Beaches - Cayman Islands

[LICruiser61]

Hey all...  I have seen several threads about the lack of beaches on Grand Cayman (George Town).  Just wondering if there are any updates in this regard.  Haven't seen much lately and hoping there are more options now.  We will be there on MSC Seascape on February 2nd, 2023.  We are simply looking for a beach to plop down on and have some drinks and snacks.  Our ship does not arrive until 10:00am.  Looks like Public Beach would be our best bet.  Has anyone had any better experiences, or heard of any newly refurbished beaches that may be open by then?

 

Thanks in advance for any responses!!

[Tyler414]

I'll be there in January, first time for me...similar situation, looking for a beach day.  From what I've read the first thing is getting off the ship, our ship arrives at 10am as well.  Passengers with ship booked excursions get off first, a post from a cruise last week that stopped in GC stated that they did not have an excursion or priority and didn't get off the ship until close to noon.... What I decided to do is a 2 hour snorkeling excursion starting at 10:30am (hopefully first off) back to port at 12:30 and then off to the beach.  Not a lot to chose from as far as "beach clubs" seems like Coral Beach is about the only option I can see that serve food and drinks and have facilities to use, so that as of now is the plan.  Public beach seems like another option with less services (food, drink, restrooms)  I've read that Coral can get crowed, but crowds do not bother me.

[bookbabe]

There has been no real change since the other threads were active.  Coral and Public are your two options with facilities on SMB.  No new beach clubs have been opened.

[elaine5]

can one take a mat and just sit on the beach at Coral resort if chairs are already booked up?

 

[Cruz425]

It’s been four years since we have been to 7 mile beach and from what I have read, many beach bars and vendors have closed down due to the lack of travel in the past few years.

we are returning in February’23 and would love to spend the day on the beach. Does anyone know wether or not loungers are available to rent on Public Beach.

[NikNakPattyWak11]

Was just at Public Beach this past week. Easy to get to by taking a taxi/van from the cruise port. $6 a person each way. There are taxis waiting in the parking lot at Public Beach for your return back to port. It was a lot busier and more going on than I thought there would be. I came prepared with a beach blanket because I couldn't figure out for sure if there would be rentals. There were tons of chairs and umbrellas all set up. A lady walked up to us and asked if we wanted to rent 2 chairs, an umbrella and have wifi for $20. Yes, please! We had chairs right at the water line. Wifi was a little spotty, but was able to check in back home. The water was clear and fun to float in the waves. It was a great beach day. There were also locals set up selling food and drinks. There were restrooms there, but I never used them so I can't tell you what they were like. 

[JohninDC]

8 hours ago, NikNakPattyWak11 said:

Was just at Public Beach this past week. Easy to get to by taking a taxi/van from the cruise port. $6 a person each way. There are taxis waiting in the parking lot at Public Beach for your return back to port. It was a lot busier and more going on than I thought there would be. I came prepared with a beach blanket because I couldn't figure out for sure if there would be rentals. There were tons of chairs and umbrellas all set up. A lady walked up to us and asked if we wanted to rent 2 chairs, an umbrella and have wifi for $20. Yes, please! We had chairs right at the water line. Wifi was a little spotty, but was able to check in back home. The water was clear and fun to float in the waves. It was a great beach day. There were also locals set up selling food and drinks. There were restrooms there, but I never used them so I can't tell you what they were like. 

Thanks for the feedback! 😎

[big al]

On 12/18/2022 at 10:37 PM, NikNakPattyWak11 said:

Was just at Public Beach this past week. Easy to get to by taking a taxi/van from the cruise port. $6 a person each way. There are taxis waiting in the parking lot at Public Beach for your return back to port. It was a lot busier and more going on than I thought there would be. I came prepared with a beach blanket because I couldn't figure out for sure if there would be rentals. There were tons of chairs and umbrellas all set up. A lady walked up to us and asked if we wanted to rent 2 chairs, an umbrella and have wifi for $20. Yes, please! We had chairs right at the water line. Wifi was a little spotty, but was able to check in back home. The water was clear and fun to float in the waves. It was a great beach day. There were also locals set up selling food and drinks. There were restrooms there, but I never used them so I can't tell you what they were like. 

Thanks for the info..which "Public Beach" are you referring to? There's about 5 "public" beaches in GC....any name for it, or just say "public beach"? Thanks..going in April...maybe some of the beach clubs will be open by then... 

 

Big Al

[Tyler414]

28 minutes ago, big al said:

Thanks for the info..which "Public Beach" are you referring to? There's about 5 "public" beaches in GC....any name for it, or just say "public beach"? Thanks..going in April...maybe some of the beach clubs will be open by then... 

 

Big Al

Just a guess, but probably the one named “Public Beach”

[bookbabe]

21 hours ago, big al said:

Thanks for the info..which "Public Beach" are you referring to? There's about 5 "public" beaches in GC....any name for it, or just say "public beach"? Thanks..going in April...maybe some of the beach clubs will be open by then... 

 

Big Al

Nope, not a public beach, it’s Public Beach. 😉 

 

When people talk about Public Beach, they are generally referring to the public beach at the far end of Seven Mile Beach from the port, beside the Kimpton Seafire.  Other public beaches pretty much all have either a different name entirely, ie Smith Cove Barcadere, or they are referred to with the name of the town or district, ie Cayman Kai Public Beach.

 

And the only beach club left is Coral Beach.  None of the others are planning to reopen at all, let alone any time soon, at least as far as articles in the newspapers state.

https://coralbeach.ky

[emmy]

On 12/25/2022 at 9:00 AM, bookbabe said:

Nope, not a public beach, it’s Public Beach. 😉 

 

When people talk about Public Beach, they are generally referring to the public beach at the far end of Seven Mile Beach from the port, beside the Kimpton Seafire.  Other public beaches pretty much all have either a different name entirely, ie Smith Cove Barcadere, or they are referred to with the name of the town or district, ie Cayman Kai Public Beach.

 

And the only beach club left is Coral Beach.  None of the others are planning to reopen at all, let alone any time soon, at least as far as articles in the newspapers state.

https://coralbeach.ky

will be in Grand Cayman early Feb on Celebrity Beyond.  Any idea if there are beach chair rentals there at ‘Public Beach’? 

[big al]

1 hour ago, emmy said:

will be in Grand Cayman early Feb on Celebrity Beyond.  Any idea if there are beach chair rentals there at ‘Public Beach’? 

Look at a post # 8..they say there are "beach chairs & umbrellas all set up "...unless any of the beach clubs open ( and one post said there are no plans for that..) , we are going there in April...

[TravellingBritNY]

Coral Beach is your only option for a turnkey beach club.  It's not a great beach - has had some erosion due to being on the southern end of Seven Mile Beach (SMB).

 

All beaches in the Cayman Islands are public, but there is only one Public Beach, which is a stretch of Seven Mile Beach, pretty much in the middle of it, north/south.  There are chair and umbrella rentals there, plus lots of watersport options.  Restrooms there are very clean, and you can change in them, based on my experiences.

 

There are plenty of food options there - food trucks and locals set up their stalls, especially when cruise visitors are in.  The quality of the beach there is far better than Coral Beach, too.  of you want something nicer, you can walk up the beach a stretch to the Kimpton where there is a beach bar/restaurant called Coccoloba - https://www.coccolobacaymanislands.com/

 

If you just want to pick up some food and drink at the supermarket and head to a beach, there are two more sections of Seven Mile Beach that are worth visiting - Cemetery Beach and Governor's Beach - there are no facilities at either of them, but there are often porta-potties at Governor's - those are far less crowded, of course.

 

[Nanatravel]

On 12/26/2022 at 1:20 PM, emmy said:

will be in Grand Cayman early Feb on Celebrity Beyond.  Any idea if there are beach chair rentals there at ‘Public Beach’? 

Emmy, are you on Beyond on the 6th?  You seem like a lady who would enjoy the knitters and crochetiers group.