Some Rum Point pics from X-mas

[jsaadat]

http://photobucket.com/albums/d119/jsaadat/2005%20NCL%20Majesty%20Christmas%20Cruise/Grand%20Cayman%20Rum%20point/

[born2crooz]

Wow, the pics are great!!

 

No crowds, which is what I've heard.

 

Ok, give me the details.

 

Obviously you rented a car. From what rental agency? Location? Did they pick you up and transport you to their office? From where??

 

I wasn't going to chance renting a car with 2 kids, but now that I've seen your photos, I'm rethinking my plan.

 

Thanks!!

[jsaadat]

B2C,

We rented from Budget the first time we visited because they had cars close to the tender area...... If I remember right it was about a mile or so away in the parking lot of a hotel. Do a google search for Cayman car rental and you will see what’s available... you will probably have to e-mail them to see what’s avail. Last time we use Avis $60 a day included everything, gas, license, insurance. They pick you up at Hard Rock cafe when you get into port. You just have to call them. They are at the airport which is on the way to rum point anyway....... just have to leave yourself some time to return car and get back to the port which is about 10 minutes from the airport.

Have Fun what ever you do.

J

[jsaadat]

I WAS WRONG............

 

We used Budjet Caymen last time

http://www.budgetcayman.com Contact Jenny

[Gradelady]

Thanks for sharing your pictures of one of my most favorite places in the world!

[jsaadat]

Have had alott of folks emailing me for these pics....... just bumping up.

 

J

[Ltvscout]

Have had alott of folks emailing me for these pics....... just bumping up.

 

J

Ya, after I emailed you yesterday for the pictures I found this message with the link. ;) Thanks for getting back to me right away. We're going to be doing the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour with Nativeways at the end of March.

[twinkletoes4445]

Wow, the pics are great!!

 

No crowds, which is what I've heard.

 

Ok, give me the details.

 

Obviously you rented a car. From what rental agency? Location? Did they pick you up and transport you to their office? From where??

 

I wasn't going to chance renting a car with 2 kids, but now that I've seen your photos, I'm rethinking my plan.

 

Thanks!!

 

We were just at Rum Point recently, and the place was very, very crowded. In fact, there wasn't a chair to be had and people were using the picnic tables near the restaurant as their drop off point. We were either at Rum Point on Monday the 9th or Tuesday the 10th. I don't remember exactly. There were lots of local cars and rental cars in the parking lot and there was one boat (maybe two) which dropped tourists off at the end of the pier.

 

We rented our vehicle from Andy's and were very happy. There was an Andy's office near the airport and one not too far from where we were staying on 7MB.

 

If you rent a car, allow yourself plenty of time to get back to the port area. Toward the Rum Point direction, there is almost no traffic, but toward 7MB area, we were stuck in several traffic tie-ups. There were just so many of those tour buses, that it seemed to get clogged up at times.

 

But we had a wonderful time! GC is paradise, and Rum Point is beautiful. Just don't be expecting it to be a deserted beach...it may be the day you are there, but it wasn't the day we were. :)

[born2crooz]

Wow, I guess the secret is out!

 

I may rethink the Rum Point day at the beach.

 

If it's going to be crowded anyway, I might as well go to 7 mile beach and save the 2 hours travel time.

[twinkletoes4445]

Wow, I guess the secret is out!

 

I may rethink the Rum Point day at the beach.

 

If it's going to be crowded anyway, I might as well go to 7 mile beach and save the 2 hours travel time.

 

It was beautiful...and the drive was fun. There are lots of places you can stop along the way, and lots of secluded beach areas (but Rum Point has a food, a gift shop, jet ski rentals, and other things...and is really a pretty area), but nothing like Rum Point. I don't want to rain on your parade, but when we pulled up to the place, and saw that there wasn't but a couple of places to park, we knew Rum Point wasn't going to be the deserted beach area we thought it was going to be.

 

Whatever you do, have a great time! :)

[jsaadat]

Bump.......... getting lots of e-mails for these pics

[Inshape]

Mariner will be there from 8 to 4. That means we need to be on ship by 3.

Does it pay to rent a car (found cheap rates for Oct for 35$)and head off to Rum Point? Is there parking on 7 mile beach all the way down by cemetery reef if we do not go to Rum Point. The cab would cost 5 each that would make it 40 round trip for the 2 adults and 2 kids...so it still is worth renting the car. But if there is no place to park the car.... pls give some advice on this one pls!

[twinkletoes4445]

Mariner will be there from 8 to 4. That means we need to be on ship by 3.

Does it pay to rent a car (found cheap rates for Oct for 35$)and head off to Rum Point? Is there parking on 7 mile beach all the way down by cemetery reef if we do not go to Rum Point. The cab would cost 5 each that would make it 40 round trip for the 2 adults and 2 kids...so it still is worth renting the car. But if there is no place to park the car.... pls give some advice on this one pls!

 

When you rent your car, you will have to pay for a temp. DL. I seem to remember it was $7.50 or so per person in CD, so US dollars would be 20% more than that. Also, I know we got the insurance, but I am not sure that is something they require you to do.

 

I personally love the drive to Rum Point. It's so different over on that side of the island. There's the blow holes, The Lighthouse Restaurant, and the botanical garden over that direction.

 

There is a lot of parking all along the road (down 7MB). We saw cars parked just about everywhere. We also visited many of the hotels, and just used their parking lot.

 

You might get your car, scoot down to cemetary reef, and beat the crowds, then head over toward Rum Point. The roads were pretty deserted every time we were heading off in that direction. I think Drew posted, that in the morning, the road into town (from that side of the island), is busy with workers coming into GT.

 

Or you might just make a beeline to Rum Point (before the tours get there-because it gets REAL crowded around noon), and enjoy that, and then explore that part of the island before you head back.

 

There's also this really cool gift shop about a mile out of town (when you are going to Rum Point). It's called Pure Art. If you are leaving the port, it's on your left side. It's in an old house (which faces the side street it is on). They have a lot of local artwork...everything from Xmas ornaments...to paintings. It was the neatest shop we found.

[Inshape]

So even with such a little amount of time it still pays to rent the car and go to Rum Point? What about any walkable beaches in town that are nice and sandy for dd who is 11. That way we can walk to eden rock and do snorkeling and then walk to a sandy beach for laying out and enjoying the sand and the water , without renting a car and driving. Really want to get in some snorkeling...

[twinkletoes4445]

So even with such a little amount of time it still pays to rent the car and go to Rum Point? What about any walkable beaches in town that are nice and sandy for dd who is 11. That way we can walk to eden rock and do snorkeling and then walk to a sandy beach for laying out and enjoying the sand and the water , without renting a car and driving. Really want to get in some snorkeling...

 

IMO, it's a pretty drive, and if you can get to Rum Point early, then you could enjoy the area prior to the crowds arriving. We got there around one, and the place was a madhouse. Not a chair to be had. And this was a Tuesday or Wednesday, and I believe there were 4 or 5 ships in port that day. Give yourself an hour each way, if you don't stop anywhere along the way. You shouldn't have any traffic issues, since not many people venture off that way. So if you can get off your ship by 8:30, get the car and be on the road by 9:00, that should give you a good 4 hours of exploring time. The down side to this is if for some reason you can't get off the ship on time...weather is always an unkown factor in GC, but you still should have time to explore.

 

I think Eden Rock is right near the port, but I don't think there's much, if any of a beach area there. As for walking, I think any part of 7MB is too far to walk to (but that's just me). When we were there, we saw a lot of cruisers walking quite a distance from the port area. You could always snorkle at Eden Rock, then grab a cab to one of the hotels. We were staying at the Regal Beach Club, and the Marriott was right next door. I don't know if they let cruisers use their chairs (and things like that), but the great thing about having a cab drop you off at a hotel, is that it's very easy to catch one when you are ready to leave. There's always Sea Grape Beach, although it's on the far end of 7MB...which tends to get snagged up with traffic (at least we noticed it did around the new Ritz).

 

I suppose it's all in what you want. We loved the drive and just looking at the area. But then, we were there all week and had plenty of time to see everything. Eden Rock is very popular for snorkeling, but I just can't think of any beach area that is easy to walk to. You might start a thread and ask posters what beach area on 7MB is closest to the port area. I know that there is a place called Royal Palms, or something like that, that's not too far down 7MB area, but you'd still need to take a cab.

 

One great thing about GC is if you do rent a car, and have any problems, it's safe to walk for help. You can't do that on very many islands in the Caribbean. That would be the down side to a rental car...should you have mechanical problems. Our Sprint phones worked while we were on the island...as a matter of fact, we called our kids from all sorts of different places on the island and had no trouble getting through to them.

 

I hope this helps. I know it's hard to figure out what to do when you have such a short period of time on the island. We love just driving and looking at the area, so a car is something we'd do (even as short of a time as you will be there). If you really want beach time, and snorkle time, then if this is your first time, you might want to snorkle at Eden Rock, and then grab a cab to 7MB for some relax time.

 

Also, with a rental car, you need to factor in the time you spend picking up and returning the car. :)

[martdm]

We were at Rum Point last Wednesday (4/12) and it was very quiet when we arrived in mid-morning. Our jeep tour guide told us to make sure to grab some chairs right away because it would start getting crowded. We did so and were fine but unfortunately, at about noon, all the tour boats started to arrive and the place quickly became so crowded you couldn't even get a food or drink order in at the bar.

 

When we left, we thanked our guide for clueing us in on the mad rush that was to come after us and told him how surprised we were that the small boats had so many people. He stated his opinion was that many of the tour boats weren't seaworthy enough and that they were often overloaded and he felt there was bound to be an accident. Go figure there was one just a few days later!

 

Anyway, we loved Rum Point but my recommendation to anyone thinking about a visit is to do it as a morning activity & then move on or get there by at least 10:30 to stake out some chairs & some space to relax in before the crowds hit.

[Inshape]

Thanks!

[twinkletoes4445]

Anyway, we loved Rum Point but my recommendation to anyone thinking about a visit is to do it as a morning activity & then move on or get there by at least 10:30 to stake out some chairs & some space to relax in before the crowds hit.

 

That is good advice. We were really disappointed how crowded it was. But I suppose now that there are tour companies offering stops there, that is to be expected. Next time we are there, we are going to get over to Rum Point early.