Must sees in a rental car?

My sister and mom and I have finally decided to go with a rental car and just drive around the island. We are going to bring our own snorkeling gear with us. What are some highly recommended beaches to snorkel at, and any other must-see places to visit?

You might want to go to Seven Mile Beach and check it out. There is a large parking lot there so you shouldn't have problems parking your car. Very pretty beach and restaurants are there. There isn't a great deal to see on land in Grand Cayman. It's more a watersports place but you can easily drive the roads and take a look at the neighborhoods, etc.

Drive along the east coast to Rum Point.

Found the snorkeling guides and map here to be pretty good for some of the better, but lesser known spots on the island:

http://snorkelblog.tumblr.com

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I was beginning to think this car rental idea was not such a good idea after all.

Stop by Smith's cove and Pure Art

I looked up Pure Art after I read your suggestion. It looks like a place that we would love to check out. How are the prices? I hear Cayman is pretty expensive, but I didn't know how their prices ran considering they appear to be away from the main shopping area.

We are renting a jeep when we are there this week. Someone had posted these two driving routes and I found them to be very helpful in my planning. I'll be sure to come back and let you know if they were actually as helpful as I think they will be.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024326.html

There are great maps at the bottom that I have printed out and will be taking with, etc. I am much more excited about renting the jeep on our own after seeing these two links.

Also, the guy at the company we are renting from said he will provide a map with some great places to see/stop on it. You may want to ask your company for the same thing.

Good luck and have fun!

Julia - I would love to hear all about your trip when you get back. Have an awesome time!!

and enjoyed the drive to Rum Point looking at all the houses for sale and the one house who's name is "Not for Sale". Also the above ground cemetaries overlooking the sea.

We are renting a jeep when we are there this week. Someone had posted these two driving routes and I found them to be very helpful in my planning. I'll be sure to come back and let you know if they were actually as helpful as I think they will be.

 

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024326.html

 

There are great maps at the bottom that I have printed out and will be taking with, etc. I am much more excited about renting the jeep on our own after seeing these two links.

 

Also, the guy at the company we are renting from said he will provide a map with some great places to see/stop on it. You may want to ask your company for the same thing.

 

Good luck and have fun!

How was your trip? Would love to hear how your trip went - especially GC. Where did you go? What did you see? How was the snorkeling?

We'll be there mid-October and are trying to rent a vehicle currently. Who did you rent from & would you recommend them? I'm a "want-to-see-it-all" kind of person & always try to squeeze in too much - but enjoy doing it anyway :p

Thanks everyone for the above links and suggestions. I, too, was second-guessing my rental decision, but now am convinced this is what I need to do for us!!

Are we related? :) I am just like you on trips, I want to "see it all" and try to fit way-y too much stuff in. But, like you, I still enjoy it all the same. Since I am not going until February, YOU get to tell us all about your trip first, when you get back. Let us know what you did, where you went, did you like it, etc etc. Have a fantastic time!!

We will be there in November, Hubby and I have been a couple of times before but have the teens with us this trip so thinking of a rental.

Where have you rented from?

I guess we will take the kids to 'hell', turtle farm, 7 mile beach and somewhere to snorkle, any ideas?

I looked up Pure Art after I read your suggestion. It looks like a place that we would love to check out. How are the prices? I hear Cayman is pretty expensive, but I didn't know how their prices ran considering they appear to be away from the main shopping area.

Cayman is expensive because you lose $20 on $100. Pure Art has lots of things decently priced, we go every trip. If you find a copy of the Cayman Activity guide there is a coupon for 5% off cash, they might even do it without the coupon. Worth a trip, very close to Smith's Cove.

We will be there in November, Hubby and I have been a couple of times before but have the teens with us this trip so thinking of a rental.

Where have you rented from?

I guess we will take the kids to 'hell', turtle farm, 7 mile beach and somewhere to snorkle, any ideas?

Also, Eden Rock is accessible from Dive Tech dive shop which is right next to the ship tendering pier. You can rent equipment there & they have lockers, I think.

2-laner - glad to hear I'm not the only crazy traveller:p I wish Julia would give us a trip report! Is there any way to private message people on this forum?

We've rented a car on GC twice (four of us travel together). We've rented from Avis and done the cruise passenger comprehensive, as you definitely want the full coverage there. Even if you have a minor accident, you want to be able to just hand over the keys to the rental company and not miss the ship. Also, they have a shuttle that picks up at the Blue Iguana gift shop right on the main drag. The cars are at the airport, but that's not a bad thing, as you really don't want to drive in Georgetown, due to the congestion. They'll give you a map and mark the routes for getting to the spots you want to see.

The first time we rented, we drove out to Hell. It's interesting and worth a visit if you've never seen it, just to say you've been. Jagged volcanic rocks and signs to take your photos in front of, a gift shop and that's about it,though. Then, we hit some beaches for some snorkeling and beach time. It was fun. We allowed time to get back to Georgetown to walk around the shops there.

This past March, we rented again from Avis and went to Rum Point. Loved that trip. We stopped on the way to see the Blow Holes. There's a real character there who has a beverage/snack stand across the road and he will want to "show" you the blow holes. He's totally harmless and friendly, but I was really surprised that I'd read nothing about him in all my reading about taking this drive or visiting the blow holes. He walked us down to a good spot to best view the nearest blow hole, showing us where to step, as it is a very rocky walk across lava. He also offered to take our picture, and timed the photo with the best "blow" of the water. He also has a very clean porta-potty at his beverage stand, with antibacterial wipes provided(this is important, as you are only about halfway to Rum Point at this point in your drive). We bought a couple of beverages, but be forewarned; have some small bills available. He will only give you change in Cayman. We only had a $20 and so got a lot of Cayman back, so had to make sure to pay cash for our gas when we refueled the car before returning it. So, on to Rum Point. Not hard to find parking and off we went to the beach. We parked ourselves in chairs at the water's edge and my hubby and I donned our snorkeling equipment and entered the water. It was a cool and windy day, so the water was cool, but we perservered. There weren't a lot of fish, but we were enjoying ourselves. Rum Point is just beautiful. They have rentals of all sorts of water toys available, but if you just want to "beach it", this is a wonderful spot. Very tropical. There is food available and some shops as well. On the way back, we took a short cut, which took us past the botanical gardens. This would have been a nice stop as well, but we were running out of time. On our list for next time.

Oh, watch for iguanas crossing the road! :)

Hello rjscott - thank you so much for writing about your trips to Cayman. It's nice to get a good idea about what is there and what it is like. A quick question. How was the drive over to Hell from the car rental place? You said that there is alot of traffic congestion in Georgetown, but, were you able to take some less traveled roads to get you over to Hell and that area. We were wanting to visit there, as well as Cemetary Beach and some of the villages over there that are suppose to be quaint and less commercial looking.

avvdixon - I was wondering about Julie myself :)

Hello rjscott - thank you so much for writing about your trips to Cayman. It's nice to get a good idea about what is there and what it is like. A quick question. How was the drive over to Hell from the car rental place? You said that there is alot of traffic congestion in Georgetown, but, were you able to take some less traveled roads to get you over to Hell and that area. We were wanting to visit there, as well as Cemetary Beach and some of the villages over there that are suppose to be quaint and less commercial looking.

 

avvdixon - I was wondering about Julie myself :)

You can easily get to Hell and Cemetary Beach w/o going thru Georgetown. When you pick up your car at the airport, they'll show you on the map how to drive there w/o going thru town. The clerks at the Avis desk were very helpful in mapping out a route for us both times we've rented from them. Remember though, you'll be driving on the left on Grand Cayman, so be sure to allow a bit of extra time to drive a bit more cautiously. My husband is experienced at driving on the left from his international travels, but GC is probably the best island to drive on for the inexperienced, as it is flat (not mountainous) and it's not a large island. Just take your time and you'll be fine.

Have a great time!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I was beginning to think this car rental idea was not such a good idea after all.

We reserved a car with Avis, and we were instructed to go to a certain gift shop. I had the impression that it would be right by the pier, but it was some walk -- that was okay because we're young and healthy.

When we reached the shop, they didn't have our names, but they called Avis, who promised they'd be right out to pick us up in the van that'd take us to the rental car place. We shopped a bit, and then asked the shop girl to call again. Almost an hour from the time we'd arrived, we asked her to call a third time. Shortly after that third phone call, the van arrived. In that time, more renters had arrived. The van didn't have enough seats for everyone, and because I'm small, I ended up wedged (so safely) on the floor between the door and a seat.

It wasn't far to the rental place, and we got our car quickly. We complained that they'd wasted a good hour of our short island stop, but that didn't do anyone any good.

DH thought it was a fun adventure driving a British-style car on the "wrong" side of the road, but between the awful maps they gave us and the lack of street signs, we had a horrible time navigating (and we're not idiots in that department).

We did manage to see Hell (who knew it's full of chickens and iguanas?), Seven Mile Beach, and the butterfly farm. But getting from place to place was nerve-wracking. We were irritated at the difficulty in getting the car, irritated at being lost, and we were snappy with one another -- something that we just don't do.

All in all, it was not a good island stop, which is too bad because the place was beautiful -- especially Seven Mile Beach.

To give the devil his due, this was an inexpensive choice for the four of us, but we have agreed that we will not rent a car again on a short cruise island stop.

The car rental idea is not a good idea. I've done it:

...but between the awful maps they gave us and the lack of street signs, we had a horrible time navigating (and we're not idiots in that department).

I'll have to agree about the general lack of street signs. There are some directional signs at the roundabouts but they often point to landmarks (ie, schools straight ahead) and don't list street names.

But you really thought the Avis map was bad? Around here it is usually considered the best map available. I've been known to scrounge one off someone who is returning a car so I can have one on hand for occasional visitors.

Agree with Drew Sailbum that the Avis map is definitely the best available, sure is the most detailed. Now if only I knew where I left mine....

I find that West Bay, by Hell, the Turtle and Dolphin farms and Barkers is the most most confusing driving experience on the island. Mainly due to all the short roads and turns required. Rest of the island is pretty easy to navigate, with or without a map.

I'll have to agree about the general lack of street signs. There are some directional signs at the roundabouts but they often point to landmarks (ie, schools straight ahead) and don't list street names.

 

But you really thought the Avis map was bad? Around here it is usually considered the best map available. I've been known to scrounge one off someone who is returning a car so I can have one on hand for occasional visitors.

In contrast, last summer we did a driving trip among the western national parks, and in over 3000 miles (no GPS) we were really never lost. Occasionally we made a wrong turn, but we always knew where we'd gone wrong and knew how to fix the problem. We're not directional idiots.

Grand Cayman is not an easy place to find your way, and I don't recommend it.

Perhaps it was the lack of street signs rather than the map, but we had a very bad time navigating. ... Grand Cayman is not an easy place to find your way, and I don't recommend it.

We've spent a lot of time in Cayman, and it's taken us years to get used to the lack of not only street signs, but in many cases actual street addresses. Much of the navigation seems to be based on landmarks. My DH and I have a running joke about one building which for our first few years seemed to feature prominantly in all directions we were given. (As in, it's beside the Mirco Centre, turn left at the Mirco Centre, it's in the Mirco Centre, etc.) But, as they say, when in Rome...so, I still have no clue as to most of the street names, but I can find my way almost anywhere by landmarks. :D

However, there are only a few main roads, so even without knowing the landmarks you can find your way to most major destinations if you're willing to explore and consider it to be a bit of an adventure. Even Rum Point is relatively easy to find...there's really only one turn once you're out of George Town. The worst is finding Hell or Dolphin Cove...they're off on side streets and a little difficult to find if you don't know the turns.

I think it's important to think of renting a car and going it on your own as the excursion, rather than as just a means of getting from A to B. The exploring, the uncertainty, the sometimes unintentional extra sightseeing...that's all part of the experience. If you're not looking for that experience, you might be better off sticking with guided excursions where someone else handles that part of things...