Iguanas??? (Just any ole iguanas...!)

[lovetheislands]

:)HELP please! We are cruising on 2/15 Legend and having a terrible time deciding what to do in Grand Cayman:confused:.

 

I've been before and want my DDs to definitely see the rays and snorkel. They also want to see the huge starfish. However, what DD9 wants most of all is to see iguanas!

 

I know about the Queen Elizabeth II botanical garden with the blue iguana project and it sounds beautiful but it is a LONG way from port...too far for us. When I stayed at the Westin on 7 mile beach, there were several iguanas just hanging in the bar/restaurant area.

 

Qs:

 

1. If we do a snorkel trip that ends up at Rum Point, will we see iguanas on the beach at Rum Point? I know that there are caged iguanas but we want to see them "in the wild"...

 

2. If not, does anyone else have any recs on where they've seen iguanas on a beach or elsewhere on the island? If we do a 1/2 day snorkel with Sotos, NativeWay, etc., could you recommend somewhere we could go after and hopefully sight some iguanas?

 

I am considering doing a private tour just to be able to do the mangroves but I really think daughters would rather see one walking around than from in a boat in the distance.

 

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!:)

[drew sailbum]

You will only see the native Cayman Blue Iguana at The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park or at select locations in remote parts of the interior of East End. They are the most highly endangered iguana in the world.

 

There are green iguanas loose elsewhere in Grand Cayman. They are considered an invasive species and are not native to these islands. Green iguanas are easily distinguished because they have several vertical black bars along their tails. Cayman Blues do not.

 

I do not recall ever seeing wild iguanas at Rum Point. Years ago they used to have a cage with iguanas, but they no longer have it.

 

I don't think you are more likely to see iguanas on a mangrove tour.

[bookbabe]

I have yet to see any iguanas in the Rum Point area.

 

However, along Seven Mile Beach behind the Lone Star restaurant, if you go across the new bypass road that runs parallel to West Bay Rd (Drew, drawing a blank on the name...can you help?) to the condos on the canals, there have frequently been lots of iguanas hanging out in the area, lying on the canal docks and sidewalks.

 

The other place we've seen lots of iguanas is in Governor's Harbour and sometimes the Shores, lounging in the sun on some of the canal lots. You might try mentioning the desire to see iguanas to your tour boat captain, since likely their dock is located near enough to one of those areas that he could make a slight detour to iguana hunt... :D

[lovetheislands]

Thank you both SO much...VERY helpful information.

 

If we decided to go up to Queen Elizabeth II botanical gardens, would it be best to rent a jeep? Is it doable from port in 3 hours? (We'd have about 5 but want to leave some "cushion" time?)

 

I loved Grand Cayman when I went for our land vacation and I am just trying to squeeze as much in as we can during our day there (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

 

Thanks again!!!!

[fisher joe]

Been on capt marvin's "snokel and rays" trip several times in the past four years. Have always spotted those funny looking lizards on the edges of the canals after broading the vessel and headed out to the bay. Keep your eyes on the water edges a i'm sure you'll spot several

[MDSue]

Is your ship going to Roatan also? We are on the Legend in April and it stops there. There is an iguana sanctuary there that has iguanas all over and they are not in cages. It's a fun place to visit. They will come and eat leaves right out of your hands. Some are quite large. It's a fun place to visit for and hour or two. I don't remember the name of it but I'm sure any tour guide or taxi driver will know where it is.

There are also plenty of wild iguanas in Belize. We saw plenty of them on a river tour.

[lovetheislands]

Unfortunately, our itinerary changed and we are going to Costa Maya instead of Roatan. I am sure that it will be nice also but was really looking forward to Roatan:D. I am jealous!

 

I did not think about Belize...we are going cave tubing...any chance we will see any on that tour? May also see some in Costa Maya or Cozumel...

 

I just saw so many on the beach on our last trip to Grand Cayman!

[3xy4mom]

We saw at least a dozen or so iguanas on our recent trip to GC. We did a snorkel and eco-tour and it was wonderful. I'm trying to upload a picture of one of the 4 footers we saw in a tree, it was beautiful!

[lovetheislands]

What an awesome picture!!!

 

We decided to book the Outrage eco tour - do you remember who you went with?

[chukeee]

Woah!!!! I didn't think about the iguanas. I don't want to see any! They really creep me out. We are going on the stingray/2 stop snorkeling so will be on or in the water most of the time. IF I see them along the shore while I am going by in the boat, that is fine. I don't want to walk by them though. They don't go in the water do they?:eek:

[3xy4mom]

We went with www.caribbeanshoretours.com on the Zodiak stingray city eco-tour and it was great. It was very windy the day we were there and we were still able to do our excursion because we were on a RIB. Many of the other excursions could not go out or sail the entire time. I had looked into several other excursions including the outrage eco-tour but it was booked up - there were 5 ships in port that day and hard to find something that was available.

As far as the iguanas go, they were all seen from the safety of our boat along the canal and in the trees. Apparently they do swim across the canal though as there was a large sign saying to watch out for swimming iguanas.

[MDSue]

Woah!!!! I didn't think about the iguanas. I don't want to see any! They really creep me out. We are going on the stingray/2 stop snorkeling so will be on or in the water most of the time. IF I see them along the shore while I am going by in the boat, that is fine. I don't want to walk by them though. They don't go in the water do they?:eek:

That's funny you are going to swim with the sting-rays but are afraid of getting close to iguanas! I have to laugh because my sister and I are going to GC because she's dying to swim with the rays again and I personally am nervous about this. On the other hand I have no fear of iguanas. Maybe we should trade places:D

[lovetheislands]

Great to hear that you enjoyed the zodiac tour - we booked eco outrage tour and I am so excited. :) Hopefully, we'll get to see lots of the lizards!

[chukeee]

MDSue, It's weird isn't it? I LOVE animals, however anything reptile give me the creeps. I can't stand them ! Frogs are the worst. but those iguanas are huge! I've gotten so I can tolerate a snake if I know it is there and I see it from a distance, but that is it. I would crap my pants if an iguana surprised me! Now I know they swim. YUK:eek: It's something about the way reptiles flick their tongues in and out. Disgusting.