Why Grand Cayman Is My Favorite Caribbean Island (So Far)
The other day, a reader asked in a comment which is my favorite Caribbean island. Without having to think twice, I answered Grand Cayman and listed a number of reasons why I like it so much. At this point, I’ve been to Grand Cayman twice. Svetlana has been there three times and all I keep hearing from her is “We need to plan another trip to the Cayman Islands.” There is no “best” island and everyone has his own preference what he/she likes on vacation. Anyway, in this post, I am going to pin-point exactly what it is about Grand Cayman that does it for me moreso than any other island I’ve been to.
Smooth Transition from the Plane to the Beach
As soon as the plane touches down, I feel my vacation has already started. The island airport is tiny and passport control literally takes 10 minutes. After that, it’s grab a taxi for a 10-15 minute ride to the hotel, check in quickly and hit the sand. In stark contrast for me is Cancun. There, passport control has a long line and takes 30 minutes at a minimum and then I have to find my pre-ordered ride and spend at least another hour getting to my resort. Even other islands – Barbados, St. Lucia are simply not as efficient at going from my plane to the beach. With Grand Cayman, I can literally be out on the beach enjoying a coconut rum within half an hour of landing.
The Beach is Perfect for Walking
One thing I really didn’t like when I went to Phuket is that the beach on both sides of the hotel was blocked off by rocks. No matter how nice the water is, I need to be able to walk to enjoy the scenery or I’ll just end up getting extremely bored. I am not sure exactly how long Seven Mile Beach is (it may just be named that way) in Grand Cayman, but the fact that we can walk for miles along the sand cannot be disputed. And that’s all I really need for an afternoon – a bit of tanning and a long walk.
The Beach Faces West
This may sound overly meticulous, but I’ve found I really like island and Caribbean where the beach faces west and dislike ones that face South or East. There are a few reasons for this. First, as we all know, the sun sets in the West. Having a beach that actually faces the sun in the afternoon precludes having to choose between the sun and the ocean as scenery. When you’re in Cancun, for example, you find people turning their chairs to chase the sun after 2 pm, precluding the ability to catch sun and look at the water at the same time. Secondly, a beach that faces east will face the Atlantic ocean whilst to the east will be the Caribbean sea. The ocean has rough waves and tides that are tough for swimming and I prefer the water to be as calm as possible. For that reason, west is the way to go for me!
No Beach Merchants
I don’t blame the local population in Caribbean islands for trying to sell tourists various things on the beach, but I certainly enjoy not being disturbed while on vacation. Grand Cayman happens to have a relatively affluent local population that tends to finances and doesn’t appear on the beach. Most of the hotel and local employees are actually visitors or immigrants from foreign countries and don’t end up setting up shop on a local beach. This let’s me enjoy my vacation carefree and undisturbed.
Options for Hotels with Points
In Grand Cayman, I’ve stayed at the The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa (12,000 Starwood points a night in low season and 16,000 in high season) and the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort (40,000 Marriott Rewards points). I know that when going during high season, rates can be as high as $600 a night so having a reasonably priced points option is very valuable. There’s also a Ritz Carlton on the island, but it costs a significant number of points and, in my opinion, their stretch of beach is no worse than the Westin. I like getting a good deal on vacation and saving money so the presence of points hotels is key for me.
So those are my reasons. I realize that others will have their own favorite islands and some will absolutely hate the Cayman Islands. And, of course, I am sure that my “beach faces west” particularity is going to come off completely too particular. What are everyone else favorite islands and why?
I agree in regards to the beach facing the calm waters of the carib
What’s your pick between the Marriott and Westin for Grand Cayman? Also, what Caribbean island would be your second pick for great white beaches?
Passport control does not always take 10 minutes at Grand Cayman. I was there in January and another flight landed at the same time as ours. It took at least 30 minutes to get through. Other than that I loved Grand Cayman.
I love GC. Funny I love staying out at the west end as the sunrise over the water is glorious and I love the non-tourist feel of that end of the island. You have several resorts out there that you can book decent rooms overlooking the water with Arrival or UR points.
What flights do you like best to GCM? I think you’re also in NYC, and the I noticed that the flight options to GMC aren’t ideal (leave NYC later, and leave GCM earlier than I would like for a weekend trip)
The hands-down (in my travels) best thing about Grand Cayman (which makes it my fav!) is the lovely sail on the catamaran (forget its name) out to “Stingray City” and hanging with the rays! You can tell when you’re getting close because you can hear the ladies squealing… and then to stand barefoot on the sandbar and have those “Cylon battle ships” coming ‘flying’ towards you, brushing against you, and taking squid tidbits from your hand?!? MAGIC! (The females are the size of a bathmat– the males, a frisbee!) BEST thing in the whole Caribbean! (We’ve done it three times!)
That “reader” was me! Thank you for this added info! Who is Svetlana? You’ve mentioned that name before.
It’s a friend of the miles professor.. she also goes by the name “Samba for mIles”
I’ve never been but after reading this post I’d definitely visit it. Another Caribbean island I’d love to visit is St. Maarten — mostly to be at Maho beach and literally see all the planes land on top of me! Literally!
Thanks for this info! I’m planning on going there in Nov for 5 days and would like to know if a car is necessary and any recommendation on restaurants outside the hotel? Thanks TMP!!!
@Dave Op: I liked the Westin better simply as they have a far better beach than the Marriott. In fact, when I stayed at the Marriott, I walked all the way to the beach at the Westin… which is no problem, as I like walking! Rooms at Marriott do have a slightly better view being closer to the ocean, but no one spends much time in the room on this island :)
@Katie NYC: The non-stop flights don’t have very good time, but there’s a 6 am on United connecting in DC that gets in at 10:55 to GCM so that’s pretty good. There’s also a connecting one going back on US Airways at 3:30 pm connecting in Charlotte as well as another connecting on United.
@Elenor: Haven’t been to Stingray City yet… just so hard to justify leaving the beach :)
@Joey: Maho is definitely great for airplane lovers. Probably less so for me as I would mind the noise… my parents just went to the French side earlier this year and loved it!
@Brian: I never needed a car on the island as the long beach is all in one place on one side of the island and the restaurants are a reasonable walk or short taxi ride from there. We went to Agua a few times – must have liked it as we went back. The owner, who is there sometimes, is extremely nice. If you end up going to Stingray City, it will probably be a tour anyway.
Everything sounds so nice. Thanks for sharing, MP!
A question off this topic, what will be a good strategy to use mileage to fly to caribbean from San Francisco ara?
I vote for Annie’s question. I also live in SF and SFO is my local airport, me and my fiancee will marry soon and planning our honeymoon to Grand Cayman and this is our first time to travel using points and miles so we are anxious! I have some questions:
1. What is the best way to fly to Grand Cayman using points and miles? I currently have enough Southwest RR points w/ companion pass, can I use companion pass for flight from SFO to Grand Cayman?
2. I also have US Airways miles, can I use the $99 companion pass for flight from SFO to Grand Cayman?
3. You mentioned that you used SPG Points to stay at The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa (12,000 Starwood points a night in low season and 16,000 in high season). Did you get a free night on your 2nd night (SPG offer a free night for a certain period of stay if I am not mistaken).
Thanks again for the great post!
In addition to above, I also have AA miles, UR points, and SPG Starpoints.
TMP, can you please answer to Annie and my questions above? greatly appreciate it and I am sure she will too!
Never considered the “beach faces west” theory when picking a Caribbean destination, but it certainly makes sense. I’m booked for Aruba later this year after hearing so many awesome stories about Palm Beach.. and sure enough it faces west!! Cant to experience the caribbean sea myself. Fresh off a trip from South Beach, Miami.. I can attest to how rough the Atlantic ocean is!
Hello, what would be a good hotel points program for a stay in Grand cayman for 4 nights. I dont have any Hotel points card currently and am looking at suggestions where i can get the card, meet minimum spend and get the points for a stay in Jan 2015. appreciate any suggestions. is there any way to get points for the comfort suites?
Why are those hotels so damn expensive out there in the Caymans? Aren’t there some sub-100 buck rooms??
Hi MP,
Occasionally when buying gift cards and money orders, the clerk asked what they are for or why I do this. I tell them it is work related but offed wish I had a more plausible response. Any suggestions?
Thank you … I love your posts!
Rey
For gift cards, I just say I don’t like using my credit card online so I’d rather pay the fee and shop worry-free. For money orders, no one has ever asked, but I’d probably say I have to pay some housing contractors and they don’t take personal checks and money orders have receipts.
Glad you find the posts useful :)