Hello everyone, my girlfriend and I just got back from a one-week trip to Grand Cayman, and it was an awesome trip! Like most responsible travelers and most people using this website, I did some homework prior to departure, and this website was very useful, so I thought I’d contribute.




Hotel: we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott (not to be confused with the Marriott, which is located closer to George Town). It was a very comfortable hotel, nice, clean rooms with king size bed. Nice pool, and the cool thing about this hotel is that you can see the beach from the front entrance. Cross the street, and you’re there. Private beach chairs with towel service (only to hotel guests). White, soft sand. It’s interesting that no matter how hot it is outside, the sand doesn’t get hot… just warm. Anyway, the only thing is that there are rocks in the water, but if you walk a minute to your left, the rocks in the water clear out. It’s got rental car service inside the hotel (Avis), and it makes renting a car so much easier. One other draw back is that there aren’t many things around the hotel (restaurants, shops, bars…etc). So you pretty much either has to eat at the hotel or have a car. Overall, if I went back to Grand cayman, I would consider staying here again.




Diving: My girlfriend did her open water certification out here, and we went with Cayman Diving School. They were very helpful, professional, and fun to dive with. The equipment was nicely maintained, instructors knew what they were doing. In terms of dive sites, we went to Bonnie’s arch, wreck of Oro verde, paradise reef, mitch miller, and sand shoot. All these places were cool places to dive, each with their own unique characteristics. Bonnie’s arch’s got plenty of reef and fish, and, of course, the arch to swim under was cool. Saw a big green moray eel and turtle there. Mitch miller also had awesome reef / fish. Sand shoot was another cool place to dive because there were narrow coral passages you can swim through, as if you were skiing (hence sand “shoot”). Again, lots of coral and saw a few lobsters.




Stingray city: we went with Don Foster’s, and they were very professional and fun as well. The dive master hands out calamari to you under water to keep the rays interested in you. And believe me, they were ALL OVER EVERYONE. The smaller (younger) rays tend to be a little more aggressive than the bigger ones, but they were harmless, just wanted some lunch. We saw a fight between two big green eels, that was pretty cool. One of which was a “regular” and was gentle and allowed us to touch it as it swims around.




Dining: Like I said before, food was adequate in our hotel, but we ate there only when we didn’t have a car. Pretty much everywhere we went we had great food… so lets see, Breezes in George Town was pretty cool, nice view of the harbor where cruise ships dock, and nice view of George Town. Their appetizers were delicious. Try their crab cake! Calypso Grill also had a nice view, reasonably priced (kinda expensive, but then again… you’re in Grand Cayman…), and their potato soup was awesome! Another place we went to is Reef Grill. Good ambience, I tried their Sea Bass, and it was fresh and well prepared. Live music, decent amount of people at the bar next to the restaurant. At Calico Jack’s Bar, which is the only bar around Courtyard Marriott, I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.




Driving around: I highly recommend it. Found little secluded / less popular beaches around the island (like Bonnie’s Arch and cemetery beach), went to Rum Point (which was beautiful), and went to the Botanical Garden (nice, but it got hot, and we didn’t stay very long)




Overall: I think I will try to make it back here in the future. The diving was probably the best I’ve seen, and I have been to other places (not to brag, just to give you an idea): Hawaii, Cozumel, Thailand, Philippines, California, both coasts of Mexico. It is a bit expensive for me, but it was well worth it. The weather was PERFECT, it rained like 20 minutes for the 7 days we were there. Not too crowded for the time we were there (except when the cruise ships dock… people from the cruise ships just take over the beaches like ants). Driving on the left side is not as hard as I thought it would be The island is not difficult to navigate at all. Food was great, people were laid back and nice. The water was as clear and turquoise as can be. If you’re into partying, don’t come here. Great place to just sit back, have a drink, and relax. Hope this helps :)