What to do in George Town?

[burritopunk]

Greetings all. I will soon be embarking on a 5 night out of Ft. Lauderdale to Ocho Rios and George Town, Grand Cayman with my girlfriend. For Jamaica, I think we want to do the Dunn's River Falls, but what are some other cool sites we should look into?

For Grand Cayman, i've heard great things about 7 mile beach. We want to snorkle a little bit...is there much to see at this beach? Are there any excursions anyone here would recommend us doing? Thanks!

[Cam6959]

Georgetown definately go see the sting rays! A must! My husband and son enjoyed the rafting down the river at Ocho Rios.

[MrsKnuts2]

Do the Stingray City Tour in the morning so that you'll see and feed more stingrays. If you can find a tour that only has a dozen or so people on the boat, we did the Personalized Stingray Tour through Royal Caribbean. My husband can't swim, the water is only about waist to chest deep and he had an absolute ball. We saw some boats so crowded by the time the last passenger got into the water it was time for them to leave.

[Cam6959]

Yes, both times we did W Caribbean we did the Cockatoo Catamaran. Not overly crowded and they get right up to where the stingrays are! Also they are very environment conscience unlike some I saw! Enjoy!

[superjerryw]

Definitely go to Stingray City in Grand Cayman. Rather than use the ships excursions you can book on your own with a number of companies. I recommend Captain Marvins. They have a few different tours to Stingray City. One tour is about 4 hours and includes not only Stingray City, but a stop at a barrier reef and at the coral gardens for snorkeling.

 

http://www.captainmarvins.com/

 

If your ship leaves late enough in the day Captain Marvin's shuttle can drop you at Seven Mile Beach when you get off the boat.

[GMoney]

I totally agree with Jerry. The Coral Gardens are even better than the stingrays, but the rays are a must if you've never done them.

[burritopunk]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! Keep 'em coming! I might be leaning towards the coral reef snorkeling since we want to actually take a dip in the caribbean, but maybe i'll find a great stingray excursion.

 

Also, is Seven Mile Beach a free public beach? Can I get in if I don't book an excursion? If so, is there much to see underwater there? I'm thinking maybe stingray city then SMB if there is anything worth seeing.

[superjerryw]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! Keep 'em coming! I might be leaning towards the coral reef snorkeling since we want to actually take a dip in the caribbean, but maybe i'll find a great stingray excursion.

 

Also, is Seven Mile Beach a free public beach? Can I get in if I don't book an excursion? If so, is there much to see underwater there? I'm thinking maybe stingray city then SMB if there is anything worth seeing.

 

Seven Mile Beach is free, but nothing really worth while for snorkeling. As far as the beach, you need to go somewhere that has facilities. When you get off the tender you can take a taxi to the beach for about $4 per person. The taxi can drop you at one of several beach clubs where you pay a modest admission price for the use of a chair, umbrella, toilet, etc. Although the beach is free, the major hotels do not sell day passes and don't really want cruise ship passengers hanging out and trying to use their facilities.

[monis20]

I agree with Jerry booking with Capt Marvin thats what we did when we went to Georgetown. We even got there late and they just booked us for another time. They are a great company and we still had time to shop after to. Hope you enjoy...

[cb at sea]

You can go to any of the beaches along seven mile beach. There are chair and umbrella rentals at all of them. True--you can't go to the hotels, for the most part, but you really don't need to. There are restroom facilities, snack-bar/restaurant/bars on the beach for your eating and drinking pleasure, and though the beach isn't as wide as some here in the States, it's clean and quite pleasant! Just be aware of the traffic--when we were there, it took about 20 mins. to get to the beach we wanted (can't remember the name, sorry!) but because of road work, took over an hour to get back to the ship! Don't let time get away from you, or you could miss the boat!

If you don't want to "beach it", there's lots of shops within walking distance of the tender dock. I've seen stingrays, so I felt no need to pay to see more! Anyway--have a great trip!

[superjerryw]

Just be aware of the traffic--when we were there, it took about 20 mins. to get to the beach we wanted (can't remember the name, sorry!) but because of road work, took over an hour to get back to the ship! Don't let time get away from you, or you could miss the boat!

 

Very good point. The road that goes from the tender pier in downtown Georgetown to Seven Mile Beach is only one lane in each direction and is essentially the main highway in that part of the island. If you will be there on a weekday you can expect rush hour traffic in the afternoon in both directions. As CB at Sea said, leave plenty of time to get back to the ship. Since you tender in Grand Cayman be sure you know the time of the last tender and leave enough time to get back to the tender pier before it leaves.

[GMoney]

Very good point. The road that goes from the tender pier in downtown Georgetown to Seven Mile Beach is only one lane in each direction and is essentially the main highway in that part of the island. If you will be there on a weekday you can expect rush hour traffic in the afternoon in both directions. As CB at Sea said, leave plenty of time to get back to the ship. Since you tender in Grand Cayman be sure you know the time of the last tender and leave enough time to get back to the tender pier before it leaves.

 

We were just there on Freedom inearly June and the traffic going into town was backed up starting at 1030, and was just as bad around 2. I was surprised it started so early, but the taxi driver said that was now the norm.