Our day in Grand Cayman

[cruisinqt]

We just got back from Grand Cayman while on board the Grand Princess. We decided to rent a car from Avis and do a little exploring on our own. The rental was an all-inclusive for $45 which included gas, driving permit, and insurance. The car was a compact big enough for 5 people with plenty of space for souvenirs in the trunk area. I think their website is at www.aviscayman.com.

 

We walked the 2 blocks to the Blue Iguana gift shop where we told the lady at the register that we were there to be picked up by Avis. It took about 10 minutes for them to arrive and we got to the rental place in about 5 minutes. There was no waiting line and we were on the road in less than 10 minutes. The woman that checked us in gave us a very detailed map and showed us how to get where we were wanting to go.

 

Driving on the left hand side of the road was an adventure, but it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. If you just follow the flow of traffic it's pretty easy. The only difficult thing was the little traffic circles they have where you go around on the left side and then pick up your road again oon the other side. If you follow the car in front of you then it's not that hard. And if you do take a wrong turn, don't worry, most of the roads run along the beach anyways. There are very few main roads on Grand Cayman and it's easy to find your way around, the roads are all clearly marked. I am terrible at directions, but never got lost.:)

 

First, we went to the turtle farm where you get to see turtles in every stage of life from newborn to very large adults. They will hand you turtles and let you hold them and take pictures with them which is cool. We got some great photos and now my kids favorite animal is a turtle.

 

Next, we went to Hell which is really just a small outcropping of hellish looking rocks. But the neat thing is that they have a post office there which will postmark your postcards as being from "Hell." Sending postcards from hell is fun and the postcards are funny and cheap. You can get them 3 for a dollar with sayings like "Greetings from Hell" or "I've been to Hell and it aint so bad." The t-shirts are equally fun with sayings like "I'd rather be in Hell than go to work" or "I went to Hell and survived." I got one that said "I drove on the left side of the road in Hell and survived." That t-shirt got tons of comments when I wore it on the ship.:)

 

When we returned the car to Avis they drove us straight back to the pier. They offered to drop us off anywhere we wanted along the pier area to do some shopping, but we really like the shops right up around the pier area. We did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship with about an hour to spare before the last tender left. Overall, it was a great experience and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Most excursions cost $45 or more per person and we all got to go where ever we wanted to for however long we wanted to for only $45 total. Not bad at all! I would definitely recommend doing this for those on a budget, it's the best bang for the buck out there. :D

[sanditoes4]

Do you know how I could ahold of one of those maps??? We have reservations with Capt. Marvin, but I love knowing I have a good map, just incase and I haven't found a good one on line yet?? I am sure it is too big to scan in so do you have a direct # for me to call??? I looked at there web site and it seems they only give them to people that rent cars, can you think of a sneaky way for me to get one??

 

Thanks,

[cruisinqt]

I'm not really sure how to get one of their maps and we didn't keep ours or I would mail it to you, but I have another idea that might help. Before I go to a place I visit our local library and check out books about that place. I know Frommer's has several books on the Caribbean and Foddor's has a guide to the Cayman islands. You could probably find some good maps in one of those books. Just take it to an office supply place and make some copies of the maps you like. I hope this helps, enjoy your time in Grand Cayman, it's one of our favorite ports.:)

[pajara2]

Thanks for the great review. This is kind of what we're doing. I have my car reservation all ready. I too want to mail several post cards from Hell and we want to go to several beaches/snorkle sights mentioned on this board. Glad to hear it was such a good experience!

 

A..

[cruisinqt]

The funny thing about the postcards is that we were back from our vacation for a week when they finally arrived.:rolleyes: Maybe it was the time of year or something, but it took 2 weeks for the postcards to arrive. But our family and friends still got a kick out of them. Everyone found them quite funny.:)

[scootepie66]

After reading your reviews we booked a reservation to rent a car. We like to geocache (geocaching.com) and there are a couple on the island we want to find. Thanks for the idea.

[guttermandave]

this might be a silly question....but i noticed on the avis website...they offer left hand drive cars and right hand cars...being from the states..i am used to the left hand drive...but driving on the left side of the road might be tricky...what side was the driver on in your car...what would you recommend?

[Stevesan]

this might be a silly question....but i noticed on the avis website...they offer left hand drive cars and right hand cars...being from the states..i am used to the left hand drive...but driving on the left side of the road might be tricky...what side was the driver on in your car...what would you recommend?

 

You'd likely best opt for the left hand drive with controls and pedals where you expect them to be.

You really wouldn't want to step on the accelerator instead of the brake, and with the wrong foot, too!:eek:

 

It's not difficult to operate a left hand drive on the left (wrong) side of the road - much like driving in the left lane on a multilane one way street.

[drew sailbum]

You'd likely best opt for the left hand drive with controls and pedals where you expect them to be.

You really wouldn't want to step on the accelerator instead of the brake, and with the wrong foot, too!:eek:

 

It's not difficult to operate a left hand drive on the left (wrong) side of the road - much like driving in the left lane on a multilane one way street.

 

Huh!!??!!?? Gas and brake pedals are laid out the same in RHD cars as in LHD... gas is furtherest to the right.

 

However, in RHD cars, frequently the turn signal is shifted to the right side of the steering wheel with wipers controlled on the left. No worry. When the locals see a car with a white license plate (indicating a rental) with the wipers on unexpectedly, we assume you're about to turn.

 

Stay left.

[twinkletoes4445]

When the locals see a car with a white license plate (indicating a rental) with the wipers on unexpectedly, we assume you're about to turn.

 

Stay left.

 

LOL...That will be us!!! Hubby is a tad bit nervous about this. He'll probably get the hang of it on day seven of our vacation! :)

[anne-1]

If you rent a car are there any beaches you can get to, without hotels like Public beaches , It has been 11 years since we were in caymen , and we just took a cab to 7 mile beach and spent the day there after the sub tour which i was not crazy about ,I like the idea of touring the Island , but I want my beach time and also lunch on the beachy , any ideas on that ,

we will check into the car rental Idea , Thanks

ANNE

[MelTed]

After reading your reviews we booked a reservation to rent a car. We like to geocache (geocaching.com) and there are a couple on the island we want to find. Thanks for the idea.

 

We like to geocache also, and I've been looking for caches on Grand Cayman, but have not figured out how to locate them on geocaching.com. Not sure what country it is listed on. Can you provide me with any info you might have?

[MelTed]

We like to geocache also, and I've been looking for caches on Grand Cayman, but have not figured out how to locate them on geocaching.com. Not sure what country it is listed on. Can you provide me with any info you might have?

 

Thanks anyway, got it covered! ;)

[scootepie66]

I have several on my watchlist, it has been fun reading them and getting us even more excited about our cruise, if that is possible. If we are able to to get a few geocaches on this trip it will be our first international cache.:)

[RanDe]

Do you know how I could ahold of one of those maps??? We have reservations with Capt. Marvin, but I love knowing I have a good map, just incase and I haven't found a good one on line yet?? I am sure it is too big to scan in so do you have a direct # for me to call??? I looked at there web site and it seems they only give them to people that rent cars, can you think of a sneaky way for me to get one??

 

Thanks,

 

Did you ever find a map? Here is a link for a Grand Cayman online map:

http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/cy/gcmap.shtml

 

De

[Mgetta]

this might be a silly question....but i noticed on the avis website...they offer left hand drive cars and right hand cars...being from the states..i am used to the left hand drive...but driving on the left side of the road might be tricky...what side was the driver on in your car...what would you recommend?

 

I've driven both cars in England, driving on the left. All of the controls are in the same place your used to. However, there's no doubt that it is much easier to drive the left hand drive car that you are used to. When driving the right hand drive, I almost sideswiped cars with the left of my car, as I was not used to having so much of the car on my left. Also tended to drive up on the curb. Especially when making left hand turns, for some reason. One of the main problems with a left hand drive, is passing other cars on the right. You won't be able to see behind you well unless you have a passenger who can look for you and tell you when it's clear. But you probably won't be doing much passing.

 

You are usually so conscious of driving on the left hand side of the road that you do all right until you pull out of a parking lot, especially when there is no traffic on the road to remind you of staying on the left.

[jstazy]

MelTed

 

Were you able to find any of the caches? We will be on the island in Dec and would like to find some also.

 

Thanks!!

[mom2b41]

MelTed

 

Were you able to find any of the caches? We will be on the island in Dec and would like to find some also.

 

Thanks!!

 

Jstazy: we are going to be in GC in about 2 weeks, and we are planning on doing some geocaching...will let you know how it goes! :p