Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens, Morritts beach & brewery tour.

[Lost_in_BC]

Hi! I booked a land tour with Cayman Safari Adventures for our day at Grand Cayman this fall. All of the reviews I've read were highly positive, but as most people in Grand Cayman are in the water with the rays, there aren't that many reviews to be read. I'd really like to hear more about the destinations, and I'm hoping a few of you have been to some of these spots over the years.

 

The Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens- I'm a garden geek, so anything about the botanical garden would be awesome. I love to talk plants.

 

Morritt's beach- Anyone ever snorkel at Morritts? If we're only there for an hour, is it worth it to snorkel under the dock? I'd really like to do some snorkeling while we're in Grand Cayman. Originally I was hoping to hit Rum Point, but Morritt's is the stop on the tour. I'd love to hear some reviews of their beach, all I can find is timeshare reviews, and I honestly don't care about the facilities. I want to see some fish!

 

Brewery Tour- Any favorite's. Anything to avoid?

 

Thanks, Laura.

[TurtleTagger]

Have not been to the QEII Botanical Gardens yet...but the blooms are seasonal and Blue Iguanas abound.

 

Morritt's Beach: Most folks snorkel from the Morritt's dock with the gentle current towards the Reef Resort and walk or snorkel back. Not a lot of corals, but plenty of fish, rays, etc...Easily done in an hour or so.

 

Brewery: The Ironshore Bock (not really a bock, reminds me of Bass Ale) tastes phenomenal out of the brewery keg. Much better than from a bottle. CayLight is still my favourite. Regular CayBrew and White Tip Lager are also fine.

[Lost_in_BC]

Thanks! That's what I was hoping for with Moritt's beach.

[bookbabe]

DH loves the snorkeling under the Morritt's dock. Lots of fish, the occasional stingray and eel, and even a couple of small reef sharks (harmless type) once. It's worth going in, especially if you don't have any other snorkeling stops.

[drew sailbum]

The Botanic Park consists of an extensive floral garden and a woodland trail. There are a few native orchids including three species found nowhere else on earth. The Wild Banana Orchid is one of those three endemic species and is our national flower. The annual Cayman Islands Orchid Show, hosted in early March, is incentive to come back and visit for a land based vacation.

 

The Botanic Park is also home to the Blue Iguana Recovery Program. This program is a great success and has brought our endemic blue iguanas, the most critically endangered iguana species on earth, back from the brink of extinction. You will see several tagged blues running around in the Woodland Trail area of the Botanic Park.

 

As a feature the park has a full sized Caymanian Homestead where you can see how a typical Cayman home might have looked a hundred years ago.

 

For a day visitor off a cruise ship the Botanic Park may offer more than you can see in just a few hours. Particularly if you are, as the OP said, a self described garden geek.

 

 

The beach and snorkeling at Morritt's is as far as you can get from the tender piers and still be on Grand Cayman. As such it is rarely visited by cruise ship guests. The beach is never packed. Plenty of room to spread out.

 

The dock at Morritt's provides shade that is preferred by several species of fish. Tarpon have been known to hang out right there. An array of colorful reef fish use the structure of the dock for shelter.

 

 

The Cayman Islands Brewery really does make a fine beer. I am partial to the Ironshore Bock, though the Whitetip Lager is a cool refreshment for a hot day. It is a small brewery with brief tours and tastings available throughout the day. The gift shop can load you up with brew or a few souvenirs such as t-shirts or (for a particularly Caymanian touch) dominoes.

[Lost_in_BC]

 

For a day visitor off a cruise ship the Botanic Park may offer more than you can see in just a few hours. Particularly if you are, as the OP said, a self described garden geek.

.

 

Thanks for the info and the links! I'll check them out. I agree, it looks like a garden I could get lost in for the whole day, or longer. However I'm traveling with my husband who has "other interests' too. DH is very understanding of my obsessions, but even he has a limit. It can't be all about me, all the time. :D A land based Vay-cay would be fun someday, especially while the orchids are in bloom.

 

Drew & bookbabe thanks for the info on the beach! I'm glad to hear such favorable things about the place. DH is really looking forward to snorkeling, even if it's just for an hour or so. It would be so great to see a moray eel or a small shark!

 

The Brewery sounds like a great way to end the day. I'll have to try the Ironshore Bock, it sounds good!