Seven Mile Beach - Where to Stay
 

For a family trip with young adults, I was looking at the condos on the northern end, Anchorage, Silver Sands, Christopher Colombus, etc. But the young adults may want a little night life & am wondering if there are any places to go hear music at that end. Who knows, maybe us old folks would be interested also. I also have info on a condo at Sunset Cove & am wondering how the snorkeling is there. Can one just go snorkel at Cemetary Reef without staying near there? We will have a car.
Any suggestions?

Also, has anyone booked through Cayman Vacations?

The north part of Seven Mile Beach is a good place to stay. Anchorage, Christopher Columbus, Discovery Point, Aqua Bay are all fine choices. It is the best value on Seven Mile Beach. You can snorkel in front of the condos there. Cemetery Beach is a good place to snorkel, it is open to all, but since it is a beach in front of a real cemetery, I doubt any of the residents snorkel.

There are a few bars in the central and southern part of SMB that have music, since you have a car it will probably take about 10 minutes to get to them.

Sunset Cove is located in the south part of SMB, snorkeling is not great there and the property next to it is not the most desirable neighbor.

Cayman vacations has a great website. They are a travel agency which has a good reputation, but since they are travel agents, they get a commission ( which they deserve if they help you). I have found I could get the best price by renting through VRBO. The owners of the condos are usually very patient with answering questions and are a good resource.

George - thanks! I just looked at Plantana & rates looked ok for when we are going. Do you know abput snorkeling there? Do you have any other suggestions for lodging for that part of seven mile?

Also, do you know of any guide to snorkeling sites around the island? I would also be interested ion a recommendation for boat tour to sting ray city. We may like to do other boat trips if one stands out.

Hopefully, we won't disturb the residents by Cemetary Reef but with my boys you never know.

Really appreciate you info!

Here is the link to the best Cayman snorkeling:
http://snorkelblog.tumblr.com

Plantana is a good central location and is a fine property.
Grand Cayman has a wonderful selection of condos, you usually can not go wrong. Remember that all of the condos are individually owned, so it it best to see pictures of the actual unit before renting. A few of the owners at various condo complexes have not upgraded their units.
The central part of SMB has the best beach. This area is usually the most expensive. The north area is the best value but the beach area can be affected by recent storms. The south area has more beach area which are ironshore or rocky.

I have used Captain Marvin in the past to go to Sting Ray City. They are known to be reliable. Try not to go to Sting Ray City when there are a lot of cruise ships in port.

The two times I've been to GC, I've stayed on the southern end of 7MB. It definitely was great for snorkeling from shore, but the beach was lacking in areas for sure.

Central 7MB has some great properties, but this is where you'll find most of the crowded areas....beach is great.

When I do get back to GC, I'm staying on the northern end for sure. It's quiet, the beaches are excellent, and you can find condos close to good refs for shore snorkeling. A car is a must no matter where you stay in my opinion.

We used to stay at Villas of The Galleon all the time, next to The Westin. Great central location, within easy walking distance to many restaurants/shops. The beach is absolutely gorgeous there!

Villas of the Galleon for sure!!

Thanks for all the input! The Villas of the Galleon does not gave a pool, correct?

we are at christopher columbus cindos rught now. we are enjoying the location. tge condos are nice,clean and comfortabke. The beach is fantastic,although i must say i have found the snorkeling disappointing. It is a quiet location away from the crowds and I think excellent value. We have found that the short drives to the pubs are worth more than fighting crowds. Depending in your young adults you may find the area quiet, ie no beach volleyball or activities, but as I said one can just head down or up aways and find a pub or the public beach. I concur about going to sting ray city on off cruise ship days. I always check the ship schedules and then plan around that. I will say that it is rather expensive,but heck it is a holiday.

VofG has no pool but the beach is ideal, location great and after Ivan all rental pool condos were redone!! I don't even know a location that offers beach vb!!

How do you check the cruise ship schedules?

As stated above, Villas of Galleon has no pool. But you couldn't ask for a more central location right on the best part of the beach. The units were really nice when we used to stay there, so if they were redone, they must be even better now. Would not hesitate to stay there again.

Here is the link for the cayman schedule.
Cayman Islands Cruise Ship Schedule - Caymanport.com
www.caymanport.com/shipschedules.php
I just google cruise ships and the lication we are going to to see the influx of people whenever we travel in the caribbean