phil

I'd be grateful to hear from anyone who's stayed at the Turtle Nest Inn and has used it as a base to explore other parts of the island, such as Rum Point, SMB and Stingray City. Also, what do people think of the diving on the south side?

Julia

We loved it. The drive to Rum Point is pleasant, almost no traffic after you past Breakers. We allowed a little extra time to meet Dexter at the marina since we took an early morning trip to Stingray Sandbar (we're not divers) because the traffic going to & from Georgetown was a little slower at peak hours (working people). And we always enjoyed the ride to SMB & back. If you're lucky enough to be there during the full moon, the sight of it rising over the ocean at the TNI is something to behold. We did catch a couple of sunsets at Rum Point & at SMB, but the late afternoon sun on SMB there is a bit harsh for me ---- very hard on the eyes.

Watch your speed. Limit drops (to 35 if memory serves) as you pass through residential areas & the cops WILL stop you.

Riding around the island was nice. Pretty homes, nice landscaping. Buy steel drum cassettes at one of the shops & plop one in the player.

The worst traffic is from Georgetown all the way down SMB from about 11 a.m. to 2 or 2:30.

Have fun. TNI was great.
Julia

Cheryl

I am also considering staying at Turtle Nest Inn, however I am undecided and wondering about the beach. I have not been to Grand Cayman before and wonder if I will be missing something by not staying on Seven Mile Beach. One of the things I look for most is being on a great beach. How is the beach by TNI? Can you go for long walks on the beach as I would imagine you can do on 7MB? Is it sandy as you go in the water, or rocky? How long is the drive to 7MB from there?

Julia

Cheryl, those were our concerns too, as it was also our first trip to Cayman.

The beach at the TNI is not large at all. It is small & private & the water is just a few steps (maybe 50? at most) from the patio/pool. We saw someone sweeping the sand very early every morning, just after dawn. You can walk some in both directions but not for the longer distances of SMB.

It truly was not a problem to access SMB for such walks when we wanted. The sand quality varies on SMB as does the actual width of the beach (some places it's quite wide, but narrower in others) & the entrance to the water varies as well. Some places have sandy bottom, others rocks or ironshore.

When you enter the water, there are large patches of turtle grass growing up through the sand. It's a soft, wide bladed grass, just a couple of inches tall & you can see the sand between the blades. Just beyond that is a sandy area & a little further on, as you approach the reef (very close in) you will start seeing corals & creatures. At high tide, you can float over the reef. When the tide is out, there are places where it breaks the surface & you can't swim through the large coral (you shouldn't leave the protection of being inside the reef anyway). The water clarity was great.

The drive to SMB varied depending on which cut across we took or if we went the longer, more scenic way, time of day, if the cruise ships were dumping folks into Georgetown, etc. In Oct. 99 there was road construction in several places so that slowed us some (the crew would let cars pass going in one direction, then it was the other lane's turn) . I'd guess about 30 minutes on average (add 15 at peak commuting times) once we were familiar with the route & didn't have to watch for turnoffs, etc. We were always enjoying our steel pan music, looking at the pretty homes & flowers & glimpses of the water so the time passed quickly.

We had no problems driving at night, even returning from Rum Point cutting across on the Queen's Highway (correct name?) if that's a concern. TNI is close in, compared to Morritts, which is much further.

We felt that anything we may have given up by not staying at SMB was more than made up for by the beautiful hues of the water, the privacy, the great accomodation & being centrally located. We also liked having manager/owners living onsite. Very accomodating, sweet people.

Grand Cayman is a very small island. Just plan your drives around commuters & all should be fine.

Julia

Just looked at some photos & I overstated the distance to the water ... probably more like 25 feet from the patio, depending on tide of course.

Julia

Well, it's me again. I see my post was not entirely clear. My comments about the turtle grass & the reef were about the water at the Inn, not SMB. Sorry!

Cheryl

Julia -- Thank you for all your input. Given that you also spent time on Seven Mile Beach, if you were to go to Grand Cayman again, would you stay again at the Turtle Nest Inn, or would you stay somewhere on 7MB? If we stay on 7MB, it would probably be at the Westin, but I am now leaning toward TNI. We plan to go the end of April. Was Seven Mile Beach crowded? How was the traffic?

Julia

Cheryl,
We in fact were booked at TNI this week!!!! Sadly had to cancel.

IF the Inn is not available when we plan our next Cayman trip & IF because of that we opted for the west side, we'd most likely choose the Westin (for hotel), or (for a condo) Discovery Bay?/Point? further up the road. Might also consider a small villa near Rum Point, but the Turtle Nest would definitely be our first choice.

As for SMB, it was always fairly crowded, beach & traffic. We were always in traffic there. At times moving along steady but slow, at others, a snail's pace for long periods of time.

To be fair, we were there during Pirates Week, but from what I've been told & have read, it's not that much different most any day of the year.

Julia

Linda

We stayed at Turtle Nest Inn last January and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are looking for a walking beach, this wouldn't be the place but since you will need to rent a car, it is easy to drive to SMB for walking and/or swimming. You will need water shoes for swimming at TNI as the turtle grass and coral come quite close to the shore. Of course this also helps attract fish and we enjoyed the snorkeling there. Although we visited SMB many times during our stay, we were always glad to return to the peaceful serenity of TNI. We are not divers but very much enjoyed the snorkeling and, of course, the trip to Stingray City. Would do it again in a minute.