dvdtalk

in terms of things to see etc> Cayman has the stingray city and the turtle thing which we thoroughly enjoyed... what about Negril Jamica? We thought about Negril but what is good? Anyone?

sharie

How old are your kids? Grand Cayman has a lot of things to see and do for little kids. The water is calm and not deep in some places. You can rent a car and go to Rum Point, its about an hour from 7 mile beach but you can make stops along the way to make it fun (check to see when the cruiseships are there).

Negril is 1.5 hours away from the airport. A lot of the tours and activities are in Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, so there would be lots of commuting. Okay for us grownups but kids just dont have the patience. Mine's a teen, and he doesn't either. Unless he gets to drive, but that's not gonna happen

suze

They're both beautiful places. But I think the Cayman's is better with small children. Easier. I love Negril but Jamaica's a little bit on the rough & wild side for young family travel imho.

Wcordeau

We have been to Negril 3 times and loved it. There is several things to do: 1) Black River, where you are on a pontoon boat touring the marshes with about 500 Crocks! Crazy Niko was our driver. He did some crazy things with the Crocks, 2) There is another "falls", closer than Dunns River to negril 3) The beach and Jamaican people are both beautiful 4) We took a trip to the rum factory, but it was late in the day, and we were tired so we didn't get much out of it.

virginia

i don't know anything about skateboarding but apparently gc has a very good skateboard park. kids might also enjoy the botanical garden, which has cayman parrots & blue iguanas running around the grounds. rum point is fun, has some snorkeling & good beach food & cocktails. you can stop for a swim/snorkel at 'the reef resort' on the east end. if it's been blowing the blow hole is fun to watch for a few mins on your way around the island. in boddden town there is http://www.caymanactivityguide.com/PiratesCaves.htm
if you can go between nov 8 & 18th all kids love pirate week: http://www.piratesweekfestival.com/

KVR

It seems from your comment you have already been to Grand Cayman. If you are wondering if Negril will be a good destination to visit next, then I would have to agree with Suze. Negril, to me, is a little grown up. Yes, there is the Black River boat tour, YS Falls, Mayfield Falls, and the Appleton Rum factory. It's an all day tour and several hours away from Negril. Yes, people do take their families, but there is really not much activities geared for kids in that area.

Most families stay in one of the AI resorts in Montego Bay and just do tours from that area. There is a pirate ship outing also. Or, the RIU resort in Ocho Rios. There are more things to do in that area that is closer to the resorts like Dunn's River Falls, Green Gotto Caves, Rafting down the Martha Brae, water interubing, Bob sled park, Fern Gulley, luminous lagoon, coboa Gardens and waterfalls, Shaw park gardens and zip lining.

In those areas you really need to go on a gudied tour or hire a driver to take you to where you want to go. Renting a car is not really recommended. There is a definate culture shock between Grand Cayman and Jamaica, so do lots of research and be fully prepared. People who aren't are the ones that come back to the forums and make complaints about their trip.

I would recommend the Marriott in Aruba instead.

Weadles

I've been to both with my kids when they were little. I love Negril (!!), but agree with the posters above that Grand Cayman is much more kid-friendly. In fact so much so, that we went there multiple times when our kids were young. There's plenty to do, and lots of American-style conveniences, like a huge supermarket across from Seven Mile Beach, so you don't need to lug too much from home, although prices are high.

Also the accommodations are generally nicer and more standardized than what you can find in Negril. We used to call it- for better or worse- the Miami of the Caribbean. But don't be scared off by that description, because it is a lovely island, and I still have great memories of our vacations there.