Going to down to Grand Cayman in June with the soon to be Mrs. Glennk and wondered if anyone has any dining or activity recommendations. We are staying at the Ritz and the only place we know we are going to at this point is Eric Ripert’s restaurant in the hotel. Thanks!

GlennK-

I don't have any elaborate dining recommendations. However, my wife and I chartered a boat and swam with the stingrays - referred to as Stingray City - on the sandbar in the middle of the bay. Very cool!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gigabit,

We've been there several times. Primary attraction for us is the North Wall, though the hurricanes of a few years back have scattered the schools of fish that used to throng there.

Been a few years for me. I remember George Town as quaint. I love beaches and Seven Mile Beach is exquisite...

We had several delightful meals at The Lighthouse. Great kitchen, good and fairly priced wine list and seats on a covered patio over the water. I can still hear the waves swooshing under our table. It's in the town of Breakers, around 15 minutes from 7 mile beach.

Captian G, (Giuseppe) the front man was among the most gracious hosts I can ever recall. He gave extra attention to our daughters, who were thoroughly smitten with him. When we were discussing where to go for our last meal on the island, the girls wouldn't even consider going anywhere else. Recommended.

Although 7 mile beach is a lovely stretch of sand, I despise high rises in the Caribbean. And there are high rises all over. For me, they are the antitheses of what I look for when I head to this part of the world. We stayed in Rum Point, across the bay from the touristy area and absolutely loved it. Take the ferry over and spend a day if you have the time.

Oh, and another vote for Stingray City. We were VERY lucky, and got there when the sand bars were totally devoid of boats. We had it to ourselves for around 20 minutes. By the time we left, there were 20 boats of various sizes jockying for position. Bring a waterproof or underwater camera for sure.

PH

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My wife and I had a nice meal at the Lobster Pot - www.lobsterpot.ky It was a decent wine list with special focus on some lesser known Austrian selections. We had some initial lodging issues and ended up near a slightly more isolated area a mile or two up from the Ritz. However, it turned out to be perfect and sitting on a quiet area of beach with a fish sandwich in one hand and a beer/cocktail in the other was just about perfect for any meal. We did not dive and I did not expect too much from local snorkeling, yet the area where we snorkeled most of the time was outstanding - teeming with life and a close encounter with a couple of sharks. I thought the stingrays would be way to crowded, but we found a smaller boat to take us (there are tons from which to choose) and enjoyed it.
Enjoy

Speaking of snorkeling, Grand Cayman is a great location shallow diving. Many coral heads and reefs a short swim from shore. On our last trip, the reefs and heads were showing signs of abuse. Don't touch, and don't stand on coral! Thank you.

PH

Here's a tip for Stingray City. Stingrays love Ballyhoo (a bait fish). Get some Ballyhoo at the grocery store before your Stingray encounter, and I guarantee you will be the most popular person at Stingray City, at least with the stingrays.

I'm trying to come up with a destination for next year's Spring Break to the Caribbean with the kids. We want to rent a house for a week somewhere. Grand Cayman is a possibility; this thread is very helpful.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Other ideas are:

Bahamas (Green Turtle Cay, Hopetown, or Harbor Island)
St. Martin
Anguilla
US Virgin Islands
Grenada

Rothko - How old are the kids?

PH

quote:

Originally posted by Rothko:
I'm trying to come up with a destination for next year's Spring Break to the Caribbean with the kids. We want to rent a house for a week somewhere. Grand Cayman is a possibility; this thread is very helpful.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Other ideas are:

Bahamas (Green Turtle Cay, Hopetown, or Harbor Island)
St. Martin
Anguilla
US Virgin Islands
Grenada

St. Maarten/Martin would be my first choice. When we were deciding (years ago) to which Caribbean island we should take our children for their first trip into the region, we both felt St. Maarten would be best. Beaches are beautiful, scenery is varied and also beautiful, a trip up Paradise Pic was a lot of fun, and there's lots to do for kids as well as adults.

Anguilla's nice, but maybe a bit dull for kids after the beach.

If they like to snorkel, I'd change my recommendation to St. Croix. They'll love a snorkeling trip to Buck Island. You can walk into the water practically anywhere on the osland and find great reefs loaded with fish.

There will be 4 boys, ranging in age from 4 to 11 (not all mine, thank goodness!).

Snorkeling is not a high priority.

High priorities are:

Fantastic beach (white sand, clear and calm water, not a lot of people)
Scenic town or villages nearby (to keep wives entertained with shopping and/or restaurants)
Things to do other than merely sit on beach (see above)
Safe and Secure

As much as I hate to recommend it, Grand Cayman fits the bill for what you've described. Seven Mile Beach is a great stretch of sand. It will have plenty of people on it, but finding a place to stretch out shouldn't be too hard. The ladies will find plenty to keep them occupied in George Town. Be prepared for credit card meltdown, as the Caymans are one of the priciest destinations in the islands. There are plenty of activities on and off the beach for the kids, and for the most part, the island is extremely safe and family friendly. Even though you say snorkeling isn't a priority, get into the water and give it a shot. It's still one of the most snorkle friendly islands in the region. Lots of good stuff just offshore.

If you're going to rent a house or condo, look into Rum Point, across the bay from the populated area of the island. You can take the ferry across to shop and do touristy stuff, but Rum Point is a lovely and much less crowded area of the island. Nice beach too, although not in the league of 7 Mile Beach.

PH

quote:

The ladies will find plenty to keep them occupied in George Town. Be prepared for credit card meltdown, as the Caymans are one of the priciest destinations in the islands.

Indeed. My wife found the Waterford Store and...$$$.

Thanks. I am leaning towards Grand Cayman. I have a friend who stays on East End and loves it.

Not to knock St. Martin, of course. I'd love to stay on an island that has such a great reputation for dining.

Thanks for all the good suggestions everyone. I can’t wait for June!

We had family business there a lot growing up, so I've there countless times. Anyone remember the Caribbean Club? I can't believe nobody mentioned eating at the Lone Star. It's a must. Also, go to "Hell" or you'll be very sorry. Great place to take kids. Everyone else gave some good suggestions.

If you rent scooters to buzz the island, ask for "Screw." He's a classic. You can get a little car from Hertz which is pretty reasonable. Don't forget to get the rum cake either. I would always avoid the cruise ships downtown, but there's a wine bar downtown (second level)and Cuban cigars everywhere. Have fun!

We're looking at homes in Rum Point and Cayman Kai to rent. There are some beautiful (albeit expensive) places up there.

Just got back from Grand Cayman yesterday and thought I would take a break from the 400 work e-mails I’m going through to post some thoughts on our trip. First off, this was our first time to the island and it was our honeymoon, so we were in the mindset of just relaxing instead of really exploring the island.

The good:
- We thought the weather was great, although some of the locals said it was more humid than normal for this time of year.
- We stayed at the Ritz and it by far exceeded our expectations. Service was impeccable, but not intrusive like I find in many other high end hotels. Love that it’s only a 15 minute drive from the airport to the hotel.
- Seven mile beach was great. We pretty much started everyday with a swim in the ocean in front of the hotel. Lots of great snorkeling right in front of the hotel and up and down seven mile beach. It’s a bit of an eye soar when you’re in the ocean and look down towards George Town and see 5 cruise ships sitting there, but that’s a very minor gripe.
- Sting ray city was amazing. We were actually skeptical doing something we thought was very “touristy” but it was truly one of the highlights of the trip. We were lucky that there was only 1 other boat out when we were there and our boat only had 8 people, so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. If you are going to the island, this is an activity you can’t miss. We also stopped at a couple of really cool snorkeling spots and a star fish sand bar on the trip. We booked through the Ritz and their program with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Amb***adors of the Environment. The people from amb***adors knew their stuff and offered tons of interesting information throughout the trip. Very professional, nice boat, would highly recommend using them. $100 per person felt like a steal for what we got out of it.
- Blue by Eric Ripert in the Ritz was one of the highlights of the trip. I’ll post in more detail on our dinners in dinning and cooking, but if you are on the island and want fine dinning, this is the place.
- The wine prices at Ritz were way more reasonable than I expected and the selections were also surprisingly well thought out. Multiple vintages of Don Melchor and Clos Apalta under $80 come to mind. Tons of good values from Alsace, Austria, Chile and Spain. We also found some good deals at a sushi bar down the road from the Ritz. 98 & 99 Dom P. for $130!

The not so good:
- There really wasn’t much to complain about on the island but I’ll try. The food at the other Ritz restaurants besides Blue and the sushi bar/lounge, was very average to bad (pool bar sucked). And it sure wasn’t cheap! You would think a hotel like this would be able to do the basic’s well, but their casual food really fell flat.

The terrible:
- The Miami airport. This has to be the worst airport in any major city that I have ever been too, and I have been to most of them. This was my 5th or 6th time going through Miami and I’m going to really try to avoid it from here on out. The employees, either for the airlines, airport or restaurants are the most ghetto, uninformed, unhelpful and unorganized I have ever seen. I won’t go into the gory details of this trip, but I have run into similar problems every time I have been to the Miami airport.

Despite the problems getting home, it was an awesome trip and would recommend Grand Cayman to anyone looking to get away and relax.

Thanks for the report!

We've booked a house in Cayman Kai for next March, so I am looking forward to going.

quote:

The Miami airport. This has to be the worst airport in any major city that I have ever been too, and I have been to most of them. This was my 5th or 6th time going through Miami and I’m going to really try to avoid it from here on out. The employees, either for the airlines, airport or restaurants are the most ghetto, uninformed, unhelpful and unorganized I have ever seen. I won’t go into the gory details of this trip, but I have run into similar problems every time I have been to the Miami airport.

Great! I just spit coffee on my tie. That was hilarious! That outhouse gets worse every year. Locals know to use Ft. Laud/Hollywood airport if you're able.

Glad you had a good time down there.