Trip Review
Aug 19th, 2003, 03:40 PM
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Trip Review
I recieved a lot of valuable information from posters on this web site prior to our Cayman Islands trip and thought I would "give back" by posting a trip review. If anyone has questions please post them and I will do my best to answer!!
Hello Everyone!!--We just returned from our trip to Grand Cayman and I thought I would give everyone a review of the trip. Flights went fine even with a connecting flight. Arrived at the Marriott, opened the drapes in the room to a nice downpour which quickly moved on and it turned sunny. We had good weather almost the entire trip with the exception of a few short storms that moved on quickly.....which was cool because I cheked the forecast before we left and it said it was supposed to rain every day of the trip. The Marriott is a nice hotel. We especially liked the pond/river that ran through the middle of the courtyard and was full of turtles. The rooms are a bit musty but it is no big deal. There is decent snorkeling right of the hotel. Try to go early morning or as the sun is going down as the fish are feeding and the reef is very active. We saw a sting ray almost immediately upon starting to snorkel which was neat. For those of you who heard rumors about the beach being severely eroded from the hurricane the rumors are true. There is literaaly no beach in back of the Marriott. This proved to be not such a big deal as there are lots of areas you can go to that have good beach. Here is a summary of what we did.
Saturday: Arrived in the afternoon. Snorkled from te hotel. Was pretty cool....saw a stingray and lots of reef fish. We went to the grocery store. We used Kirks and, although it was expensive as is everything in the Caymans do to the exchange rate, we found it to be very similar to shopping in the states. They have many of the same foods and brands as well as some native to the island. Speaking of money....there are ATM's all over. Most of them dispense both US and Cayman currency. Almost every place takes either US or Cayman currecny and credit/debit cards are widely excepted. We had dinner at a cool little place across the street from the marriot called Coconut Joes. We had fish and chips(very tasty) and Jerked chicken quesideillas....also very tasty. Nice spot and reasonably priced. Sat outside under a monkey tree!! After dinner we went to a night club across from our hotel called The Next Level. It was a cool spot to hang out and have some drinks with a nice locals vibe.
Sunday: Ate breakfast in our room from the supplies we bought at the grocery store. We had booked a 3 stop snorkeling trip for Sunday morning. We wanted to avoid the cruise ship crowds that flood the Island during the week.....which proved to be a wise choice. We booked with Captain Crosby Ebanks on his 47 foot trimaran. Captain Crosby is a native Caymanian and was absolutely great. First.....the other people that were booked to go with us that day never showed....so he took just the 2 of us. I can tell you that a lot of captains would have cancelled on us but he took just the two of us which we thought was exceptionally nice. We went to stingray city sandbar which is really cool. There were only about 20 people there....which was great because when the cruise ships are in there can be like 1,000 people there at the same time. The rays were great and literally came right up to you and brushed against you and would actually "flop" up on you....a real experience. Captain Crosby got in the water with us and picked up the rays so we could feel and touch them. Then he took us to 2 other snorkeling spots both of which were great. The reef was absolutely beaughtiful and very active. On the way back Captain Crosby put up the sails and took out a guitar and played and sang Island songs for us!! Very very beautiful and relaxing. I can't recommend Captain Crosby enough. He was very friendly and we enjoyed talking with him on the trip. One note....there are a ton of people with the last name of EBanks on the Island and many of them operate boats.....so look for Captain Crosby EBanks he is the one we recommend. After our snorkeling trip we went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool/ocean for awhile and then took a short trip into Georgetown. We rented a car for the whole week from Avis and got a great deal. The car was a must and we were glad we rented it for the whole week as we enjoyed getting out of the 7 mile beach area and looking at some of the less visted spots on the island. Drivng on the left takes a bit of getting used to but we adapted quickly. Also, watch out for the roundabouts as they are a bit tricky as well. Anyway, we took a quick look at georgetown but most places were closed. It closes up early on Sundays. It is a nice little town, a bit touristy but very clean and safe. We ordered pizza hut that night as we were tired and didn't want to go out. Later that evening we took a walk and had some ice cream. Again, we felt very safe and really enjoyed our surrondings.....something you can not necessarly do on all carribean Islands.
Monday: Monday morning we had breakfast at our hotel. it was very good. They have a nice breakfast buffett at the Marriott. After lunch we drove to the Cemetary Reef to snorkel. This is a cool little strecth of beach next to a cemetary. The swim out to the reef from the beach is probabably 200-300 yards but is a nice snorkeling spot. There was hardly anyone there. We saw a turtle while snorkeling and there were some beatiful houses on the beach. Next we proceeded farther out of town to The Turtle Farm. Although we did not go into the turtle farm we did snrokel there. Great snorkeling. We saw an octopus, a flounder and nice coral formations with cool inlets you could swim into. After snorkeling The Turtle Farm we had lunch at the Cracked Conch right next door. More fish and chips(excellent) and some conch fritters also excellent. After lunch we drove back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a while. That night we went to The Reef Grill. The food and service were excellent. We had a Salmon with creme dill sauce and coconut crusted grouoper with mango. They were both very good with the grouper winning top honors. The salads we had there were not so hot but the dinners made up for it. We had a Tortuga Rum cake with haggen dazz for dessert. This came highly recommended from people on the message boards and was very good.
Tuesday: Tueasday Morning we went over to Don Fosters Dive Shop and did a shore dive. We are both certified divers and only had to snorkel about 100 yards off shore before we could descend to the reef. It was a cool dive with the exception of some minor equipment problems(my equipment was having problems not the stuff we rented fron Don Fosters....there equipment was in good working order) The reef was beautiful and the dive was cheap as it was a shore dive. For lunch we went backk to Coconut Joe's where we had fish and chips and chicken strips....both very yummy!!. After lunch we hung out by the pool until Dinner time. Today was Amy's birthday so we planned a nice dinner. We went to The Lighthouse. It is about 40 minutes outside of town and has an absolutely beatiful setting. We sat out on the pier with the waves rolling in underneath us. The food and service were both excellent. We had prime rib and a platter with Mahi Mahi, Lobster Tail, and Black Tiger Shrimp. Both were very very good. we had an excelllent german wine. We also had this gigantic dessert that was served in an oversized stemmed glass. It had cinamon balls with some sort of strawberry and creme sauce and although it said it was for two I really think it could have fed four. The dessert alone was worth the trip. Very enjoyable dinner. If any of you are planning on visiting the Lighthouse be sure to go on an evening when the weather is supposed to be good as sitting outside is a must!!
Wedensday: We had beakfast at the hotel restaurant again. We then spent some time shopping. We went to our hotel gift shop, a cool place called Fine Art, and Cathy Churchs Underwater Photography Studio was really neat. After shopping we went snorkeling at Smiths Cove. This was a great snorkeling spot right off of the shore. There were locals hanging out there and they also had a small wedding!! The snorkeling here was pretty good and the coral formations were great for being so close to shore. After snorkeling we had lunch at Chicken Chicken which was really good. It is cheap and the food was excellent. After lunch we hung out at the pool until our sunset dinner sail aboard the Jolly Rodger. This was nice and relaxing. We cruised for about 2 hours with an open bar included in the price. Nice susnset activity with lots of friendly people on the boat. The crew was also great. We fired our pirates cannon at a ship that cut us off!!(Planned but kinda cool none the less). That night we went to a restaurant called the Wharf. This place was another winner. Great location right on the water. At 9:00pm they feed the tarpon from the pier which should not be missed. The food was excellent. We had Wahoo and Shrimp Diane as well as conch fritters. Everything was excellent. There was also some live music. This is another spot that you want to make sure you have nice weather for as sitting outside is a must.
Thursday: Thurday we went into Georgetown to do some shopping. It was a short trip as the cruise ships were in and Georgetown was very crowded. We stopped at Fidel Murphys at the 7 mile shops and had an excellent lunch. Fish and chips and a burger both excellent. That afternoon we had a boat dive scheduled with Don Fosters. Again we were the only people on the whole boat.....which needless to say was great. We dove Smiths Cove. The same spot we snorkled but much farther out. It was very beatiful. We had a divemaster diving with us so we got a free tour as well. The reef was beatiful and it was a very enjoyable dive. Everyone at Don Fosters was very nice and made the experience very enjoyable. That night we went to dinner at a place called Papaggallos. It is more on the interior of the Island and is situated on a bird sanctuary overlooking a lagoon. This place was also excellent. The food was superb. We had a homeade pasta appetizer as well as salads both were excellent. We had Mahi Mahi and Swordfish. They were both great with the swordfish taking top honors....possibly the best meal we had on the Island. The bread was also very good. For dessert we had an apple tart and chocolate mouse....both excellent. Afterwards we walked around and looked at the tropical birds in the cages. They were beatiful. After dinner we hit the pool and hot tub at the hotel.....nice and relaxing before bed.
Friday: On Friday we drove to the opposite side of the island. We went to the public beach by the Kaibo Yacht club. There aren't many fish or coral at this loction but we saw lots of starfish and a few jellyfish. After this beach we went to Rum Point. We hung out in hammocks and snorkled. We saw 2 stingrays and a nasty looking barracuda that hangs out under the pier with big nasty teeth and an "I'm gonna eat you" look about him. A storm rolled in so we left. It was cool getting to drive out of the touristy areas and see more of the island. Very peacefull with lots of interesting stuff to see along the way. On the way back from Rum Point we stopped at the botanical gardens on a whim. This proved to be a great stop. Not so much for the park itself but for this guy we met in the park. Hal takes care of the gardens there and was VERY nice to us. He gave us a tour of some of the gardens and invited us back to his house to go on his boat and have lobster. Unfortunately, we were leaving that night and could not take advantage of the offer. Hal had lived on the island all his life and had many interesting stories. We were very glad we met this guy as his tour through the park made what would have been a boring stop very interesting as he explained all the things in the gardens and made Amy a necklace out of flowers. Very nice guy!! After leaving the botanical gardens we stopped at The Edge for lunch just outside of Bodden Town. It had a great setting right on the ocean and the Mahi Mahi sandwich and fried chicken was excellent. They also had great bread and rice and beans. We made a few more shopping stops and then headed back to the hotel to hang by the pool until dinner. For dinner on our last night we chose the Pirates Buffet at our hotel. This proved to be very enjoyable as well. We sat right on the ocean and the buffett was great. They had a fireater/limbo dancer, live music, and good food. It was a great relaxing way to spend our last night on the island and we were again blessed with beatiful weather for dinner.
Saturday: Saturday morning we did an early snorkel at the hotel and saw 3 squid which was cool. Then we hung out by the pool until we had to leave.
Overall I thought the Caymans were fantastic. We really had a nice time. It is safe and westernized enough that you don't feel like you are completely removed from the comforts of home. All the natives were extremely friendly and the only unfriendly person on ran into the whole time was from America....lol. The diving and snorkeling is world class. I can't wait to go back!!
Hello Everyone!!--We just returned from our trip to Grand Cayman and I thought I would give everyone a review of the trip. Flights went fine even with a connecting flight. Arrived at the Marriott, opened the drapes in the room to a nice downpour which quickly moved on and it turned sunny. We had good weather almost the entire trip with the exception of a few short storms that moved on quickly.....which was cool because I cheked the forecast before we left and it said it was supposed to rain every day of the trip. The Marriott is a nice hotel. We especially liked the pond/river that ran through the middle of the courtyard and was full of turtles. The rooms are a bit musty but it is no big deal. There is decent snorkeling right of the hotel. Try to go early morning or as the sun is going down as the fish are feeding and the reef is very active. We saw a sting ray almost immediately upon starting to snorkel which was neat. For those of you who heard rumors about the beach being severely eroded from the hurricane the rumors are true. There is literaaly no beach in back of the Marriott. This proved to be not such a big deal as there are lots of areas you can go to that have good beach. Here is a summary of what we did.
Saturday: Arrived in the afternoon. Snorkled from te hotel. Was pretty cool....saw a stingray and lots of reef fish. We went to the grocery store. We used Kirks and, although it was expensive as is everything in the Caymans do to the exchange rate, we found it to be very similar to shopping in the states. They have many of the same foods and brands as well as some native to the island. Speaking of money....there are ATM's all over. Most of them dispense both US and Cayman currency. Almost every place takes either US or Cayman currecny and credit/debit cards are widely excepted. We had dinner at a cool little place across the street from the marriot called Coconut Joes. We had fish and chips(very tasty) and Jerked chicken quesideillas....also very tasty. Nice spot and reasonably priced. Sat outside under a monkey tree!! After dinner we went to a night club across from our hotel called The Next Level. It was a cool spot to hang out and have some drinks with a nice locals vibe.
Sunday: Ate breakfast in our room from the supplies we bought at the grocery store. We had booked a 3 stop snorkeling trip for Sunday morning. We wanted to avoid the cruise ship crowds that flood the Island during the week.....which proved to be a wise choice. We booked with Captain Crosby Ebanks on his 47 foot trimaran. Captain Crosby is a native Caymanian and was absolutely great. First.....the other people that were booked to go with us that day never showed....so he took just the 2 of us. I can tell you that a lot of captains would have cancelled on us but he took just the two of us which we thought was exceptionally nice. We went to stingray city sandbar which is really cool. There were only about 20 people there....which was great because when the cruise ships are in there can be like 1,000 people there at the same time. The rays were great and literally came right up to you and brushed against you and would actually "flop" up on you....a real experience. Captain Crosby got in the water with us and picked up the rays so we could feel and touch them. Then he took us to 2 other snorkeling spots both of which were great. The reef was absolutely beaughtiful and very active. On the way back Captain Crosby put up the sails and took out a guitar and played and sang Island songs for us!! Very very beautiful and relaxing. I can't recommend Captain Crosby enough. He was very friendly and we enjoyed talking with him on the trip. One note....there are a ton of people with the last name of EBanks on the Island and many of them operate boats.....so look for Captain Crosby EBanks he is the one we recommend. After our snorkeling trip we went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool/ocean for awhile and then took a short trip into Georgetown. We rented a car for the whole week from Avis and got a great deal. The car was a must and we were glad we rented it for the whole week as we enjoyed getting out of the 7 mile beach area and looking at some of the less visted spots on the island. Drivng on the left takes a bit of getting used to but we adapted quickly. Also, watch out for the roundabouts as they are a bit tricky as well. Anyway, we took a quick look at georgetown but most places were closed. It closes up early on Sundays. It is a nice little town, a bit touristy but very clean and safe. We ordered pizza hut that night as we were tired and didn't want to go out. Later that evening we took a walk and had some ice cream. Again, we felt very safe and really enjoyed our surrondings.....something you can not necessarly do on all carribean Islands.
Monday: Monday morning we had breakfast at our hotel. it was very good. They have a nice breakfast buffett at the Marriott. After lunch we drove to the Cemetary Reef to snorkel. This is a cool little strecth of beach next to a cemetary. The swim out to the reef from the beach is probabably 200-300 yards but is a nice snorkeling spot. There was hardly anyone there. We saw a turtle while snorkeling and there were some beatiful houses on the beach. Next we proceeded farther out of town to The Turtle Farm. Although we did not go into the turtle farm we did snrokel there. Great snorkeling. We saw an octopus, a flounder and nice coral formations with cool inlets you could swim into. After snorkeling The Turtle Farm we had lunch at the Cracked Conch right next door. More fish and chips(excellent) and some conch fritters also excellent. After lunch we drove back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a while. That night we went to The Reef Grill. The food and service were excellent. We had a Salmon with creme dill sauce and coconut crusted grouoper with mango. They were both very good with the grouper winning top honors. The salads we had there were not so hot but the dinners made up for it. We had a Tortuga Rum cake with haggen dazz for dessert. This came highly recommended from people on the message boards and was very good.
Tuesday: Tueasday Morning we went over to Don Fosters Dive Shop and did a shore dive. We are both certified divers and only had to snorkel about 100 yards off shore before we could descend to the reef. It was a cool dive with the exception of some minor equipment problems(my equipment was having problems not the stuff we rented fron Don Fosters....there equipment was in good working order) The reef was beautiful and the dive was cheap as it was a shore dive. For lunch we went backk to Coconut Joe's where we had fish and chips and chicken strips....both very yummy!!. After lunch we hung out by the pool until Dinner time. Today was Amy's birthday so we planned a nice dinner. We went to The Lighthouse. It is about 40 minutes outside of town and has an absolutely beatiful setting. We sat out on the pier with the waves rolling in underneath us. The food and service were both excellent. We had prime rib and a platter with Mahi Mahi, Lobster Tail, and Black Tiger Shrimp. Both were very very good. we had an excelllent german wine. We also had this gigantic dessert that was served in an oversized stemmed glass. It had cinamon balls with some sort of strawberry and creme sauce and although it said it was for two I really think it could have fed four. The dessert alone was worth the trip. Very enjoyable dinner. If any of you are planning on visiting the Lighthouse be sure to go on an evening when the weather is supposed to be good as sitting outside is a must!!
Wedensday: We had beakfast at the hotel restaurant again. We then spent some time shopping. We went to our hotel gift shop, a cool place called Fine Art, and Cathy Churchs Underwater Photography Studio was really neat. After shopping we went snorkeling at Smiths Cove. This was a great snorkeling spot right off of the shore. There were locals hanging out there and they also had a small wedding!! The snorkeling here was pretty good and the coral formations were great for being so close to shore. After snorkeling we had lunch at Chicken Chicken which was really good. It is cheap and the food was excellent. After lunch we hung out at the pool until our sunset dinner sail aboard the Jolly Rodger. This was nice and relaxing. We cruised for about 2 hours with an open bar included in the price. Nice susnset activity with lots of friendly people on the boat. The crew was also great. We fired our pirates cannon at a ship that cut us off!!(Planned but kinda cool none the less). That night we went to a restaurant called the Wharf. This place was another winner. Great location right on the water. At 9:00pm they feed the tarpon from the pier which should not be missed. The food was excellent. We had Wahoo and Shrimp Diane as well as conch fritters. Everything was excellent. There was also some live music. This is another spot that you want to make sure you have nice weather for as sitting outside is a must.
Thursday: Thurday we went into Georgetown to do some shopping. It was a short trip as the cruise ships were in and Georgetown was very crowded. We stopped at Fidel Murphys at the 7 mile shops and had an excellent lunch. Fish and chips and a burger both excellent. That afternoon we had a boat dive scheduled with Don Fosters. Again we were the only people on the whole boat.....which needless to say was great. We dove Smiths Cove. The same spot we snorkled but much farther out. It was very beatiful. We had a divemaster diving with us so we got a free tour as well. The reef was beatiful and it was a very enjoyable dive. Everyone at Don Fosters was very nice and made the experience very enjoyable. That night we went to dinner at a place called Papaggallos. It is more on the interior of the Island and is situated on a bird sanctuary overlooking a lagoon. This place was also excellent. The food was superb. We had a homeade pasta appetizer as well as salads both were excellent. We had Mahi Mahi and Swordfish. They were both great with the swordfish taking top honors....possibly the best meal we had on the Island. The bread was also very good. For dessert we had an apple tart and chocolate mouse....both excellent. Afterwards we walked around and looked at the tropical birds in the cages. They were beatiful. After dinner we hit the pool and hot tub at the hotel.....nice and relaxing before bed.
Friday: On Friday we drove to the opposite side of the island. We went to the public beach by the Kaibo Yacht club. There aren't many fish or coral at this loction but we saw lots of starfish and a few jellyfish. After this beach we went to Rum Point. We hung out in hammocks and snorkled. We saw 2 stingrays and a nasty looking barracuda that hangs out under the pier with big nasty teeth and an "I'm gonna eat you" look about him. A storm rolled in so we left. It was cool getting to drive out of the touristy areas and see more of the island. Very peacefull with lots of interesting stuff to see along the way. On the way back from Rum Point we stopped at the botanical gardens on a whim. This proved to be a great stop. Not so much for the park itself but for this guy we met in the park. Hal takes care of the gardens there and was VERY nice to us. He gave us a tour of some of the gardens and invited us back to his house to go on his boat and have lobster. Unfortunately, we were leaving that night and could not take advantage of the offer. Hal had lived on the island all his life and had many interesting stories. We were very glad we met this guy as his tour through the park made what would have been a boring stop very interesting as he explained all the things in the gardens and made Amy a necklace out of flowers. Very nice guy!! After leaving the botanical gardens we stopped at The Edge for lunch just outside of Bodden Town. It had a great setting right on the ocean and the Mahi Mahi sandwich and fried chicken was excellent. They also had great bread and rice and beans. We made a few more shopping stops and then headed back to the hotel to hang by the pool until dinner. For dinner on our last night we chose the Pirates Buffet at our hotel. This proved to be very enjoyable as well. We sat right on the ocean and the buffett was great. They had a fireater/limbo dancer, live music, and good food. It was a great relaxing way to spend our last night on the island and we were again blessed with beatiful weather for dinner.
Saturday: Saturday morning we did an early snorkel at the hotel and saw 3 squid which was cool. Then we hung out by the pool until we had to leave.
Overall I thought the Caymans were fantastic. We really had a nice time. It is safe and westernized enough that you don't feel like you are completely removed from the comforts of home. All the natives were extremely friendly and the only unfriendly person on ran into the whole time was from America....lol. The diving and snorkeling is world class. I can't wait to go back!!
Aug 19th, 2003, 06:17 PM
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Thanks for all the information. My husband and I are going to Grand Cayman for a week this Saturday and still haven't settled on where to stay. We had wanted to stay at the condos next door to the Marriott called Regal Beach Club but had heard that the beach is very eroded. What did you think of the state of the beach just to the north of the Marriott?
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