We're heading to Grand Cayman in less than two weeks (hurrah!). We'll be arriving in GC mid-day and will need to do some grocery shopping for our apartment stay at the Turtle Nest Inn. But what else would be a good way to spend the first afternoon with our two kids (almost 4 and 8 years old)? I'm thinking of a short excursion, nothing too tiring, as we'll have been travelling since early morning. But as we're only staying 5 days, I'd like to make the most of our time. Is it too ambitious to drive out to Rum Point? Is there something else close by that's worth a detour? Of course, we could just flop on the beach in front of TNI, but it seems like it might be a good chance to check out the lay of the land. Any thoughts are appreciated!

I just arrived home from there with kids the same age. This is my suggestion to you. Turtle Nest is a ride from the airport, so after you pick up your rental car drive five minutes to the downtown area and stroll along the water, see the shops, grab a bite, then hop in your car, head on east, make the pitstop at Hurley's market about halfway to the Turtle and then call it a night. Turtle nest is a very quaint place two feet from the road on the shore side, it hides behind some vegetation..looked well kept and cozy on my several trips past it...

Rum Point is too far and by five is closed. A nice downtown stroll dockside will be just the right pace after your flight in.

Take a lot of money with you to food shop

Jen

Thanks for your thoughts--sounds like a good idea. Guess we'll try for Rum Point a different day. I know we don't want to do anything too involved the first afternoon, but it also seems like a prime opportunity to look around, since we're getting in at a decent hour.

Any more suggestions are welcome!
Thanks!

I don't know where your accommodations are, but if they're on 7-mile beach, you might want to go out to the Turtle Farm near the little town of "Hell." (east part of the beach) I.e. if the farm is still there (I haven't been to the island since the last couple of hurricanes.) My husband and I both enjoyed the Turtle Farm. But the first suggestion is probably the better one-- just acquaint yourself with town.

jspen,
We are going to GC in May with 3 boys (2 of them the ages of yours).We are also arriving midday and staying 5 nights.

I love your questions and hope to get some feedback as well on how to spend the rest of the day!

Have fun!!
Christie

I'd suggest picking up your car, and heading to Hurleys which is the store on your way to the Turtles Nest Inn.

Hurleys is less crowded than the airport Fosters, and has just as good a selection and prices.

I would then check in to the Turtles Nest, and enjoy the beach.

If you feel like an 'explore' maybe head to Ivory Kai and let you kids wade and pick up the starfish. Most kids love this.

Your first day [well all of them, but especially that first one] will fly by.

I'd like to suggest that you may want to try the sub ride with children your children's ages...and a smaller stingray city excursion, like Captain Dexters. Catamaran and children love to slip into the slings and play.

You are going to have the best time. I'm very happy for you, and jealous too!

Thanks for the additional suggestions! Another factor in how to spend our time is that we can't get into our room at TNI until 4 pm, though we can arrive earlier and use the beach/pool. I like the idea of seeing the town and grabbing a quick bite before doing our grocery shopping, as we won't really be able to do anything with the food if we shop too early. I also like the idea of going to Ivory Kai--how far is that from the airport? Are there changing facilities/restrooms there?

lkemerson: Thanks also for the suggestions about Stingray City and the sub. We have already booked Capt. Dexter, which sounds great! We were thinking we'd hold off on booking the sub until we get there--our lives are so scheduled as it is, we're trying not to have too much of an agenda on vacation!! Do you think we'd have a problem booking if we wait?
We leave a week from tomorrow--can't wait!
JS

I would also head downtown from the airport. Don't forget to stop by Seymour's jerk chicken if you are hungry. It is by the airport and incredibly delicious.

Smith's Cove is very near downtown and a really cool beach. There are all these great rock formations to explore.

And don't forget to do any alcohol shopping in the U.S. duty free before you board your plane to GC. It will be ten times cheaper there than on the island. Have a great time. I'm jealous!

kelliebellie: Is Smith Cove the same as Ivory Kai? (showing my ignorance here...)

Also, if we were to head into town from the airport to walk around, is there a central place to park? (We'll have a rental car.) Is there a particular area that's nice to walk around?
Thanks!
JS

I'm thinking the LAST thing I'd want to do when I arrive in GC is walk around George Town amid the thousands of cruise ship passengers! You will be wearing your "airplane clothes" which, depending on where you live, will make you very hot and uncomfortable in the concrete labyrinth of George Town.
I'd head on out of town, grab a lunch at Castaways Cove (behind Hurley's in Grand Harbour), check out the skateboard park and surf machine there, as well as some of the shops, then do your grocery shopping and drive to Bodden Town. By then, you will be happy to shed your clothes and become "beach potatoes"!

Ok, thanks for another point of view. Our travelling clothes will depend in large part on what the weather's doing the day we leave--and with April in New England you never can tell. A week ago, it was snowing! But it's something to keep in mind... I have been known to pull a quick change in an airport restroom, though. My husband may also veto the idea of strolling and shopping our first day--but might be convinced by grabbing a bite to eat and then heading for the beach.

CaymanSue, do you think Smith's Cove is too much of a detour? I'm still trying to figure out how to spend the 3 hrs. before we can check in. (Though I know part of that time will be taken up by renting the car, travelling, and shopping for food.) What is the surf machine like? Would it be entertaining for small kids?
Thanks for all the suggestions!
JS

Smith's Cove is not too much of a detour, IF you have your change of clothes to beach wear. I was not suggesting that your kids could do the surf machine, just watch it! Grand Harbour has lots of shops, including a Hobbies & Books which your kids might find fun. IMHO you need to avoid George Town as your first adventure on the island. Especially at mid-day!

CaymanSue, thanks so much for your thoughts. I wasn't actually thinking my kids would do the surf machine--I was just wondering if it's something they'd enjoy seeing. (I'm not even sure what it is--I suppose it's some kind of man-made wave machine?) Actually, the Hobbies and Books shop sounds perfect--just the place for everyone to wander around a bit. We're big fans of bookstores, and the advice about Castaways sounds good as well. Maybe we can grab something to eat and then see if we have time for a quick stop at Smith's Cove--and if we don't, we can just do our shopping and head to TNI.

I also appreciate your warning about George Town and the cruise ship crowds--that's definitely not what we're aiming for on arrival! When I go to a new place, I just like to have a sense of where I am before plopping down at my hotel/condo and thought we'd have a bit of time to explore, but we can save GT for another day.
Thanks for all the great advice!
JS

jspen,
Not sure about GC hotels but on other islands...some will let you go ahead and go to your room even if you arrive early.So if you do not want to ride around and kill time..call Turtle Nest Inn and tell them your situation and MAYBE they will let you check in early.

Just a thought!

Christie

JS

Sue's suggestion of the avoidance of Georgetown is a good one.

One thing I would suggest is to print up a copy of the cruise ship schedule and take it with you for your trip. Avoid going into Georgetown when there are a lot of cruise ships [or hey, even any...if you want it to yourselves a bit more] or do a stingray sandbar until you look at it.

Its a good guide to have with you.

http://www.caymanport.com/schedule.htm

lkemerson--Thanks for the suggestion regarding the cruise ships. I did check the schedule based on another posting I saw and was glad I did. One of the days it said there will be 6 cruise ships in port, with over 12,000 passengers!! We will definitely stay out of George Town then! Based on your comment, I did just check again, and the day we're arriving, there are 4 ships in port, again with 12K passengers (!), so I think we should definitely avoid GT that day and make alternate plans.

I appreciate the tip--it's great that you can check.
JS

jspen,

Another thought....

Knock out one stop on your visit the first day and it's on your way to Turtle Nest Inn...which is in my neck of the woods BTW.

How about a stop to Pedro Castle? Pedro Castle is a historic landmark to the Cayman Islands and would make a great stop over spot to burn some time...

My suggestion for first day would be....

Grab your rental...
Hit Grand Harbour and grab some food...
Grab some food items from Hurleys...
Hit Pedro Castle...

This should take you up to the 4pm marker....

I would hit the pool and cool off for an early evening...

A couple of things you might put in your radar is:

Botanical Gardens - It's on the same side of the Island
Mastic Trail - Very close to Botanical Gardens

When you want to come west it's best to either come on weekend or around say 9-9:30am.....Then do Turtle Farm...Hit Lone Star for some TexMex food....Then if possible hit stingray city...

I would say you could do a Rum Point trip if it's something you really think you'll like....beach is nice....rum point restaurant is nice...you get to take the Queen's Highway route back for some scenic views and maybe hit the Blow Holes...Across from there they sell Coconut Water which is very refreshing....

Now shopping is in town but if I were you I would stick between 9:15am and say 3-5pm in the evening...The first wave of traffic is around 3pm when schools let out....then a small lull and picks back up again right around the 5pm hour...

For native stuff I would suggest the Craft Market out by the Waterfront on the southern side of the dock area...

If you are venturing into town to shop and don't mine a touch of walking may I suggest parking behind the Kirk Freeport mall complex right at the waterfront....it's generally easy to get in and out of if you exit back towards Walker's Road and is close enough to town to do some store to store shopping like Cruise ship people do.

Wish you all the best..... If you have any questions when here you can check out my web site www.caymanhomepage.com or drop me an email at [email protected].

Thanks and Enjoy the Islands

Thanks, CaymanHome--all sound like good suggestions. We do want to see the Botanic Gardens at some point, and I know that's not too far from where we're staying. And thanks for the tip on Pedro Castle--sounds like that may be worth the detour. All the talk about traffic is making me wonder if we should just skip GT, though we do want to go out that way to get to the turtle farm. We have enough traffic around here (Boston area)--we don't need that on vacation!!

We're off early tomorrow morning, so we're busy getting ready--can't wait!!
JS

We're looking forward to having you here.

Don't fear the traffic too much just be prepared for the timing of things. If you plan properly your travelling the traffic will be a none issue. I'm sure you probably even get worst traffic than we get here anyhow but it's good to avoid when possible.

Drop me an email at [email protected] and I'll shoot you over my phone number so you can call me if you need some advice. We are always willing to assist in anyway we can.

Kevin
CaymanHome