best way to get to 7 mile beach

[gazingm42]

We like to go hangout on the beach on cayman. We done the stingray last

time and LOVED it. But we thought about just hangout on the beach.

 

How far is it from the tenders and whats the best way to get there.

 

Is there shopping near by?

 

Cost, etc, etc.

 

Kid friendly?

[caribsun]

Shopping : includes artifacts for making handcrafted jewelry, antiques, salvaged coins and old maps. Cardinal Avenue is the main shopping street. On it, you'll find Caymania Duty Free, one of the island's best-known duty free shops for perfumes, cosmetics and gemstones. Kirk Freeport is another terrific duty free choice, with Swiss watches, fine china and crystal. The JewelryCenter offers designer baubles. GalleriaPlaza (West Bay Road), lots of shops sell duty free.

 

There are several Tortuga rum cake stores near the pier --you can sample all the different flavors. Just be aware though, that if you plan on buying booze on the island, don't wait until the last minute. You cannot buy liquor and carry it with you---due to some local regulations, the store must transport the liquor to the ship. There is a cutoff time where they will no longer sell to cruise passengers--usually about 2 hours before sailing--some stores post the cutoff time. Shop early, when you first get off the ship. Gift shops selling rum cake near the tender piers, several of these offer samples. My favorite is still the golden original flavor of Tortuga Rum Cake

 

Grand Cayman is one of the busiest Caribbean cruise ship ports. All ships are required to anchor in the harbor ..the water surrounding the island is very shallow, and tender boats ferry people to shore 200 at a time to one of 3 docks (North or South), both of which are right in downtown. A new cruise pier is under construction. To avoid a long wait for a tender and to maximize your time in port you should plan to be at the gang way early.

 

Cayman is regarded as a world-class SCUBA diving destination. Wall, wreck, reef and the famous StingrayCity diving excursions are conducted daily by over 30 professional diving organizations. Sportfishing is also big and the annual Million Dollar Month tournament continues to gain popularity among international anglers. Other watersports include snorkelling, parasailing, board sailing, and skiing.

 

City Bus : bus looks like a large van along the main routes. The bus depot is next to the library - across from the Hero's Square Fountain. Walk about two blocks inland on Edward St.... You can grab a bus at the library... much cheaper than a cab. The buses are parked and waiting right next door... a short 5 minute walk from the dock. $2.50 US per person rather than $5 US or more for a cab.

To hail one, respond with a wave when the driver toots his horn. Sightseeing : one direction to Pedro St. James and in the other direction to Hell (and back). Any bus marked WB is bound for WestBay to 7 mile beach, and will drive right past your destination. Just tell the driver where you want to get off. The difference between the bus and the taxi: Taxis license plates are red numbers on a white background; the bus has white numbers on a blue background. Buses to/from 7MileBeach run every 15 minutes. The bus will stop where you ask it to; coming back to town; just cross the street from where you got off and flag the bus down. They will stop to pick you up. The fare is 1.50CI but we just gave the drive $2 US and he took it. We walked out to the main road and waited for a public bus with blue license plates. The ones to the beach have a yellow circle with #1 or #2 WB on the windshield. The fare was $5 for the 2 of us.

 

Daily service starts at 6 a.m. from the depot and the schedule is to :

WestBay beach areas - every 15 minutes, from 6 a.m.. Fare CI$1.50 each way.

BoddenTown - Every 30 minutes from 6 a.m . Fare CI$1.50 each way.

 

East End and North Side - Every hour, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fare: CI$2 each way.

logos located on the front and rear of buses to identify routes: Route 1 (yellow) and Route 2 (lime green) cover George Town to WestBay; Route 3 (blue) provides service between the depot in George Town and BoddenTown.

Route 4 (purple) operates between the depot and East End. Route 5 (red) goes from the depot to East End and North Side. Route 6 (dark green) operates from North Side to WestBay. Route 7 (dark green with white numbers) is an inter-district service for George Town. Route 8 (orange) runs from the depot to Hutland in North Side. Licensed buses are identified by blue licence plates. each bus must display a fare table outlining standard government-authorized fares.

 

How crowded will it be? Six ships is a total disaster. I talked to a couple of people that said the town was a mob scene and they didn't stay long.

 

Taxis: cab fare from the pier to SevenMileBeach fare is $4 /pp around the Colony Beach Club section of SevenMileBeach. I like going a little bit further down to Sea Grape. The fare there is $4/pp. Taxi to all locations on SevenMileBeach : Royal Palms $4, Beach Club $4 PublicBeach $5 Sea Grape $5

Courtyard Marriott $6 CemeteryBeach $6 (Good snorkeling) Rates are fixed and posted, but be sure to confirm the fare before the driver takes off.

 

Beaches: 7 mile beach is located just north of George Town and actually closer to 5 miles long. All the beaches on the Cayman Islands are Public, no charge at all. Some of the hotels will either charge you to use their chairs and facilities or reserve them for guests only. You can take a public bus to the "PublicBeach" for $2.50 USD and the rest is free or you can take the bus or a taxi to one of the hotels that charges for their chairs and spend the day there. Most of the hotels have water sports available for a charge. Since 7 mile is a sand beach, do NOT expect any kind of decent snorkeling. Good snorkeling and sandy beaches are mutually exclusive. The southern part of the sandy stretch is the most heavily developed, saturated with condos, villas, restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings, a number of shopping centers, and fast-food dives. This is the most congested part of Grand Cayman. 2 chairs & umbrella were $21

 

PublicBeach is a section of the overall 7 mile beach. There is no hotel directly behind it, just some parking were a snack truck is often found. There are a couple of covered picnic tables.

 

We asked to be dropped off at CementaryBeach which is further out than Sea Grape or the Public beach. You will see them as the bus passes them. There is a cementary that has a public beach access path.

 

Our plan was to get dropped off at the far end and walk along the beach back towards the ship. We stopped to snorkel at various spots along the way. Some places had public restrooms. We ended up walking about 3 miles. It was fun and the beaches were beautiful. I was surprised at how empty the beaches were( 5 ships in port that day). The only time we saw any people at all was at the PublicBeach and SeaGrapeBeach, not crowded at all. We stopped several times and sat on some of the beach chairs in front of hotels for about 15 minutes or so. No one said anything, in fact most of the places appeared deserted.

 

The shore snorkeling was good but you really have to go out far, about 100-200 feet. The better spots are marked with bouys so it is easy to know where to go in. Saw lots of fish, some quite large. Uncomfortably large. After seeing a 4 foot barracuda I decided that was enough for the day. We got back on the main road at the next public beach access and caught another bus for $5 for the 2 of us that dropped us off near the tender port. Buses run every 15 minutes (or less) all along the main beach road. You can catch them at the marked bus stops or just wave at one as it approaches you. It was no problem at all.

 

Snorkel at Eden Rock Dive centre - to the right of the tender dock, within walking distance, a few hundred yards from the pier, its the second place you come to walking from the pier. ..about two blocks. 5 ships in port , it was not crowded at all...a good place to spend a couple of hours.... they do have a rental place, restaurant, bathrooms, picnic tables and a few loungers. There are steps going into the water we wore water shoes as they are slick... It's not a bad place to snorkel. It's not a good place for a beach though as most of it's rocky. The water is choppy too so this could be a bit intimdating if someone's a first timer. If you are going to Cozumel, Chanakaab would be a better option for snorkling and beach if you want both. One of the best diving sites for novices. The snorkeling is pretty good there. It is a fair swim to some of the nicer looking spots. I would not do it without a vest. Close in there is plenty of marine life to see though. When getting in the water I'd wear gloves or booties. There are LOTS of small sea urchens that have lots of spines. Nothing to scare you off, but something to be aware of. It was great lots of fish.... I would def. rent a vest so you fell more comfortable.....They rent them for $5.00. Nov 2006 We snorkeled at Eden Rock …had a fantastic time. The snorkeling was incredible. seas were very smooth, not much (if any) current, and the sun was out. Wow! I'm glad we choose to snorkel there as it was very convenient. We went to the Eden Rock dive center, rather than stopping at the Paradise restaurant - as Eden Rock seemed to have more space, had lockers available, and had a fresh water shower by the water. We rented fins there We have some cheap neoprene socks that help walking on rocky areas into the water a little, but have no sole, and also keep the full foot snorkeling fins from chafing our ankles & feet. The people at Eden Rock were very helpful and pointed out where the Eden Rock reef and the other different reefs were. We saw tons of fish, varied kinds, and some common ones (parrot fish and yellow snappers) that were larger than we've seen before. Also saw several large schools of fish. The people at the Eden Rock dive shop are very helpful and can inform you of what to be concerned about.Their are channel markers to keep boats out of the area. At some points the rocks are only a few feet below the surface. While there is good snorkeling all around the area, the actual Eden Rock reef was the best. It is a fair ways out, but not too far to snorkel out to, so you need to know where to go…. rent a locker …tey are all outside. We just left our towels and stuff sitting by a wall outside of the Eden Rock shop. Actually this time we rented fins from the shop and they kept our ship cards until we returned the fins.There were a few places to enter the water, we picked one that had a small beach and beach chairs. (Right next to a small bar/restaurant with a bathroom. Renting the chairs was not necessary as the area was not crowded but for $4 US you are guaranteed a chair. If you rent equipment, a beach chair is free. No charge to use the entrance. As soon as you put your face in the water there are fish everywhere. 4ft Tarpin to little Nemo and all his friends. If you venture away from the entrance, the water can get deep(45ft) but most of the area was 15-20ft. To top it off, shopping is right across the street. It is not like a nice beach area you snorkle off of. It is basically a town entry down a flight of steps into the water with the cruise ships as a backdrop. Eden Rock is just not a pretty place to snorkle, if you are thinking sandy beaches or a nice reef this is not it.

 

Cali shipwreck @ Hammerheads restaurant, is about as far to the left as you exit the pier as Eden Rock is to the right - about a five minute walk. The two are a good 10 minute walk from each other. …

The above info was from another CC.

[Cant Wait 4 Cruisin!]

We were just in Grand Cayman last week. As soon as you dock, there are vans/taxis available to take you to the beach. We chose to go to Royal Palms and it was wonderful!!! They have a webcam that you can watch too. I think the cost was $4/pp. This place is very kid friendly. They have changing rooms and an outdoor shower. Chairs are available to rent for $5 as are umbrellas. It is a very clean beach. The food in their restaurant is very good too! We were dropped off on the way back at Margarittaville where we walked through the shops around there, sort of a little plaza. There is also more shopping up closer to where you go back to port, near Senior Frogs. Enjoy - we had a blast!

[Cant Wait 4 Cruisin!]

Oh, and I forgot to mention - there is no fee to use the beach at Royal Palms.

[gazingm42]

Is there any hotels along the beach which you can pay a fee for the day to use thier pools and chairs, etc.

 

Thanks

[gazingm42]

I was reading that some hotels which give you a cruise daily room rates

at 7 mile beach.

 

Thus one can use the hotel services. Anyone have info or experiences on this?

 

Thanks

[Martin and Lindsey]

The Hyatt do a day pass - suggest you do a search on this thread to find out more info. :D