onelove

Planning our first trip to the Caymans - don't want to (and can't afford to) be among the 7-mile beach crowd. Any suggestions on where else on the island would be more economical? Any suggestions on where to stay in Bodden Town or Rum Point - not getting much response web surfing...

GC_Sandy

I prefer Rum Point to 7MB any day !! Have you checked out the Retreat condos at Rum Point. There's also North Point condos, Northern Lights and Kaibo Yacht Club condos in that area. Check out www.caymanvacation.com for condos in that area.

In Bodden Town your best bet would be Turtle Nest Inn. You would be closer to the action of 7MB. I think the northern part of the island is still the best, away from the crowds and tourists.
Sandy

chellyroo

We are going to GC in May and are staying at the Turtle Nest Inn in Bodden Town. we chose it because of the good reviews on Fodors, and the comments on the excellent snorkeling right off the beach there. Also, it is a rather small inn and that appealed to us.

Swaying_Palms

Interesting...I don't know of any other hotel in the world that has the sterling reputation for quality, comfort _and_ value of the Turtle Nest Inn;I can't recall ever seeing anything really negative about it.

Similarly, the Caymans is the only Caribbean destination which seems to have an impeccable reputation for safety, cleanliness, sanitary conditions and lack of any hostility/animosity. Anguilla would probably be a very close second.

LvSun

Prefer Rum Point area - best snorkeling we have found is from the Sea Lodges to Rum Point.

Two of the sea lodges:
http://www.caymanhaven.com/#reservations
and
http://www.sealodgical.com/

Others can be found by searching the web.

ScottB

Although I am a fan of the 7MB area, If I had to pick between Boddentown & Rum Point, I'd go with Rum Point. There really isn't anything of interest in Boddentown, and you'll be driving for everything. I'd also dig as deep as possible if considering TNI.

East end is quiet, and away from the crowds for the most part. Rum Point itself can be mobbed with cruise shippers on certain days. It's a beautiful area, but small, so it can feel crowded fast.

Have you checked out any of the condos on the northern end of 7MB? Some are very affordable, and the northern end of 7MB is very quiet.

Check out: www.caymanvacations.com
It will have several resort/condo/hotel choices in both areas.

Hope this helps.

Buddles

hi,

We stayed it Turtle Nest Inn last March (2006). It was an amazing place! The hosts were gracious and helpful. They even have a dinner on Thursday nights that you can sign up for. You sit on a porch overlooking the water while the hosts serve you and meet all the other guests - it was magical. We found the location to be quite centrally located. We were able to easily get to 7MB if we wanted and to Rum Point. The supermarkets were great. We had a full kitchen and ate breakfast there and packed a lunch for the beach and ate out every night. Our favorite snorkeling spot was Eden Rock. The snorkeling in front of the property is very good, once you get past some ironrock that is unfortunately located.

jspen

We also stayed at TNI last year (April '06) and loved it! We enjoyed having our own apartment and kitchen, and as the previous poster said, the hosts were great. They were always willing to help with advice on things to do and even loaned us snorkeling gear to use while we were there. Although there is not much to do in Bodden Town itself, the central location was perfect--we were able to get everywhere relatively quickly. Rum Pt. has more going on in the area, but it's a long way from there to Georgetown, the turtle farm, etc. So I suppose it depends on what else you want to do. Our favorite spot turned out to be Smith Cove, which is closer to Georgetown, so I was glad we weren't staying that far away. Overall, TNI is not fancy, but it's a very nice, small, quiet, relaxing place to use as a home base. Have fun!