Cayman Islands
Facts and Figures
Time Zone: GMT -5hrs
Flight Time From UK: 9-11hrs Capital: George Town Main Airport: Owen Roberts Int (GCM) Climate: Hot Currency: Cayman Islands Dollar Population: 55,000 Native Language: English Beaches: Over 100 Travel Vaccinations Needed: Not Mandatory but recommended - Polio, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Tetanus |
When To Travel
Hotels charge their highest prices during the peak winter period, from mid-December to mid-April. If you want to travel over Christmas or in the depths of February, especially around U.S. Presidents' Day weekend, you should make your reservations months in advance.
The off season in the Cayman Islands -- roughly from mid-April to mid-December, although this varies from hotel to hotel -- is one big summer sale, though summer has become more popular in recent years. In most cases, hotels, inns, and condos slash 20% to 50% off their winter rates. Dollar for dollar, you'll spend less money renting a summer house or self-sufficient unit in the Cayman Islands than you would on Cape Cod, Fire Island, or Laguna Beach. You just have to be able to tolerate strong sun.
During the off season, beaches are less crowded and you can get good deals, but restaurants are often closed and hotels provide fewer facilities. Some hotels also use the off season for construction -- so be sure to ask if any work is going on and make sure your room is far away from the noise.
The weather during high season from mid-December to mid-April is perfect for hanging out on the beach: It's usually dry, and the cooling trade winds from the northeast moderate the high temperature. Sometimes a few days will be windy and cloudy, but these periods of inclement weather usually come and go quickly.
April is the most idyllic month in the Cayman Islands, boasting perfect warm weather before the heat of summer comes in May. In spite of the heat, many Europeans prefer a summer visit. As one visitor who hails from Yorkshire told us, "After a cold winter in the north of England, I've come just for the heat."
Rainy season is from late May until late November. However, it does not rain every day. Often the showers are short bursts (though intense) that are followed by clear skies and plenty of sun.
The curse of Cayman weather -- the hurricane season -- lasts officially from June 1 to November 30. But there's no cause for panic: Satellite forecasts give enough warning that precautions can be taken.
The off season in the Cayman Islands -- roughly from mid-April to mid-December, although this varies from hotel to hotel -- is one big summer sale, though summer has become more popular in recent years. In most cases, hotels, inns, and condos slash 20% to 50% off their winter rates. Dollar for dollar, you'll spend less money renting a summer house or self-sufficient unit in the Cayman Islands than you would on Cape Cod, Fire Island, or Laguna Beach. You just have to be able to tolerate strong sun.
During the off season, beaches are less crowded and you can get good deals, but restaurants are often closed and hotels provide fewer facilities. Some hotels also use the off season for construction -- so be sure to ask if any work is going on and make sure your room is far away from the noise.
The weather during high season from mid-December to mid-April is perfect for hanging out on the beach: It's usually dry, and the cooling trade winds from the northeast moderate the high temperature. Sometimes a few days will be windy and cloudy, but these periods of inclement weather usually come and go quickly.
April is the most idyllic month in the Cayman Islands, boasting perfect warm weather before the heat of summer comes in May. In spite of the heat, many Europeans prefer a summer visit. As one visitor who hails from Yorkshire told us, "After a cold winter in the north of England, I've come just for the heat."
Rainy season is from late May until late November. However, it does not rain every day. Often the showers are short bursts (though intense) that are followed by clear skies and plenty of sun.
The curse of Cayman weather -- the hurricane season -- lasts officially from June 1 to November 30. But there's no cause for panic: Satellite forecasts give enough warning that precautions can be taken.
Things To Do
- Seven Mile Beach (Grand Cayman) - For several years now Seven Mile Beach has been in the running for the Best Caribbean Beach in numerous travel publications. It's even secured the title a handful of times. Many of Grand Cayman's best resorts are situated on Seven Mile.
- Mastic Trail (Grand Cayman) - The trail is a 200-year-old gravelly path that winds through a native mangrove swamp and a two million-year-old woodland area, surrounded by some of the island's most colorful and rare plant life. You'll need at least two or three hours to enjoy the Mastic Trail.
- Stingray City (Grand Cayman) - Stingray City is the most popular attraction on any of the three Cayman Islands. The "city" is really a shallow sandbar where you can interact with and feed the Atlantic Southern stingrays that live in those waters.
- Eden Rock & Devil's Grotto (Grand Cayman) - Just south of Seven Mile Beach and approximately 46-feet below the surface are Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto, two of the most popular diving spots on Grand Cayman. Both are boggling, wonderful mazes filled with tarpon, silversides, parrotfish and barracuda, and they should be enjoyable swims for both beginner and intermediate snorkelers.
- Bloody Bay Marine Park (Little Cayman) - This marine park is the top diving spot on Little Cayman, and it's a favorite of both skilled and beginning scuba divers. The park's top sight is the Bloody Bay Wall, an incredible reef and drop down that starts about 20-feet below sea level before plummeting more than 5,000 feet. Visibility of the water's native stingrays, turtles and sharks averages around 100 feet.
- Captain Keith Tibbetts Wreck (Cayman Brac) - Captain Keith Tibbetts Wreck is a 330-foot long Russian frigate that was deliberately sunk off Cayman Brac to create an artificial reef. It's now the coral-crusted, sponge-coated home to thousands of grouper, amber scorpionfish and even one or two green moray eels. The ship is largely intact; its remains range from 30-feet deep to 100 feet near the seafloor.
- Boatswain's Beach Turtle Farm (Grand Cayman) - More than 11,000 green sea turtles in every stage of development call Boatswain's home, as well as a number of fish, sharks and birds. The grounds also feature a nature trail and butterfly garden, an onsite restaurant and the Breaker's Snack Shack. The farm is open Monday through Saturday.
- Hell (Grand Cayman) - "Hell" refers to a wide open space filled with clusters of short black limestone. You won't be able to walk along the formation, but there are two platforms you can stand on to look over the space and take photos. If you're not tired of the novelty by then you should swing by the nearby gift shop and post office to send mail "from hell" or pocket a few souvenirs that take the pun to further extremes.
Luxury Hotels - Click On The Hotel To See What The Tripadvisor Ratings Are
- Caribbean Club, Seven Mile Beach
- Turtle Nest Inn, Grand Cayman
- Cobalt Coast Resort & Suites, Grand Cayman
- Brac Reef Beach Resort, Cayman Brac
- Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Seven Mile Beach
- The Alexander Hotel, Cayman Brac
- Sunshine Suites Resort, Seven Mile Beach
- Grand Cayman Beach Suites, Seven Mile Beach
- Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort, Seven Mile Beach
- Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach, Seven Mile Beach