Touring agency or native to use in Grand Cayman

[beshears]

There are 7 of us that are coming to Grand Cayman in the next couple of weeks.  We will be there for about 8 hours.  If you have been there before, would you hire a "native" of that area to take us around to do a little sight seeing, snorkling and beach, or a touring guide on how to see Grand Cayman?

[bookbabe]

The most popular/famous attraction is Stingray City, which is a sandbar out in the ocean that you visit by boat and you can swim/snorkel with wild stingrays.  You need an excursion for that, and you will find many threads in this forum recommending companies to use.

 

Cayman is not your typical Caribbean port.  It’s very safe to DIY, and many visitors rent a car to tour the island or just grab a taxi to one of the areas of Seven Mile Beach to have a DIY beach day.  Shopping is downtown right by the port, and includes a lot of high-end products or tacky tourist souvenirs.  There is also snorkeling right by the port (walking distance) at Eden Rock.  It’s not like some of the other ports where you really have to have a tour for safety’s sake.  
 

So, no, you don’t have to hire a guide, but you can book something if you want an easier experience that involves less planning.  The one exception to DIY is the stingrays, you can’t get there without a boat, so that absolutely requires booking something when visiting via cruise ship.

 

Island tours are available through many companies, and you’ll find lots of recommendations in this forum.  For example, Cayman Safari has some that go out to the east end of the island, away from the port and main tourist areas.    https://www.caymansafari.com
 

Note on the snorkel/beach combo - what makes for great beach generally makes for lousy snorkeling, and vice versa.  There are a few spots that have okay beach and okay snorkeling, such as Smith Cove or Rum Point, but they’re not the long stretches of white sandy beach that you’d see on tv.  Rum Point needs a rental car, but you could taxi to Smith Cove.  Again, lots of threads here on both those spots.

 

IMO, your first step should be either reading the other threads in this forum, or doing a quick “what to do in Grand Cayman” google to try to narrow down a bit exactly what you are interested in doing or seeing.  If an island tour, what attractions/sites do you want to visit?  Beach day?  Snorkel excursion?  Stingrays?  Some other attraction?  You won’t be able to see/do it all, not on a one day port stop.  Then, come back with your preferred activities and see if anyone has recommendations related to that activity.   

[beshears]

Bookbabe, thank you for your info, which is helpful. 🙂