Places to eat and things to do in Cayman?

2,367 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by JJWAGGIE
bump03
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Going to the Cayman Islands in July with wife and two kids ages 6 and 7. We are staying near the Marriot.

Looking for recommendations for places to eat and things to do. Planning on doing the stingray trip but looking for other ideas for food and fun
The Chicken Ranch
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AG
The Lone Star is owned by an Aggie. Good food.

If you are a certified diver there are some really good operators. Try to dive the North Wall rather than Seven Mile Beach dive sites.

Tour the turtle farm.
Azul88
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We also stay near the Marriott and we really enjoy Stinger's. It is just behind the Comfort Suites just on the other side of the Marriott. If you walk down the beach, pass the Marriott and turn left between the Marriott and South Bay condos on the beach access path. We will eat here 2-3 times when we are in the Caymans and never get tired of it. Ask for Tonya. She has been there many years and is the best of the waitstaff. Like everything else on the beach, it is very casual dining.
GoneGirl
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We're cruising there in December. Our plan, with limited time, is to do the Turtle Center and then Stingray City.

Hoping to have time, perhaps to check out the Lone Star.
aeroag14
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Been to Cayman Many times! My favorite island (thus far). There are some good dining options, but as a rule of thumb (since you are on an island) everything is a bit pricey. Here are some of my favorite cheaper options:

Lone Star: Good variety and reasonably priced.
Eats Caf: Right across from the Westin on 7 mile beach. Good variety and not too pricey
Coconut Joes: Fun Caribbean atmosphere with nice outdoor seating. Decent food and not too pricey
Chicken Chicken: Don't trust anyone who says they don't like it. Good for lunch one day.

Bar to hang out at: If you are on 7 mile beach, I love walking down to Calico Jacks Bar right on the beach at the public beach.

Some nicer options:
Casanovas by the Sea: Probably my favorite restaurant on the island. Awesome atmosphere, right in downtown Georgetown, you can sit outside right on the water and have some pretty decent quality itialian and seafood. Pricey but not what I would consider unreasonable at all.

Deckers: Good food and good atmosphere, but I personally think it is overpriced. Definitely on the pricey end.


Where on the island are you staying?
aeroag14
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The Chicken Ranch said:

The Lone Star is owned by an Aggie. Good food.

If you are a certified diver there are some really good operators. Try to dive the North Wall rather than Seven Mile Beach dive sites.

Tour the turtle farm.

I never knew it was Aggie owned! That is awesome!

And I second the North wall as being > than off the west side of the island. That said, I believe the currents switch at the end of May/early June so that it is pretty hard to get dives in on the North Wall in July.
bump03
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We are staying at Regal point condos...next door to the marriot I believe.
bmc13
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botanical gardens are neat

turtle farm

rum point is a fun trip if you want to get away from SMB

as mentioned above, diving the north wall and east side is better than the SMB area. if you're interested in a wreck dive the kittiwake is off SMB, though.

hell is a fun little side trip as well

if you're into underwater photography Cathy church's gallery is cool
flown-the-coop
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We are considering a trip to Grand Cayman in August, likely staying at the Ritz. Any advice on whether to rent a car? Looking at 5 nights and we will have our 7yo guy with us. Never been so I literally have no idea about local transportation, but with the island being as small as it is my gut tells me a car would be a waste.
aeroag14
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We always rent a car. The Ritz is pretty centrally located on 7 mile beach and within walking distance of some restaurants and what not. It is additionally not too far from central George Town so Taxis wouldn't be crazy.

However, if you are planning on getting out and seeing some of the island it may make more sense to rent a car.
6yardline
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The Chicken Ranch
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Bummer. It's been a while, but last time I was there he came to our table and visited with us. Really nice guy.
I Play With Guns
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S
Chicken! Chicken! for the damn win
LondonAg89
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Another one in for Calypdo Grill. Best sticky toffee pudding on the planet.
MAGA
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Went to Grand Cayman 3 years ago. Go to Calypso Grill and Casanova.

Casanova is some damn good Italian. Lots of stars go there.
MAGA
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Another great place in Grand Cayman is the Camana Bay Area.

Great upscale restaurants, cinema and shops. Gorgeous fancy architecture.
dlp3719
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Agree with most everything above.

On transportation, they were an English colony and drive on the wrong side of the road. Consider that when thinking about renting a car.

The taxis and buses are literally the same Toyota vans. Just a different sign on top. Taxi is priced for tourists. Bus is $2 and makes some stops. When we travel we enjoy figuring out public transportation and spending some time with locals. We took buses.

The botanical gardens was a nice couple mile, fairly flat hike and you see the blue iguanas only found in GC. I would think a 7 year old boy would enjoy that.
Keeper of The Spirits
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If you are plan to drink, I'd avoid renting a car. The ritz is pretty central and you drive on the left side there. We rented a car when we went for 7 days and it would have been cheaper to take cabs.
The Chicken Ranch
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I think I would just take the public transportation everywhere unless you were wanting to go East End or Rum Point. And you can just do a cab if you are out late.

You do not want to drink and drive in GC. I would assume that they have a "drunk tank" in Georgetown, but the jail is in Jamaica.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Also their is a free boat trip out to Rum point if you have dinner at the restaurant
txags92
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The Chicken Ranch said:

I think I would just take the public transportation everywhere unless you were wanting to go East End or Rum Point. And you can just do a cab if you are out late.

You do not want to drink and drive in GC. I would assume that they have a "drunk tank" in Georgetown, but the jail is in Jamaica.
They have a prison on GC in Bodden Town, but it only has about 230 beds, and they were almost all full last I read.
jobu93
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Mike is a family friend and doesn't own Lone Star anymore. He and his family has been off the island for a while now.

For those who are cruising, I would caution you on going to the turtle farm and then trying to hit stingray city. The TF is closer to Hell, and the opposite direction of Red Sail who brings a lot of the cruisers to SC. You may be pressed for time at one or the other.

If you want to hit a part of GC that most people won't see, it's the blowholes on the eastern side of the island. Pretty cool.

And, above all else, DIVE! At the minimum, go snorkling.

Have fun!
Ag CPA
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flown-the-coop said:

We are considering a trip to Grand Cayman in August, likely staying at the Ritz. Any advice on whether to rent a car? Looking at 5 nights and we will have our 7yo guy with us. Never been so I literally have no idea about local transportation, but with the island being as small as it is my gut tells me a car would be a waste.
I'm at the Ritz right now and agree that a car is not necessary unless you really expect to be all over the island day-to-day. Island is tiny and it's easy to get around with taxis; the Ritz can also help accommodate anything that taxis can't.
1208HawkTree
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Hard to beat a dinner cruise to Rum Point. Great food then a Habano cigar in the hammocks at sunset. Nice ride back and the whole night is ahead of you.
thumbsup06
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The OP has younger kids, so my recommendations are not necessarily going to help but wanted to provide for others. Macabuca is the bar right outside the Cracked Conch. It is a fantastic, literal 'dive bar' (you can snorkel or scuba right off the patio) to spend a couple lazy afternoon hours on the island. They have great appetizers and drinks. We've ordered the calamari and conch fritters the last two years and it's one of those places I go to in my head when I'm back home!

Island activities: I would highly recommend the bioluminescence tour. It was one of the cooler things I've done on a beach vacation. You need to make sure they're running it as there are certain times of the month that are best to see it and sometimes the tour doesn't run due to the moon phase.

Lastly, try the new Kimpton hotel. We stayed at the Ritz two years ago and at the Kimpton last year a couple weeks after it opened. Ritz has the world famous Pina Colada, which truly might be worth the stay at Ritz, but the Kimpton is the shiny, new place to stay on the island. Think of the Kimpton as "new money" and the Ritz as "old money". Can't go wrong either way.
JJWAGGIE
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In Cayman now and we really enjoyed Cimboco. I got their jerk chicken pizza which was awesome and my wife enjoyed a banana leaf rolled snapper. Chicken-Chicken was also good... got it to go and we ate it beachside for sunset. I believe both are owned by the same people/group.
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