! Spend time on Rum Point, enjoy a "mudslide". Makings for a great day in the Caymans! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Take one of the ship's excursions to Stingray City. Book a morning excursion.
When your are returned to town, walk along the shore road to the Eden Rock Dive Shop. You can snorkel behind the dive shop. It is "iron shore" but there's a ladder installed for easy entry to the water.

Another option after the Stingray City excursion is to take a taxi to the Cemetery Reef beach. It's about a 10 min. ride. You can arrange for the taxi to pick you up in a couple of hours. There's a nice reef about 300 yards off that beach.

Thanks all. We are a group of 8. So trying to avoid $100/head or more from cruise ship excursion. Is there an economical way to get to Sting ray city (by cab)? Do you have to pay admission or can you snorkel from the public beach. I've heard about the friendly sting rays, but I bet have my group freaks out. So just a good calm snorkeling beach with food/drink, chairs and umbrellas is what we are looking for.

Again, thanks for any additional inputs.

The cab idea needs a rethink.

Great graphic! I was just going to say, 'No, it takes quite a while to get to on a boat.' <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

To my knowledge, cemetery beach/reef is considered best off beach snorkeling - but unless things have changed fairly recently there are no amenities of any kind there. The best snorkeling at cemetery involves a fair amount of swimming out - cannot remember exactly, but the best of it is not just off a few yeards off shore. It is not really a good place in my opinion for snorkel beginners or people not fairly comfortable in open water. Back toward town, along seven mile beach where amenities are available, there is Governor's beach - called that (obviously) because it is in front of Governor's house. Governor's often is considered best snorkel spot right along the built-up area of seven mile. (I digress: the Westin people have absolutely no right to interfere with you being on beach next to Governor's - obviously they can keep you off their chairs unless you pay what they want - which will be ridiculoua - beaches are public - but the Westin often tries to run off the riff-raff (like me) who set up close to "their beach" next to Governors. OK - I start ranting because there was an incident in which I annoyed a Westin employee who tried to order me off where I was and then I annoyed her even worse because a Westin guest spoke up for me and told her that I was his guest - that really annoyed her. Back to the subject at hand....) Eden Rock has snorkeling as good in my opinion as cemetery and there is a very small area of sand which can be too crowded for much relaxation - entry into the water is by steps or you can go away from town just a bit away to places where entry can be by ladder. There is decent restaurant right at Eden Rock and you are just steps away from downtown there.

Many people, and especially teenagers, often enjoy the standard tour of sting ray point, Hell, the Turtle Farm, and seven mile. In our experience, it is very easy to get private (non-ship) excursions for whatever you want to do. Ebanks is the big name for anything water related, but there are others. It usually is very easy to just wait until you are off ship in Grand Cayman and negotiate for what you want at pier - but you may want to lock something in if waiting until you are there would make folks too anxious. Particularly if there are not a lot of ships with lots of pax on your day there, there will be a LOT of folks offering all kinds of tours.

"Ebanks" as in the Ebanks in the Grisham book/movie "The Firm" set partially in the Caymans with Tom Crise and Gene Hackman. I always like a movie tie-in to my trips like watching Sean Connery 007 in "From Russia with Love" right before I visit Istanbul and Venice or his other movies in Nassau and Jamaica.

Thank you all. We are looking for easy snorkel, calm waters, easy food/drink. I like stingrays as good as anybody but not at $25, 50, 75 a head to pet them, remember I have a group of 8. While I'm certified scuba, the rest of my group is not. I have taken them on a scuba/snorkel trip off the keys in really rough seas. And while I'm off with my recently acquainted dive buddy, MOMMA is off swimming in the open ocean with 6 little monkees. I won't do that again. I catch stingrays fishing all the time and they whig me out like I'll get stung like the Crocodile Hunter.

We just want a great soft sand, snorkel, food/drink stop with chairs/umbrellas.

You can book a trip to Sting Ray City on your own before you get there. They will pick you up at the cruise ship terminal and take you the SRC dock. It is an adventure not to be missed. The rays that you handle are females and have become quite tame by years of handling. The water is knee to chest deep only and the guides and handlers are excellent. After touching, handling, feeding (think of a high-powered vacumn cleaner), and kissing the rays, a snorkel trip is done a ways off from SRC. I will never forget this experience with the sting rays.

$45.00 per person through Moby Dick Tours on-line. I personally used Captain Marvin's site and was very happy.

Just get over to Seven Mile Beach. Ask around for a good beach shack as you call it.
Lovely white sand, rentals, cold brews etc.
Everything in Grand Cayman is pricey.
Enjoy
irina