I wanted a place where the water was blue, the kids would have an experience they’d never forget, we were going international, and that wasn’t too hard to get to. Sounds great but hard to figure out.
Ultimately, based on some social media posts, some research, and a whole lot of daydreaming, we decided to spend a dreary Virginia November week in the sunny Caribbean.
Sure, we had just moved and I had a new job and it wasn’t the cheapest way to travel given it was a foreign Caribbean island…
But those reasons were also ones why we needed time as just a family unit. Just the four of us, together, braving adventure … reminding ourselves that this is what matters, the love and support and strength we have as a team. Vacations are a chance to bask in that and, also, to relearn it. Driving a teeny car, sandy and sweaty and hungry, trying to navigate a foreign island with nothing but a car rental company map where the grocery store ad is larger than the entire city, is a great chance to test what your family is made of. Can you all come together, find ways to laugh, and get to solutions? It takes practice. But the practice is always worth the stronger family unit that emerges afterwards.
Coming back from Grand Cayman Island, despite the sweaty and sandy car rides, we fondly look back on this as one of our best family vacations ever (although our epic road trip out west is close). I can’t recommend it strongly enough. The way we did this trip was a perfect blend of adventure and relaxation.
Here Are Our Family Itinerary and Activities for Grand Cayman Island
Day One: Arriving at our lodging and taking a guided bio-luminescent bay tour
Table of Contents
Grand Cayman wasn’t too difficult to get to, and when our plane landed we felt as though we had enough energy to successfully make it to our AirBnB at Kaibo Beach. We spent much time prior to the trip determining where we wanted to stay. There were so many family-friendly, luxury, all-inclusive resorts over on Seven Mile Beach.
But, for us, our family trips tend to be most successful, intimate, memorable and fun when they are quieter; when we can choose our own adventure; when we can explore where we want and when we want; when we have absolute freedom and a fair amount of privacy; when we can act for even just a week as though we actually live there; when we have chances to meet people who own and live in the country. Throughout my decades of travel, I always have the most memorable and enjoyable trips when I actually stay in a place. (See how we made that decision in Roatan and in France.)
We felt our AirBnB choice was perfect for us.
But this particular night, we didn’t have too much time to enjoy it as we were off for our first excursion.
Grand Cayman Island is home to one of the few bio-luminescent bays in the world. Mr. Family Trip and I had kayaked through one in Puerto Rico, but we were excited to give the boys this adventure.
Unfortunately, there are some very specific and limited windows during which these tours are available due to the moon cycles.Â
I will spare you the details, but I would not recommend the company that did our tour. They were neither organized nor did they adequately prepare paddlers, which led to mass confusion and some of us sitting on a beach in the pitch dark for quite a while while our guides took off on jet skis.Â
If I had to do it over again, I would look into this company.
We were out in windy conditions in the blackness of a rainy night and for some reason they tried to stop and show us jellyfish and starfish…in the dark. Our two kayaks (we had 1 parent and 1 kid per boat we rented) were part of the only 4 out of 10 or so to successfully make the entire trip. And I believe our family was able to do it because of our comfort and experience in kayaks.
That said, getting IN the bay was as magical as we had hoped for. While the area surrounding the bay has ambient light due to development, on Grand Cayman you can swim in the bio-luminescent bay. And that is something that should be a bucket list item. Seeing your limbs sparkle while treading water feels like a fairy-tale world.
Looking for Guides and Excursions in Grand Cayman? Check these out:
Day Two: Grocery shopping and relaxing
You would think, given the long day and late night before, our kids would have slept in. But, alas, they NEVER DO. So we decided to take the day very easy, to get ourselves settled, and indulge in lounging poolside.
Our AirBnB had fins, snorkels, life vests and masks available for our use, so the kids practiced snorkeling for the first time in the pool, eventually feeling comfortable enough to try going off the beach in the still and easy waters. They didn’t see much, but the idea was to see if they liked it enough to go somewhere they could see something.
Day Three: Visiting Cayman Turtle Centre, national park exploring, dining at Macabuca, stopping at the famous Seven Mile Beach
This is where I tell you our AMAZING SECRET and part of the reason our Grand Cayman trip was so successful for our family. Using the Cayman Port website, we were able to see when cruise ships would be docking and how many people would be flooding the island for the day. Some days there are close to 18,000 travelers on cruise ships coming to the 76-square-mile piece of land. But other days, none. And so, we picked our adventures and excursions around the cruise ship schedule posted.
For example, we decided to go to the Cayman Turtle Centre on a day when the cruise ship counter was at 0. And it was a phenomenal experience. We arrived right when the Centre opened and had nearly the entire place to ourselves (not an exaggeration).
The Turtle Centre was a surprisingly amazing experience for us. Mr. Family Trip and I went in with the familiar attitude of “this one’s for the kids.” But given that the Centre had touch tanks, real rehabilitation work on display, and a kid-friendly pool with a poolside bar, we had a blast, too.
After enjoying the turtles, we headed into the aviary to search out the various famous Island birds.
Eventually, we made our way to the back, where we had paid extra for the experience of swimming with the turtles. Parents, be sure to get in the water with your children and enjoy this, too! This is a controlled environment tank (which means no deadly sharks), yet sea turtles abound. Plus, as we had practiced snorkeling the day before, the kids were comfortable and safe.
Watching a sea turtle smile serenely at you while it effortlessly floats its awkward body through water is strangely soothing and beautiful. It is proof that life’s grand design is more intricate, and intimate, than the human mind can ever conjure. And it feels as though nature really does work in harmony, and we are part of it.
While the Centre does offer food, we had snacks and decided to wait for a more diverse, and slightly cheaper, food option. And thus, found ourselves on the dock that housed Macabuca and ate to our hearts’ content.
Although we had already experienced a lot for the day, we knew we wouldn’t likely be to that side of the island again this trip. And, again, because of our best tip for seeing the island, we knew that the amount of tourists in this area would be at its lowest our entire vacation. We drove out to the national park (which was heartbreaking, if you saw our Instagram story, due to the amount of plastics that wash out of the ocean and up on the beaches), then made a quick trip to Seven Mile Beach.
Seven Mile Beach is the place that appears in all the ads about Grand Cayman: pristine white beaches, turquoise clear waters, and lots of spots for hotel-stayers. While we loved it here and found the beach exquisite, far better than up near Rum Point in that regard, we still preferred to return “home” to our AirBnB – our cozy part of the “real” Grand Cayman. As I said, we are the family who loves to slip away from excess, tourism, and too much created stimulation to find the heart of a country.
Day Four: Snorkeling At Rum Point
We decided this day to take a pre-sunset snorkel around Rum Point itself, right down the road from us. The Bean and Mr. Family Trip stayed out for quite awhile, seeing a nurse shark among other treasures. But The Bug was quickly worn out from the waves that pushed us around, so we watched the water lapping the shore and took in the views. Rum Point has a full tiki bar and a restaurant, with fun entertainment. This was a very relaxed, beachy atmosphere that I loved.
Day Five: Experiencing Stingray City, Exploring The East End Of The Island, And Visiting Starfish Point
Stingray City is pretty much THE THING to do on Grand Cayman, and it seems like every single cruise ship offers this as an off-boat excursion. Accessible only by boat, this sandbar is home to hundreds of large stingrays, tamed through the years to love humans. When fishermen would come in and clean their catches, they would dump what wasn’t needed or kept overboard, feeding the stingrays. Through the years, those traditions have been kept as tourists feed these rays small squid out of their bare hands.
We picked an outfitter based on where we were staying, but check out Captain Marvins if you’re interested.
Rays now flock to boats as they power up, ready for feeding.
Again, using our handy secret about Grand Cayman, and capitalizing on the fact that we were staying on the Island for the week and not a cruise ship for a day, we went early in the morning, at sunrise. Our boat left from Kaibo Marina and headed straight for the “city.” We were the first boat to arrive for the day, just about a dozen of us, and we had the hungry rays all to ourselves for a solid hour. By the time we finished feeding the rays and snorkeling, the cruise ship excursions were rolling in, and the number of tourists had swelled to about 70 (and growing). We were so pleased we had set our alarms and arisen painfully early for a vacation day to have this unique experience.
The rays were, of course, incredibly tame, but they are still wild animals. So it was a strange, albeit unique, experience. I do believe some of the rays were bigger than The Bug, and they would swim right over, around, and up the backs of humans, looking for squid. Of course, they can’t see well, so their little mouths on the bottom of their flat bodies were looking for sweet food. We did, indeed, feed them, and will never forget the sucking feeling as the rays’ mouths pulled the squid from our hands.
(Also, sorry I don’t have better website photos, but I wanted to be in the water experiencing this, not in a rocking boat documenting this trip!)
After a nap, we decided to explore the East End of the island in our car. Taking an easy drive, we picnicked on a public beach (again, our hearts cried with the plastic floating in from the ocean), visited the Wreck of the Ten Sails overlook, watched The Blow Holes with sheer amazement, and ended at Starfish Point with our masks.
These are things we probably never would have seen had we had only one day to enjoy this beautiful island, or perhaps even if we had stayed at Seven Mile Beach happily ensconced on a beach chair near a beach bar! But we were so grateful for this time to explore an entirely different side to this island.
Day Six: Spotts Beach Snorkeling
It was so hard to decide what to do on our last full day on this Caribbean gem, but our youngest was adamant it needed to involve snorkeling. And this is where social media is really wonderful – a friend saw our location on Instagram, knew Grand Cayman well, and made a recommendation. It turns out that Spotts Beach, a small, unassuming public beach, is a location where wild sea turtles usually gather.
While we had snorkeled with sea turtles in a controlled environment, we were interested to see if we could find them in a natural spot, and what that would be like.
Spotts Beach was a gorgeous little hamlet, but not exactly a secret. While not crowded due to the time of year we were on the island, it was bustling with families and activity.
Yet everyone was friendly and excited when we eventually did find sea turtles…and not just one or two swimming there off the beach, but somewhere around six…a fellow snorkeler began to cry, finally realizing her decades-long dream to swim with sea turtles. Spotts Beach snorkeling was a collegiate affair.
We also saw a stingray (we did not feed this one) and various other fish flitting about the waters at Spotts Beach.
Day Seven: Explore Georgetown, Visit Cayman Islands National Museum, And Head Home
This really wasn’t a day to report back on. We were killing time between check out and our flight leaving. Georgetown is what you might expect: a port city full of Western franchises and chains, with lots of vendors selling cheap souvenirs. But this is also where the banks and businesses are, so we tried to get off the beaten path a little.
We did pop in to the Cayman Islands National Museum. And while it was cute, it didn’t take much time to go through. But we still felt good we financially supported part of the indigenous culture and heritage. And I think the boys learned a little.
Too soon, we were back to the airport and headed home. We were all sad to leave this island. It was a stunning family vacation in all ways.
Truthfully, it may have been foolhardy to take off on an exotic vacation right after moving, changing schools, and starting a new job…but, also, because of those things, it may have been just what our family needed. I am so grateful to Grand Cayman for being so clean, friendly, easy to navigate, full of fun wildlife and outdoor adventures, and for giving us the gift of a memorable and treasured family vacation.