Grand Cayman, Oh the Snorkeling!

Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort

Best Of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Nice Stay at the Marriott"

Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort Photo, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Quote:

We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort on points. We chose an island view room—because it cost the fewest points. Before we left, I wondered if a cheaper room would equal a really long walk to the beach. Luckily, the resort is not that big, and it was a very quick walk to the beach.RoomThe room was spacious, the bed was comfortable, and the bathroom was fine. We really did not spend much time on the balcony since we didn’t have a view. We did have a few meals at the hotel, and enjoyed most of them.Food and Drink at the HotelI also really enjoyed the strawberry daiquiris, and my husband especially liked the mudslides. The breakfast buffet was good, but very overprice...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 31, 2008

Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort
389 West Bay Road
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
1 345 9490088

Cheer!
Flag

Activities we Experienced on Grand Cayman

Best Of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

iguana at Botanical Gardens Photo, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Quote:

Captain Marvin- Snorkeling and Stingray CityWe went on a boat trip with Captain Marvin on our first full day. There were probably about 30 or so people on this trip. That was plenty of people—but I know that in high season/cruise ship days, those trips are more packed. But having 30 people was more than enough to get in my way while snorkeling! We specifically chose a day that there was only one cruise ship in port (that was a really good thing, because we would have only been able to go on one other day, because the trip was cancelled on the other days we were there due to rough water from a nearby tropical storm). We went to two snorkeling spots—and they were really nice with lots of coral and...Read More

Captain Marvin- Snorkeling and Stingray City
We went on a boat trip with Captain Marvin on our first full day. There were probably about 30 or so people on this trip. That was plenty of people—but I know that in high season/cruise ship days, those trips are more packed. But having 30 people was more than enough to get in my way while snorkeling! We specifically chose a day that there was only one cruise ship in port (that was a really good thing, because we would have only been able to go on one other day, because the trip was cancelled on the other days we were there due to rough water from a nearby tropical storm). We went to two snorkeling spots—and they were really nice with lots of coral and fish—but it would have been much better if the water hadn’t of been as rough as it was, and other snorkelers bumping into me! Even though the water was rough, it was still very clear. We went to two areas in the coral gardens. I believe they usually go somewhere else, but that was too rough that day. We then made our way to the Stingray City sandbar, and that was definitely the highlight of the trip. We had done something similar in Belize in a place called Shark and Stingray Alley, but this was much better than that. There were stingrays everywhere. One accosted me and almost gave me a hug around my back—it scared me a bit! My husband even held one. The trip was definitely worth it.

Rum Point and Drive Around the Island
We drove up to Rum Point on our second full day. It was really nice to get a self tour of the island. Rum Point was a nice place—pretty with all the trees around and lots of chairs and hammocks for lounging. We were hoping to be able to snorkel, but the water was just too rough. We spent about three hours here. It was and relaxing, not crowded at all, but with not being able to snorkel we got a bit restless. On our drive back we drove around Cayman Kai, The Reef Resort, and Boddentown looking for good snorkeling, but the water was too rough everywhere. That was a bit of a disappointment. We actually drove back this way later in the week to see if we could find a calm place to snorkel after hearing great reviews, but had no luck.

Botanical Gardens
The only reason we went here was because there was one day that the water was too rough for good snorkeling. I really didn’t think we would enjoy it as much as we did. The flowers were beautiful. We also encountered quite a few iguanas, so that was really fun.

Turtle Farm and Hell
We drove up to the turtle farm, and on our way stopped at hell. It really wasn’t that interesting, but everyone had said it was a must see. At least it was a good photo op. Once we got to the turtle farm, we decided not to go in. Just a little too touristy and I think it was more geared towards kids. I was tempted by the snorkeling lagoon—but I prefer real snorkeling experiences to a "fake" one.

Red Sail West Bay Snorkel
This was a great trip. It was a huge boat that holds 80 people or so. And there was a total of 7 people on the trip! It left from the Hyatt and we went snorkeling at Eden Rock and the Wreck of the Cali. We were a little disappointed because we had already been to Eden Rock on our own, and we could have just gone to the Wreck of the Cali on our own. But the sail was nice, and it was nice not having to swim out to the reef- we could be a little more lazy. I thought Eden Rock was better than when we had snorkeled there another day. The Wreck of Cali was interesting too—lots of huge tarpon to see. Read Less

Cheer!
Flag

Restaurants on Grand Cayman

Best Of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:

The restaurants are definitely expensive. We spent a lot more on food than we planned. I thought it was the most expensive of all Caribbean islands I have been to except for St. Barts. We did not have a bad meal anywhere we went.Marriott- We ate the breakfast buffet once, lunch, and spent a couple happy hours at the hotel bars and restaurants. The food was generally good, but definitely expensive compared to other restaurants (but that’ to be expected of any hotel!).Coconut Joe’s—We had breakfast here a couple times. Fairly priced and good food. It’s very convenient to our hotel.Cimboco’s- We had breakfast here once and it was very good. I had a great omelet and my ...Read More

Cheer!
Flag

Beaches and Snorkeling

Best Of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Smith's Cove Photo, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Quote:

Overall, we really enjoyed the snorkeling here. It seemed like there were more fish here in general compared to other places I have been. But maybe it’s because they are used to being fed by people. I just don’t like to do that—I have been taught that it’s not good for them, so I don’t do it. But those fish must have just been expecting it, because they would swarm you! We were disappointed that we couldn’t try out the north and east sides for snorkeling. We heard good things about them, but the water was just not cooperating. So our snorkeling experiences were limited to our boat trip, South Sound, Seven Mile Beach, West Bay, and Georgetown area.Coral Gardens—We visited two areas here on ...Read More

Overall, we really enjoyed the snorkeling here. It seemed like there were more fish here in general compared to other places I have been. But maybe it’s because they are used to being fed by people. I just don’t like to do that—I have been taught that it’s not good for them, so I don’t do it. But those fish must have just been expecting it, because they would swarm you! We were disappointed that we couldn’t try out the north and east sides for snorkeling. We heard good things about them, but the water was just not cooperating. So our snorkeling experiences were limited to our boat trip, South Sound, Seven Mile Beach, West Bay, and Georgetown area.

Coral Gardens—We visited two areas here on our Captain Marvin’s boat trip. I think there was more sealife here than anywhere else we went in Grand Cayman. I would have like it better though if there had been less people with us, and the water hadn’t have been so rough.

Eden Rock—We visited twice- once on our own via a ladder at the Eden Rock Dive shop, and once on our Red Sail boat trip. The coral here is great, and there were so many fish. This ranks pretty high with everywhere that I have snorkeled. There were lots of brown and white fish here that I haven’t seen at any other snorkel spot that I can remember. I didn’t even see these fish anywhere else in Grand Cayman

Wreck of the Cali—We visited here on our Red Sail boat trip. It was interesting to see the submerged wreck. There was nice coral and lots tarpon hiding around.

Smith’s Cove
We tried snorkeling here twice, but it was just a bit too stirred up. If it had been calm, I think it would have been great. I did see a huge French Angelfish here and one of the biggest parrotfish I have ever seen, but my underwater pictures did not come out well because of the sand being stirred up. This was a pretty beach spot though!

Marriott
There is a manmade reef here. Nothing special, but I did see a flounder type fish here that was interesting.

Cemetery Beach- The beach here itself is nice, and the snorkeling was great. We came here twice. There was so much sea life here. We really enjoyed it.

Governor’s Reef—The beach here is amazing. The snorkeling was even more amazing. I don’t think this is the best of where we visited, but it’s special to me because I saw a turtle here, and he actually swam with me for a while. We decided to get up early on our last day since our flight was not leaving until 3 pm. We had about two hours to snorkel here. It was probably the best snorkeling conditions of our trip and the turtle was icing on the cake. Read Less

Cheer!
Flag

Shopping on Grand Cayman

Story/Tip

Quote:

I was really disappointed with the shopping here. I knew that it’s a cruise ship port—so it has the same stores that every cruise ship port has. I thought I would be able to find other places to shop besides the cruise ship area, but had no luck (except for the liquor stores!). I really like to buy things local to an island for gifts when I travel. Luckily I found a little silver shop tucked away in the cruise ship port that was just what I was looking for. We spent a couple hours looking for a place like this! It was called Silver Splash.

Cheer!
Flag

Overal Impressions

Story/Tip

Quote:

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Knowing how touristy the island can be, it was certainly less crowded than I expected (of course I liked that!). We did go in shoulder season, so I think we missed the rush. I knew that the island wasn’t going to be very scenic compared to other islands I have visited, but I was still disappointed in the limited amount of photo ops I could find. I thought the beaches were beautiful though, and the underwater world was even better. We had some wonderful snorkeling experiences. I think we would visit again, but probably not anytime soon since there are so many other places we want to go.

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

Grand Cayman Journals

Upload Photos