Excursions to Rum Point

[keggy]

Are there any excursions to Rum Point that don't include the sting ray stop? We are looking into going here but I don't really want to rent a car. We are really only interested in doing this for the day.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[maxs mom]

I don't know of any......

 

BUT.....it really is easy to rent a car and go there for the day. That's what we did on our last trip there and it was wonderful. We will definitely do that again. We rented from Avis......booked the reservation ahead of time. We were picked up at the Blue Iguana in town and taken to the Avis place at the airport. It was a very fast check-in there and we were on our way. At the day's end.....we drove back to the airport and they shuttled us right back to the pier. We really enjoyed the day.

[keggy]

Thank you for posting this. My husband is all for renting - but I am a bit nervous! I think we will try it! We went to Royal Palms last year and I enjoyed it - but want something a bit different and less people this time around!

[maxs mom]

Oh.....don't be nervous! It's a piece of cake......really. And Rum Point is so beautiful......not crowded.....very relaxing.....good food (a little pricey, but hey....you're on vacation!) We'll go back there again and again and definitely rent a car again.

[dizneydawn]

Disney cruise line has a 5 hour tour called "Rum Point Beach Adventure" I wish I could figure out what tour operator they use so I could book this for my upcoming Carnival cruise, but no luck so far finding anything.

 

Anybody know?

[drew sailbum]

Best way to visit Rum Point without going to the Stingrays is to rent a car and drive yourself. For about 3 or 4 times that price, you could probably pay a taxi.

 

Disney cruise line has a 5 hour tour called "Rum Point Beach Adventure" I wish I could figure out what tour operator they use so I could book this for my upcoming Carnival cruise, but no luck so far finding anything.

 

Anybody know?

 

Disney's is a one-off, run once every two weeks when the Disney ship makes a port call. They arrange a ferry just for their group. I don't know who they use for the land portion fo the transportation, but they contract with Caribbean Marine Services (same folks that operate the cruise ship tenders) for the ferry. For those who then want to go out to the Stingray Sandbar, they offer a trip using the Red Sail Sports glass bottom boat.

 

This does not run on other days and is not open to guests from other ships. Disney guests must book through the ship. If you aren't on Disney, then it is not available.

[dizneydawn]

Thank you so much drew sailbum! I have spent way too much time trying to figure out a way to do it! Sure wish someone would start a shore tour similar (including lunch would be nice!) for the rest of us who would love to go there!

 

Guess I will have to try 7 mi beach this time. We have done snorkle trips in the past and hubby does not want to snorkle since they require the swim vests now.

[gypsyrose]

WHat is the average cost of renting a car and how far is the drive to Rum Point? Would love to go but heard it takes a long time to get there. Wondering if we should just go to 7 Mile. Also, when we were there last month, they drive pretty crazy and on the wrong side of the road (for us) if I remember correctly. Seems like that would be hard to get used to.

[drew sailbum]

The cost of renting a car to drive to Rum Point varies quite a bit with the type of vehicle and insurance options. Expect anywhere from US$35 and up for the base rental charge depending upon your selections and time of year. There is an additional mandatory US$7.50 licensing fee per driver if you do not already hold a Cayman Driver's License. Optional insurance and collision damage waivers are available at additional charge for most drivers.

 

A mid-size car with local driver's fees and insurance may run around US$75 by the time all is paid for.

 

The drive is about 45 minutes each way from the airport rental office to/from Rum Point.

 

In Cayman, we drive on the left side of the road. Please drive on the correct side of the road while here. Gratefully, the rental vehicles have white license plates to provide ample warning to other drivers to be wary.

[naniefran]

Drew Sailbum...you are a wealth of information, and funny too (In Cayman, we drive on the left side of the road. Please drive on the correct side of the road while here. Gratefully, the rental vehicles have white license plates to provide ample warning to other drivers to be wary.) We are excited to see your island! Thanks!

[bookbabe]

In Cayman, we drive on the left side of the road. Please drive on the correct side of the road while here. Gratefully, the rental vehicles have white license plates to provide ample warning to other drivers to be wary.

 

:D There's also usually a nice big rental agency sticker on the rear bumper...that's so you can know to watch for sudden random lane-changes on roundabouts...

 

Drew, you crack me up...I've got to tell my DH that one... :D

[drew sailbum]

In addition to the rental cars having white license plates, we also look for unexpected activation of the windshield wipers. :rolleyes: It's another warning that someone is not accustomed to driving a right hand drive vehicle.

 

Just keep repeating the mantra "I will stay left of centerline" and try not to be the first car in line in a turning lane. It is so much easier to just follow the car in front of you... so long as it doesn't have a white license plate. :D

[kcparrothead]

Are there any excursions to Rum Point that don't include the sting ray stop? We are looking into going here but I don't really want to rent a car. We are really only interested in doing this for the day.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

 

Island Marketing is now offering a jeep tour that stops at Rum Point.

http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/GrandCaymanJeepTour.htm

[Norske]

Definately rent a car. Get to Rum Point quick, when the excursions start coming in, drive a mile or two further to Starfish Beach. Amazing!

[bookbabe]

Definately rent a car. Get to Rum Point quick, when the excursions start coming in, drive a mile or two further to Starfish Beach. Amazing!

 

While Rum Point is unchanged, the area people call Starfish Beach is under construction. It's actually a housing development, Ivory Kai, that was "dormant" for a number of years, but switched owners and is finally being developed.

 

In any case, they have all the Ivory Kai condos advertised on the Cayman MLS site, and they were doing some preliminary brush-clearing when we were there in March. I'll check again when we're back in July, and post an update if no one has posted anything before then, but if the construction is ongoing I don't know if the beach experience there is going to be a good one... :D

[MamaParrotHead]

Island Marketing is now offering a jeep tour that stops at Rum Point.

http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/GrandCaymanJeepTour.htm

 

I wouldn't recommend this. We took this tour last year and it stunk. The Jeeps were OK..just basic rentals. Our guide didn't offer up much information on the island and didn't know how to answer most of our questions. There really wasn't a whole lot to see on the way to Rum Point, but we sure took a while to get there. Once we got there, we just wished we'd gone straight there, that was the best part of the whole tour and we were only there for 1-1 1/2 hours.

[wannuhcruise]

Makes friends w/ someone who lives there. ;-) I have a friend who lives on the island and is picking me up at the dock. We're heading straight to Rum Point. I went to summer scuba camp there as a teenager and this will be my first visit back in nearly 30 years. I can't wait!

[Louise34]

I was so excited to see the jeep tour to Rum Point and e-mailed them for further info. Then I read MamaParroyHead and was do disapointed. Our son/wife were at Rum Point on an excursion and highly recom. that beach to us tho we knew it was quite a distance to drive. We do not want to rent a car, so thought this tour would do the trick. Do not want to do stingrays etc. Just a great beach to relax and snorkle. Does anyone know the cost of a taxi? Know it will be high due to the distance. Thanks for your help.

[bookbabe]

A taxi to Rum Point will be around $80 US each way...and you'd have to prearrange the return trip since there aren't any taxis waiting around in the area. Be warned...it's a long way back, and if you're relying on the taxi to get you back on time you may miss your ship if the taxi is late for some reason.

 

We just got back, and since we have a car there we take a taxi between the airport and our house out at Rum Point. Our return trip taxi got busy with cruise ship tours, and was running late, so she ended up handing off the job to someone else at the last minute. However, since it's a 45 minute trip from town, that meant our taxi was 45 minutes late getting to us, putting us at the airport a lot later than expected. If we hadn't built some buffer time into our airport arrival, we likely would have missed our flight. For us, that wouldn't have been too much of a problem since we have a place to stay and could have just flown out the next day instead...but if you're depending on the taxi to get you back to the cruise ship on time from Rum Point, you might want to plan to leave at least an hour earlier than you need to, to allow for re-calling a taxi from town if needed.

 

Honestly, though...I don't think Rum Point is worth the taxi expense out there. Yeah, the beach is nice...but so are the ones along Seven Mile, and that's only a $4 a person trip each way. And, depending on the day and how many ships' worth of tour groups are at Rum Point, it's not that much less crowded either. As part of a Stingray City tour or if you're renting a car and touring the island along the way, it's a great stop...by taxi, I just wouldn't recommend it.