Tell me about Cemetery Beach

[Jay B]

We'll be in Grand Cayman next month on the Carnival Legend and understand we can take the public bus to Cemetery Beach and snorkel. The beach is public, right? What is the beach like? Is it the kind of beach where you can sit on your towel under a nice tree and have shade? Is the beach itself sandy and fine for walking without water shoes? For snorkeling, are there sandy areas where you can easily walk into the water? How far out do you have to go to find good areas for snorkeling? Is the water usually calm? Anything else anyone can tell me would be appreciated? Are there any bars or places to get snacks nearby? Thanks, j

[caribsun]

Look at the very first "sticky" post, its just above yours for info about Cemetery Beach.

 

Some pics, scroll down to Grand Cayman...Cemetery Beach. http://www.zydecocruiser.com/conquest_07/GC/cb1.htm

[runkmoe]

We'll be in Grand Cayman next month on the Carnival Legend and understand we can take the public bus to Cemetery Beach and snorkel. The beach is public, right? What is the beach like? Is it the kind of beach where you can sit on your towel under a nice tree and have shade? Is the beach itself sandy and fine for walking without water shoes? For snorkeling, are there sandy areas where you can easily walk into the water? How far out do you have to go to find good areas for snorkeling? Is the water usually calm? Anything else anyone can tell me would be appreciated? Are there any bars or places to get snacks nearby? Thanks, j

 

I want to know the same info. Thanks for asking the questions.

[Jay B]

Thanks caribsun - The sticky was very informative.

 

j

[estella15]

DH and I went snorkeling here in March (it was recommended to us by someone who used to live on the island), but we were pretty disappointed and would not recommend it if you are looking to do some really good snorkeling.

 

We got off the ship late (around noon), and we had a very hard time getting a cab to take us to cemetary beach. They made us wait 30 minutes until they found another couple who wanted a private tour of the island to share the cab with us.

 

The cab drops you off on the side of the road, and you have to walk along side the cemetary (there is a sandy path) to the beach...but be careful! There are actually 2 paths side by side, one is private and one is public. When the cab dropped us off, they dropped us by the private path, and not knowing any better, we just started walking to the beach. We were almost to the end when someone from one of the nearby homes came chasing us down telling us we were on private property. We apologized and told her we didn't know, and since we were so close to the beach, we asked if we could just walk the remaining 50 feet to the public beach, but she refused to let us and made us walk all the way back to the street.

 

Once on the beach, we put on our snorkel gear and headed to the water. We had been told by our friend that there are actually 2 reefs to snorkel here: the first is about 100 yards out, and the second is about another 100 yards past that. We got to the first reef and snorkeled around a bit, but the reef was dead and there really wasn't anything to see except a few fish. We are both strong swimmers (both scuba certified, DH used to be a lifeguard and swim teacher), but we didn't feel comfortable swimming all the way out to the second reef. So we just swam around the dead reef for a while and then headed in.

 

The beach was decent. There are some shady parts, and the sand looked soft although we didn't walk on it barefoot. The beach is not rocky, though. There was someone with a cooler selling refreshments on the beach, but there is no restaurant, bar, or restrooms. The beach wasn't crowded at all, and we felt safe leaving our beach bags on the beach while we snorkeled.

[runkmoe]

thanks for the first hand info, would you recommend somewhere else to go on the island?

[sunseeker09]

I kinda have to agree with Estella about Cemetery beach. I didn't find it very good at all and don't understand why people bother. It is quite a swim out and not for poor swimmers for sure. Most people go in the opposite direction from town rather than 7 mile beach and snorkel Eden Rock. I don't know what that's like as I didn't try it. It gets a lof of traffic. But along the ironshore will certainly be better than off the sandy beach anywhere. As a diver I would suggest taking a snorkel boat tour rather than doing so from shore. Oh, but check where it takes you. I would sometimes notice a snorkel "enclosure" (seriously, roped off and jam-packed with about 100 snorkelers) in the harbour practically between all the ships but too far offshore to swim to. Eww! Not sure who organizes that ridiclous snorkel trip. What a waste of money that would be!

 

The only off the beach snorkeling that I found that was ok was at Smith's Cove. It's mainly frequented by locals, with tour buses stopping for a quick photo op. You'd need to take a cab there but it's not too far (in the opposite direction to SMB) The sand isn't as nice as SMB and the only facilities are washrooms, but it's a pretty spot where you can walk into the water from the little cove beach and snorkel along the ironshore. Google it for "images" and check it out.

[runkmoe]

I kinda have to agree with Estella about Cemetery beach. I didn't find it very good at all and don't understand why people bother. It is quite a swim out and not for poor swimmers for sure. Most people go in the opposite direction from town rather than 7 mile beach and snorkel Eden Rock. I don't know what that's like as I didn't try it. It gets a lof of traffic. But along the ironshore will certainly be better than off the sandy beach anywhere. As a diver I would suggest taking a snorkel boat tour rather than doing so from shore. Oh, but check where it takes you. I would sometimes notice a snorkel "enclosure" (seriously, roped off and jam-packed with about 100 snorkelers) in the harbour practically between all the ships but too far offshore to swim to. Eww! Not sure who organizes that ridiclous snorkel trip. What a waste of money that would be!

 

The only off the beach snorkeling that I found that was ok was at Smith's Cove. It's mainly frequented by locals, with tour buses stopping for a quick photo op. You'd need to take a cab there but it's not too far (in the opposite direction to SMB) The sand isn't as nice as SMB and the only facilities are washrooms, but it's a pretty spot where you can walk into the water from the little cove beach and snorkel along the ironshore. Google it for "images" and check it out.

 

thanks sunseeker. i appreciate the info. I am taking a 2 year old, so it kind of limits me to doing my snorkeling from the beach, so my fish phobic wife and 2 year old can play while I snorkel for a bit. I will look into Smiths Cove and see if that would work for us. Again, thanks so much for the information.

[10th Anniversary]

Thanks for the great information. We are in Grand Cayman in October and was seriously considering visiting Cemetery Beach for snorkeling. But after reading this I'm not sure we want to waste our time. Our other choice is the Wreck of Gamma at Pageant Beach. We have snorkeled Eden's Rock and enjoyed it. We tried to go out near Hammerheads to snorkel a ship wreck, but without fins it was way to hard for us to get out. We were wore out before we could even get 1/2 out. We plan on bringing fins this time around.

[white.sand]

My husband and I went to cemetary beach in July and loved it! We walked into town to grab a city taxi. The taxi's available when you first get off the ship will wait until they are full before they leave to take you anywhere and then make serveral stops to accomodate everyone. City taxi's or buses cost $2.50 per person.

 

You are dropped off at the street and have to walk down a trail next to the cemetary to get to the beach. There are trees for shade but no accomodations including food and drinks. We brought our own bottled water in our backpacks. We enjoyed snorkeling and saw many fish, coral, huge conch shells, a sting ray and a sea turtle. The beach was not crowded and we had an awesome relaxing day away from the crowds.

 

When you are ready to leave, you walk back up the trail and sit an the bus stop on the bench to wait for bus. We didn't even have to wait cuz there was one pulling up right when we walked out. It cost us another $2.50 per person to get back towards the port.

[10th Anniversary]

My husband and I went to cemetary beach in July and loved it! We walked into town to grab a city taxi...cost $2.50 per person.

 

Thanks for the info! After much research, I believe we are going to stick with our plan to go to Cemetery Beach and snorkel. We may love or we may hate, but until we try it for ourselves we won't know. Our plan for the day is to catch the bus out to Hell, then back to Cemetery Beach, then down to the Wreck of Gamma, and then back to town for some shopping.

 

I'll let everyone know how it worked out for us.

[white.sand]

Another neat thing our bus driver told us is that they will drop you off anywhere. In other words you do not have to wait for a designated bus stop to get off. Just ask the driver to stop if you see a place you want to get off.

[sunseeker09]

Another neat thing our bus driver told us is that they will drop you off anywhere. In other words you do not have to wait for a designated bus stop to get off. Just ask the driver to stop if you see a place you want to get off.

 

Yes, and the same goes for getting on. You can wave a bus down without being at any sort of bus stop. In fact, they often slow down and beep at you if you're walking at the side of the road, which is just their way of "asking" if you need a ride. It's all very laid back.

[10th Anniversary]

Another neat thing our bus driver told us is that they will drop you off anywhere. In other words you do not have to wait for a designated bus stop to get off. Just ask the driver to stop if you see a place you want to get off.

 

Yes, and the same goes for getting on. You can wave a bus down without being at any sort of bus stop. In fact, they often slow down and beep at you if you're walking at the side of the road, which is just their way of "asking" if you need a ride. It's all very laid back.

 

Great Info!!!! Thanks alot. Didn't know we could get on or off without being at a "designated" bus stop. We're super excited about our upcoming trip.

[sunseeker09]

I know I posted in reply to another thread about the bus, but I'll mention again for anyone considering it... I took the bus extensively around the island while DH was working and I didn't have the shared vehicle. The route along SMB is easy to take a bus along as they go frequently. It's just going out in the other direction towards the East End that people have to be careful since they don't run as often and can be quite off schedule. I'd hate to suggest to someone to take the bus and they try and go way out there somewhere and get stuck and miss the boat! :eek:

The buses lok more like mini-vans, and some are quite small so they look similar to all the private vans on the road. The trick is to watch for the big coloured dot with a number on the front that distinquishes it as a bus.

Did you find out if the bus does go to Hell? I don't recall, as we drove there. (yes, we drove to Hell and back. lol) I would think it does pass by on the loop around. I believe we spent all of 20 minutes there and bought the postcards etc. There's really not much to it, but hey, it's just one of those fun things to say you've been there done that, KWIM? :)

I'm sure you will enjoy that Cemetery beach is less crowded than other parts of the beach closer to the pier. Have a great trip!

[10th Anniversary]

Thanks for the info. I found these pictures for buses...(Don't really know how to post the pics...hope you can see them)

 

I'm sure we won't have any problem getting to Hell...just hope we can get back:eek::D!!!!! I believe we will enjoy Cemetery Beach too. I'll let everyone know how it was when we return.

[houseflipper48]

We loved Cemetary Beach, and will return again in Febuary. We took some bagels out in the water and the fish were everywhere. There were also corral not far from the beach. It was very quiet and peaceful there.

[dixie54]

We will be in the Caymans next week! thanks for any info

[Jay B]

We just got back (my review is on the "reviews" section for the Carnival Legend) and we loved Cemetary Beach. The coral and reefs appear dead but there is a wide variety of fish. Snorkeling is really easy close to shore, the water was calm and clear, there is a lot of shade at the beach, and we were the only ones there. There are no facilities at the beach but we brought our own picnic and had a great time. j

[jean-lynd]

Yes - you can take the bus to and from Cemetary Beach.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Enjoy!

[10th Anniversary]

We just got back (my review is on the "reviews" section for the Carnival Legend) and we loved Cemetary Beach. The coral and reefs appear dead but there is a wide variety of fish. Snorkeling is really easy close to shore, the water was calm and clear, there is a lot of shade at the beach, and we were the only ones there. There are no facilities at the beach but we brought our own picnic and had a great time. j

 

Thanks for sharing. We will be in Grand Cayman next and have decided to give Cemetary Beach a try. We are going to take the bus to visit hell and then re-board and ride to cemetary beach. We will bring our own drinking water and snacks. Our kids want to "try" snorkeling and my mom wants to relax in the shade with a good book and just enjoy the moment.

[10th Anniversary]

Just returned from our visit to Grand Cayman via the Freedom of the Seas. We visited Cemetery Beach after our short visit to Hell. We traveled using the city bus, which was great and easy. There is a bus stop right across the street from the path to/from the beach. The beach was great with beautiful views. The snorkeling was ok...seen a variety of fish and the coral was ok. I wouldn't say it was spectacular, but it was a nice day trip. The beach was quiet and not crowded. The kids loved playing the sand and my mom enjoyed sitting in the shade and reading. We would visit this area again.

[10th Anniversary]

 

 

 

 

[Krystal Kleer]

Ooooooo! Thank you, thank you, thank you 10th anniversary for the pics. They are sooooooo beautiful. I had read mixed review about cemetary beach, but after seeing the pics, I definitely will be there in February. I love the ocean and to see it in such pristine clear blue condition gets me soooooo excited for my 12th anniversary cruise. Yay!!!!

[10th Anniversary]

It is a nice and relaxing beach. When we first arrived, we were so taken back by the beautiful views and the crystal clear water. As you can see from the pics it wasn't crowded. When we arrived there was 1 couple. While we snorkeled and swam a few more couples arrived. There was probably 10 people total the whole time we were there. Remember there are no bathrooms. Enjoy!