Question for Bookbabe

[Bravedasher]

You really seem to know a lot about GC which I appreciate. I think you may be the one who owns a condo near Rum Point? Anyway, if you had only 6-7 hours to spend on beautiful GC, what exactly would you do with your time there and where would you go?

[bookbabe]

<blush> Yup, my family is the one with a house at Rum Point. We don’t live there year-round, so I’m not as expert as folks like DrewSailbum and TurtleTagger, but we probably spend total of a couple of months a year in Cayman, so I’ve spent enough time there to have some favourite activities and attractions.

What would I do with my day if I was a cruise ship visitor?

#1 – Visit Stingray City

My DH and I first discovered Stingray City on our honeymoon cruise. We took one of those packed cruise ship excursions, but still had a fabulous time. It’s an experience not to be missed, even for the more timid souls that stay on the boat instead of getting in the water with the stingrays. We never get tired of it, no matter how many times we visit.

My favourite way to get there is by jetski, although any of the excursions from the commonly-mentioned tour companies would probably give you an equally good time. Unfortunately, I don’t have any specific company recommendations, since we use our own transportation to get there now.

#2a – stop at Royal Palms for lunch and a swim

My DH loves Royal Palms. He tries to include a stop there on every trip into town, even when we’re just running in for groceries. Me, I love their mudslides. Haven’t tried out the new pool yet, but it looks really nice.

Any of the commonly-mentioned beach bars (RP, Seagrape, Tiki Beach) along Seven Mile Beach is pretty good, though. Nice beach, free facilities, tasty food/drink, rental chairs/umbrellas, watersports rentals…an easy, economical, safe, clean way to enjoy one of Cayman’s best beaches.

…or #2b – snorkel at Eden Rock

This is DH’s other favourite spot. When we’re in town, if he doesn’t squeeze in a swim at RP, it’s a snorkel at ER. :D It’s just to the right of the port area, about a two minute walk, and has rental lockers and gear. There’s a ladder down to the water, although the reef itself is pretty far from shore. It’s a longer swim than it looks, so fins are a must, and a life vest if you’re not a frequent snorkeller. DH says the “real” Eden Rock (the dive centre a little further down the street) is a bit better than the entry labelled Eden Rock at the Paradise Restaurant (the closer spot). However, the restaurant has better spots for people to wait if part of your group isn’t snorkelling, and they make pretty good drinks.

#3 – browse some shops near the port area

While I’m not a big fan of the high end jewellery and stuff that a lot of the shops focus on, I do have a few favourite stores for clothing and souvenirs. Most of these stores have either funny t-shirts or fairly tropical-themed items, or a good assortment of durable men's t-shirts in large sizes...when we're shopping, that's what we're usually looking for. They'll also have the usual magnets, shot glasses, nic-nacs, cheaper jewellery, etc. - you know, the tourist-y stuff. :D

To the right of the port area, there’s Blue Iguana, Latitude 19 and a new store (Green Monkey? Crazy Monkey? Monkey something) that always have a pretty good selection and fairly good quality merchandise.

To the left, in the back of the Margaritaville plaza, there’s a good t-shirt shop (the one without walls). The Margaritaville store itself also has some nice stuff, but it’s a little pricey.

In about the middle of the stretch is one of our favourite stores, The Pirate Store (that’s what we’ve always called it, although that’s probably not its name). It’s in the basement of the building that has Breezes restaurant on the top floor and a jewellery store on the main floor, and has a good selection of pirate-themed stuff plus lots of larger t-shirt sizes.

If you still have time, grab an ice cream at the store in the upper level of Royal Watler Terminal, or from the Dairy Queen across the street, and do some people-watching…lots of fun.

That would probably use up most of the day…which is why we started visiting Cayman for longer land-based vacations. There’s too much to do to fit it all into a 7 hour visit!

[drew sailbum]

<blush> We don’t live there year-round, so I’m not as expert as folks like DrewSailbum and TurtleTagger, ...

<blush>

 

 

If you still have time, grab an ice cream at the store in the upper level of Royal Watler Terminal, or from the Dairy Queen ...

Alas it seems the ice cream store closed. Dairy Queen will have to do.

 

..and do some people-watching…lots of fun.

And that is endlessly amusing!

[bookbabe]

Alas it seems the ice cream store closed. Dairy Queen will have to do.[/font]

 

Already? That didn't last long. :( Too bad, their ice cream was pretty good.

 

Am I remembering correctly from the quick drive-by that we did during our Christmas/NY trip, that there's a new ice cream place further along that stretch, towards West Bay Road? I think it was just past Seven Fathoms, in that stretch of road maybe?

[Bravedasher]

WOW Bookbabe! That was a fantastic reply! I'm going to print it out and take it along. We've always stayed away from the Stingray thing mainly because of so many tourists, but we may have to do it this time. And the snorkling spot sounds awesome. Thank you so much and enjoy your time on GC--you are a lucky lady!