Grand Cayman: Stingray sandbar, turtle farm, HELL

[Cruise Monkey]

I am going to Grand Cayman on the Inspiration next month and wanted to take a tour of Stingray sandbar, turtle farm, AND Hell - not OR. Now I have done these before, but the people going with me have not and want to experience them. I have looked at Native Ways as well as Captain Marvins and can't find a tour that does all 3. It was 10 years ago that I did all three and don't remember who I booked with. Now if I book through Carnival, they have a tour that does all 3 for $65/per person.

 

Questions is, has anyone done this tour with Carnival, and is it worth it? Is it crowded? Is the free drink on the way back alcohol (I am assuming so)? Are there any other tour operators that anyone has used that does all 3 and has had good experiences with? Any other comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.:D

[RollerCoasterLover]

Cruise Monkey,

 

Do you know of anyone that does just turtles and hell? Our family is going in May and we have already done the stingrays, but would love to do the other two. If you have found someone independent, that would be cool. We are open to ideas.

[grammacassi]

I am going to Grand Cayman on the Inspiration next month and wanted to take a tour of Stingray sandbar, turtle farm, AND Hell - not OR. Now I have done these before, but the people going with me have not and want to experience them. I have looked at Native Ways as well as Captain Marvins and can't find a tour that does all 3. It was 10 years ago that I did all three and don't remember who I booked with. Now if I book through Carnival, they have a tour that does all 3 for $65/per person.

 

Questions is, has anyone done this tour with Carnival, and is it worth it? Is it crowded? Is the free drink on the way back alcohol (I am assuming so)? Are there any other tour operators that anyone has used that does all 3 and has had good experiences with? Any other comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.:D

 

In 2007 we did this tour with Nativeways. We had a private driver for our family of 6 and a couple. We went to theTurtle Farm, a Tortuga rumcake outlet, toured the island a bit, went to Hell, then out to swim with the stingrays. It was much cheaper than on the ship. About $70 total per person if I remember correctly. It was such a wonderful trip. I highly recommend Nativeways if they are still doing this tour.

Cassi

[scgamecock]

Cruise Monkey,

 

Do you know of anyone that does just turtles and hell? Our family is going in May and we have already done the stingrays, but would love to do the other two. If you have found someone independent, that would be cool. We are open to ideas.

 

We booked a tour through Cayman In A Nutshell (squeeze the words together and add .com to the end) and I highly recommend them. We were the only ones on the tour that day, so we really got the VIP treatment. We even stopped at the Rumcake factory even though that wasn't supposed to be part of the tour. The turtle farm was really cool as was the rumcake factory and Hell was interesting. It was just $30/pp.

 

They also have tours including the stingrays as well.

[JohninDC]

Most tours in Cayman Islands do not include free booze - the taxes are too high. Good luck!:)

[RollerCoasterLover]

We booked a tour through Cayman In A Nutshell (squeeze the words together and add .com to the end) and I highly recommend them. We were the only ones on the tour that day, so we really got the VIP treatment. We even stopped at the Rumcake factory even though that wasn't supposed to be part of the tour. The turtle farm was really cool as was the rumcake factory and Hell was interesting. It was just $30/pp.

 

They also have tours including the stingrays as well.

 

 

Thanks!! That is an awesome website! I will definitely be on there for a while when determining all of our shore excursions!

[Cruise Monkey]

Thanks for all of the information. I will email native ways as well as Cayman in a nutshell and see if they have those packages. Has anyone else had any experiences with Cayman in a nutshell?

 

Thanks.

[Cruise Monkey]

Has anyone done this itinerary on a Carnival sponsored tour? Is it packed, and is it worth it. My only thought is that it seems that this itinerary will take some time, and I would like to be able to walk around the town for a bit. Assuming that I can get on a tender first on a Carnival sponsored tour, this may be worth it. As opposed to waiting until 9 or 9:30...

 

Thanks.

[debster818]

Where and what is HELL? (boy that did not come out right) Seriously, I heard just the word HELL, but do not know anything about it.

[MacSmooth]

Where and what is HELL? (boy that did not come out right) Seriously, I heard just the word HELL, but do not know anything about it.

It's a small "town" on Grand Cayman where they have these weird black limestone formations. Some people say they imagine that's what "Hell" would look like. Plus people get a kick out of the Hell gift shop and all the signs that say Hell. They even have a post office, so you can get your postcards mailed with a postmark "From Hell". It's an interesting little stop. My wife and I did it as part of the 4X4 Jeep Adventure at Grand Cayman.

[reno3]

I am going to Grand Cayman on the Inspiration next month and wanted to take a tour of Stingray sandbar, turtle farm, AND Hell - not OR. Now I have done these before, but the people going with me have not and want to experience them. I have looked at Native Ways as well as Captain Marvins and can't find a tour that does all 3. It was 10 years ago that I did all three and don't remember who I booked with. Now if I book through Carnival, they have a tour that does all 3 for $65/per person.

 

Questions is, has anyone done this tour with Carnival, and is it worth it? Is it crowded? Is the free drink on the way back alcohol (I am assuming so)? Are there any other tour operators that anyone has used that does all 3 and has had good experiences with? Any other comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.:D

 

 

Nativeway calls it the Stingray and Island Tour.

[lrmrtn]

We are doing this through Capt Marvin's. They have it as two separate tours but you can do them back to back (stingray/snorkel and island tour). We are doing the 1/2 day snorkel and island tour and it is about $70 total but you can also do a shorter stingray/snorkel tour which will make it a bit cheaper. If you just want to see turtle farm and hell, it is about $30. There are a lot of good reviews for Capt Marvins here and you can google it to find their website. I will share our experience once we go on this tour next month.

[hawkshoe]

We booked a tour through Cayman In A Nutshell (squeeze the words together and add .com to the end) and I highly recommend them. We were the only ones on the tour that day, so we really got the VIP treatment. We even stopped at the Rumcake factory even though that wasn't supposed to be part of the tour. The turtle farm was really cool as was the rumcake factory and Hell was interesting. It was just $30/pp.

 

They also have tours including the stingrays as well.

 

We used Cayman in a nutshell too. They were great. We did Stingray city, snorkeling, the turtle farm, hell, lunch on the beach and the rumcake facory. Great trip. I highly recommend them.

[tmitchell82]

We are doing this through Capt Marvin's. They have it as two separate tours but you can do them back to back (stingray/snorkel and island tour). We are doing the 1/2 day snorkel and island tour and it is about $70 total but you can also do a shorter stingray/snorkel tour which will make it a bit cheaper. If you just want to see turtle farm and hell, it is about $30. There are a lot of good reviews for Capt Marvins here and you can google it to find their website. I will share our experience once we go on this tour next month.

 

This is the same thing we did on out last cruise. Did the Stingray's first and then the Island Tour all arranged through Captain Marvin's. Worked out great. Finished the Stingray snorkel and our tour guide picked us up at the dock where the stingray tour ended and we went to the turtle farm, Hell, and a few other places. Just as to have the island tour booked after the Stingray snorkel. Great tour.

[lrmrtn]

This is the same thing we did on out last cruise. Did the Stingray's first and then the Island Tour all arranged through Captain Marvin's. Worked out great. Finished the Stingray snorkel and our tour guide picked us up at the dock where the stingray tour ended and we went to the turtle farm, Hell, and a few other places. Just as to have the island tour booked after the Stingray snorkel. Great tour.

 

Thanks, glad to know we picked a good tour! They have had great customer service so far - have answered all of our emails very quickly. I'll post a review when we get back.

[Cruise Monkey]

Ok, so I emailed Native Ways and they replied saying that the tour wont be back until after the last tender leaves back to the ship. That would be bad. I guess that I am stuck with the Carnival sponsored excursion. It includes stops at all the places that I want to see, and is about the same price. Also, if it is tardy, the ship will wait for us. Only problem is that so far there are 300 people registered according to the Carnival spokesman. So, does anyone have any reviews on this excursion? Anything would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[misssea]

We did this excursion in 2008 through Carnival. Overall it was a great excursion. There are more people than you would find on a private excursion. The trip to Hell was quick. It was interesting but I wouldn't care if I didn't go there. Then we went to the rum factory and almost everyone bought sweet treats to take home. The turtle farm was pretty neat and we got to hold turtles which were a foot long. You then get on a boat which takes you out on to the sand bar. There were lots of stingrays and we got to feed them. The downside: There were so many people getting off of the cruise ship that we were late getting started on the tour so we were not able to have extra time to go shopping at the Stingray City store. Also, the people that run the excursion took pictures that were supposed to be downloaded on our way back but something happened to their computer and so we didn't get any pictures. I am pretty sure it was not an alcoholic beverage that we got on the way back. The stingray experience was worth it even with some things not going our way.

[Cruise Monkey]

Ok, thanks for the information. I'm going to book this and let you guys know how it ends up. Thanks again.

[beccafries]

So, on the capt marvin Island tour Cayman Islands, u dont stop at the Rum Cake Factory?? that's the only stop I see they dont make, and we really want that....did they stop there for you guys?

[beccafries]

Also , were did Capt marvin meet ya? it says at the Waterfront Center is that when u get off the ship?

[navybaby1113]

What is the name of the Carnival tour that includes rum factory, turtle farm, hell, and stingrays? Also, do your remember how much it was?

[EnTnSA]

What is the name of the Carnival tour that includes rum factory, turtle farm, hell, and stingrays? Also, do your remember how much it was?

 

 

You can do this tour through Capt. Marvin's at about 1/2 the price. We did it in October (see my review), and i believe it was 35 dollars per person. Went on a bus tour of the island, stops at the Rum cake factory, Hell, and Turtle farm. Well worth the money if you are staying on land.

 

I really wanted to do the Stingray tour, but weather put a damper on that when i was there.