The Ultimate Grand Cayman Travel Guide.

May 11, 2017

Alright guys, you have officially made it through wedding week! Congrats! This is officially the last post commemorating our wedding. This day two years ago we left for our honeymoon, hands-down the greatest trip ever. I've been writing this post for about 2 years since we got back. Since Adam took most of the pictures this trip, I had to get them off his phone, which is always tough :)

Anyways, thanks for joining me on this week of memories. Until next year.

When Adam and I started thinking about places to honeymoon we went between honeymoon 1 - lots of activities or honeymoon 2 - sitting on a beach. There was a huge part of both of us that wanted this crazy honeymoon where we toured all over Europe for three weeks. The other part realized how much that would cost and how nice it would be to do nothing, especially after all the hoopla of the wedding was over.

We settled on a beach honeymoon. Then our second thought was, we wanted some things to do, but we didn't want something to do every day. I know what you're thinking, damn they're picky. But here's the thing, this would be our first married vacay and we wanted it to be perfect.


It was settled, beach with some things to do, just not required activities. After we narrowed that down, we started with a google search, "best place to honeymoon where there are no kids around." Call me selfish, but we wanted to be at a resort where there wouldn't be kids running around and screaming.

Google gave us some options: Hawaii, Turks & Caicos, Bali, Grand Cayman and Belize.

We started researching all those places. We looked them up on Yelp, we googled crime rates, flight times, hotel prices and activities. On Yelp, even the nicest hotel in Hawaii had reviews claiming the adult pool was really still all kids. Scratched. Turks & Caicos sounded incredible. That stayed on the list. Bali sounded like heaven. That was until we started looking at flights and we found that it could take us a day to get there! Scratched. Belize had huge crime rates. Scratched. Grand Cayman was our perfect middle ground.



We spent 8 magical days on Grand Cayman. We drank amazing pina colodas, ate tons of fresh fish and slept in every day. Plus I got a sunburn that lasted weeks after the honeymoon was over. If you're looking for an amazing beach vacay with minor actives, look no further.

I have the ultimate Grand Cayman Travel Guide. Get ready to book your next vacation!


WHAT YOU NEED: Passport, swim suit, suntan lotion and a cover-up. Grand Cayman is super relaxed. Anywhere you go, a cover-up will be all you'll need. We walked a lot of places, so make sure to bring comfy shoes and a big hat. The sun is powerful!

Also, the currency is Grand Cayman dollars. American currency is worth a little bit more than the Cayman dollar, but not by much. I still have some in my wallet. Consider it my memorabilia.


WHERE TO STAY: We stayed at the Ritz Carlton on Seven Mile Beach. If you can believe it, the Ritz on GC was cheaper than the Hyatt in Hawaii. Plus, when we told them we were on our honeymoon, they supplied our room with champs and roses. Plus they bumped us to beach view. Talk about service. The Ritz is also known on the island as having the best pina coladas. They are pure fruit juice and booze. I drank 3 before they told me they were $27 dollars a piece. Ouch.

The best pina colada in all the land 

The Ritz bar-tenders make great shots

If you are looking for cheaper, there are tons of resorts up and down seven mile beach. There is a Marriott Beach Resort and a Westin that are definitely cheaper, but still right and the beach and so nice.

Next time we go we want to stay with friends and rent a place. Once we were on the island, all the locals told us that we needed to rent a place next time. Even if you don't cook at your rental, the cost would cut the price of a resort in half.

WHEN TO GO: We went in the middle of May which is technically off-season/start of hurricane season. We were told once we got there that hurricane season doesn't really start until late-June, so we hit the perfect time. It's not peak season so it was semi-empty, we got front row water chairs on the beach and we had our pick of dinner locations. Peak-season in Grand Cayman is September through April, but that also means that the costs skyrocket.

I would highly recommend this middle May time. It was great. We got a little rain mid-afternoon, but it lasted 30 minutes max. It was the perfect amount of time to reapply sun screen, grab a pina colada and by then we were back to the beach.

WHAT TO DO: Like I mentioned before, Grand Cayman is perfect for people who want to do nothing. Adam and I do nothing really good. Most days we woke up late, grabbed a bite to eat and parked ourselves on the beach with a local beer and a good book. But on the days we wanted to be adventurous, we had all the things we needed.

Seven Mile Beach: It really needs no explanation. We walked it one day and came back very sunburned. If you do, grab a beer and a hat. Trust me on this one :)


Stingray City: You get on this amazing boat and venture out to this part in the middle of the ocean that is shallow enough you can stand and you snuggle stingrays. They are obviously all used to people and most of the boat captains have all the stingrays named. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty dang nervous, but once you're in the water, the nerves dissipate. I couldn't help but think of Steve Erwin RIP.




Georgetown: The capital. This is where there is tons of shopping, chotchkey shopping, but shopping nonetheless. Adam and I never made it down here during the day because every time we looked down the beach, all we saw was cruise ships and battling throngs of tourists was not in our schedule. And yes, GC is small enough that from the end of 7-Mile Beach we could see Georgetown.

Camana Bay: Camana Bay is this little shopping area on the bay side of the island. It's super pretty filled with fancy shops and great restaurants. For a change of scenery we went here a few times for cocktails. It's ritzier than anywhere we went on the island, but was super fun to walk around.

 The heart of Camana Bay
At our favorite brunch place in Camana Bay, Karoo

Diving the North WallGrand Cayman’s North Wall plunges deeper than 6000 feet and offers beautiful wall diving with opportunities to see spotted eagle rays and sea turtles. Grand Cayman also offers accessible shore diving on great coral reefs with little to no current. We didn't have time to get our diving cert before our honeymoon, but we would love to get it and go back. My dad has dived GC a bunch and raves about it. 

Fishing: Tons of fishing. My husband would have loved to do this. Next time with friends. You can rent a private fishing boat and spend the day with food and wine out on the water fishing. Sounds so fun. But it was financially worth it for just us two. The private boat runs about $1000/day. But with 3-4 couples, it would be great. 

Turtle Farm: Yes. We didn't make it here either but man, next time. 

Hell: There is literally a place called Hell and you can take all kinds of pictures, buy memorabily ect. We didn't go here. Not sure if we would if we go back, but hey tourists love this kind of stuff! 

WHERE TO EAT: First things first, eat on the water, eat fish and eat a lot. You will dream about it when you're back in the States. Or that was just me. There are so many amazing restaurants, you cannot go wrong. Here are the ones we tried and LOVED.

Deckers: Its this amazing little restaurant, right across from our hotel. Theres a london bus on the patio and the ceviche is the best thing ever. In one week, we went here probably 6-7 times. It's the best.

Callipyso Grill: This if ff West Bay, so its about a 15 minute cab ride, but it sits right on the water and is hte most stunning view ever. I ate so much food here I thought I'd never eat again.

Casa Nova: The cutest little Italian restaurant in Georgetown. It's full of pictures of famous people. We told the guy it was our honeymoon and he brought us dessert and then joined us for shots of limoncello. The three of us got pretty drunk together, and it was awesome.



Lonestar: We were there during the NBA playoffs and honestly wanted a little America. This bar is outside and all the locals could not understand why we cared about basketball. We drank coors light outside and watch sports. It was so dang fun.

The Wharf: This place is so beautiful. Again, right on the water. If you don't eat on the water are you really in Grand Cayman? Anyways, you can feed the tarpins, which are these crazy looking fish. It was hilarious.





Happy Thursday friends. Thanks for letting me recap our wedding all while giving you some of my favorite Grand Cayman things.

Are you planning a trip soon? I highly recommend Grand Cayman. I always tell Adam, "I'm dreaming of Grand Cayman." If you've been, where do you recommend going? I love trying new spots and I cannot wait to plan our next trip back.



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8 comments

  1. My grandparents have a timeshare in Cayman so I have been a few times. It's so wonderful!!! The turtle sanctuary is really cool and Hell is great for a few pictures and a postcard but there is not much to do there.
    The timeshare is on the south side of Seven Mile beach closer to George Town and it was great. We could get there by bike instead of having to drive. My family loves the Jolly Roger Booze Cruise (they have family options as well) but I’ve never been able to go due to scheduling conflicts.
    Some of our favorite places to eat are Coconut Joe’s (a short walk from the timeshare) and Rackam’s in George Town. At Rackam’s, they have a Tarpon feeding every night that is pretty cool to watch (not to mention the delicious food).
    I've sooo glad you enjoyed your honeymoon there. I swear I could go every year and it will never get old.

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  2. Great guide! I have never been would love to go. #bucketlist

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  3. This is place i want to visit, and thanks for the guide, it is so helpful xox

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  4. This looks amazing! I need a vacation!

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  5. This looks amazing! Definitely ouch on those pina coladas though haha. But hey - it was your honeymoon!

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  6. I am planning to go there late june/early july in 2018,would like to stay at the ritz for various reasons,just wanted to kno if it is tooo fancy,kind of a casual laid back person,not one to get dressed up. any insight?

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I love hearing from all of you and greatly appreciate all your feedback and comments! xx Kristen