We had a beautiful view as we landed into GCM from BWI. Grand Cayman is a beautiful Caribbean island!
Grand Cayman has lots of wild chickens since they all escaped during a hurricane. This is outside the airport, Owen Roberts International Airport.
That is the Grand Cayman flag in the entrance to our resort, the Hampton Inn. Grand Cayman is a British territory.
The stretch of 7 Mile Beach near our hotel was amazing!
Decked out in my Brooks Brothers shirt and Peter Milar swim trunks, I am enjoying the warm waters of the Caribbean near our hotel.
Our hotel had a nice day bed area by the pool to chill.
The pool area at the resort was small but nice.
Some clouds rolled in as one would expect in the tropics, but the beach was warm. The hotel had these umbrellas and chairs set up.
I had to get a pina colada at the bar to cool off from the heat.
We went to Camana Beach for dinner the first night. The resort had a shuttle available to take us there and was included in the resort fee.
Camana Bay was beautiful. Also, we were shocked at how there were almost no mosqutios or other annoying bugs on the island.
We went to Pani, which means water in Hindi, for dinner. Grand Cayman has lots of Indians since it is a British territory.
I liked how I could snorkel right outside the resort since there was a barrier reef. We had some coral reefs too.
Here is the typical sargeant major fish that one sees in tropical waters.
My new underwater camera was great. That yellow fish was looking at me I think. LOL.
We went to the Cayman Turtle Centre later that next day. They had a free shuttle from our hotel to and from there.
These are the baby turtles which just hatched.
Jamaica and Grand Cayman were aligned together before Jamaica got independence so jerk chicken is a popular dish on the island. I loved the typical Caribbean lunch at the turtle centre.
These are the medium sized turtles.
I am petting one of the smaller turtles here. Their shells are beautiful.
This area had the larger sea turtles.
They had a music festival at our hotel that day, and the restaruant set up this portable bar. Seven Fathoms Rum was amazing!
This is the latest custom canvas bag we got for our beach and pool items. Yes, we like to brag. LOL. Or, I do I should say.
I am enjoying that Seven Fathoms Rum here by the pool with the musicians in the background.
The music festival was all day and had lots of good local bands.
We got ready for dinner after enjoying the beach and pool.
The pool area at our hotel was packed. A lot of locals attended the music festival.
They drive on the other side of the road there. Also, taxis are really pricey on the island. We had to take one to dinner.
The taxis are all large vans, and ours had the cool disco lights and also WIFI.
The Cracked Conch is a highly recommended restaurant on the West End of the island.
Some divers went in the water near our table at the restaurant. The views were amazing from our outdoor table.
We had a great table by the sea.
With all the divers on the island, I brought my Blancpain X Swatch Fifty Fathoms watch for this trip.
I got the white and red conch chowder to start. Conch chowder is a classic dish in the Caribbean.
I got the fresh fish special which was ono.
The sorbet had a nice honeycomb on top.
The next morning, we woke up to another beautiful Caribbean day!
Hard to want to leave the beach with views like that.
I booked a nice snorkel cruise for us so we could explore Star Fish Point and Sting Ray City.
At Star Fish Point, we were allowed to handle the star fish as long as they stayed in the water.
My underwater camera takes great pictures and 4K video too.
The star fish had a sucking motion on the bottom.
Joy loved the sand bar too at Star Fish Point. She got that new bathing suit in Grand Cayman.
At Sting Ray City, our tour guides were interacting with the sting rays.
The sting rays were pretty peaceful. Generally, they will not sting anyone.
They swam right by us all. I felt one or two.
I am holding a sting ray here. Some people kissed them.
Joy is enjoying her interaction with the sting ray.
She is getting a massage here by the sting ray.
The last part of our tour was snorkeling in the protected bay.
There were lots of fish around the coral in the warm waters.
Once again, I was impressed with my new underwater camera.
We went to the Boony Moon Beach Club after we got back to the hotel from the snorkeling. The hotel shuttle took us there.
Seven Mile Beach streteches for seven miles and has pristine waters and beautiful sand.
I am wearing the new Cayman Leisure Club shirt I got there. Grand Cayman is pretty pricey overall. That t-shirt was like $45 GCM which is more than USD.
Our beautiful hostesses showed us to our table at the beach club. I noticed many of the staff down there were American.
The sushi and ceviche at the club were delicious!
Of course, I had to get Seven Fathoms rum!
Government House is where the Governor of the Cayman Islands lives. He or she is appointed by the British monarch.
We went to one of the top restaurants on the island that night, Grand Old House.
A Cuban man was rolling cigars by hand with Cuban tobacco.
The sunset was beautiful from our table at Grand Old House, which was an old plantation. I loved watching the waves crashing on the rocks!
We could not get over the view at Grand Old House.
The lobster bisque and conch fritters were delicious!
I loved my seafood curry which was a nice fusion of Caribbean and Indian flavors.
There were lots of tarpons swimming right outside the restaurant.
We had an East End tour the next day. Our first stop was the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens which was home to a large iguana sanctuary.
Look at that iguana!
This little guy was peeking out at us.
I love James Bond so I had to point out this sculpture to Joy.
The orchid walk was really cool too.
They had replica of a typical Cayman house back during the old days. This was the kitchen.
I could not imagine living in these houses when it was as hot and humid as it was that day without AC.
The East End Blow Holes were fascinating.
The power of the sea is unbelievable!
Our next stop was a historic "castle" called Pedro St. James. The views from the grounds were spectacular.
Pedro St. James had a lot of historic events happen there. Slavery was outlawed from the steps of this house. However, our guide said Cayman slaves were treated well.
The house had a lot of black mahogany wood including one this bed which cost thousands of dollars.
The Tortuga Rum factory was our last stop on the tour.
They make the famous Tortuga rum cakes inside.
There are lots of rum cakes inside the room next to us.
It was happy hour at Yoshi when we got there for dinner. They had a great deal on the Nikka from the Barrel Japanese whiskey!
We enjoyed some delicious sushi too at Yoshi too.
Good Bye Grand Cayman! There are some smaller Cayman Airways planes in the distance which go to the other two smaller Cayman Islands.
We went to the
British territory of Grand Cayman for Memorial Day weekend in 2025.
This beautiful Caribbean destination was on our bucket list for a
long time so we headed out on a red eye from Sacramento
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport on Southwest.
They just started flying red eyes on Southwest which allowed
people to get to the East Coasat and transfer to destinations faster
than traveling all day to get somewhere back east. We were able
to use my Priority Pass benefits to reserve sometime at Minute Suites
at BWI to lay down on some beds before our connection to Grand Cayman.
Flight time to GCM was a little over three hours from Baltimore.
We had to fly over Red Cuba on the way to His Majesty's territory.
After we landed in GCM, the car service I booked took us to the resort, Hampton Inn Seven Mile Beach. The car service was prompt and waiting for us outside customs. Actually, customs and immigration was very fast and efficient in Grand Cayman! So far, we were super impressed with this island. The resort upgraded us to a partial ocean view room. Although this was a Hampton Inn, it was a resort so they had a resort fee which included complimentary shuttle service to some destinations on Seven Mile Beach and Camana Bay, afternoon snacks, and access to beach chairs and umbrellas. The hotel was right by the beach. There was a super short walk way to the warm waters of the Caribbean on Seven Mile Beach. I had to just jump into that bath temperature water after we unpacked. That night, we took the shuttle to Camana Bay for dinner. This beautiful retail and restaurant complex was safe, clean, and beautiful. Actually, Grand Cayman was probably the safest Caribbean island I have been to. We found a great Indian restaurant called Pani for dinner. Grand Cayman has a large Indian population which is typical of British territories and former colonies since India was once part of the British Crown also.
The next day, I went snorkeling in the waters off the beach near our hotel. There was some coral in the protected waters which had a barrier reef to keep the water super calm so I saw a decent amount of tropical fish. We took the free shuttle from our hotel to the Cayman Turtle Centre around noon. This large attraction is dedicated to preserving sea turtles. We saw turtle eggs and baby turtles after we entered the park. We got lunch there, and I enjoyed the Jamaican inspired jerk chicken, rice and beans, and fried plantains. Afterwards, we got to pet the smaller sea turtles which had colorful shells. They had lots of larger turtles too which swam right by us. After getting back to our hotel, we enjoyed the music festival that was going on at our resort. I tried this local rum called Seven Fathoms which was delicious! For dinner, we went to Cracked Conch on the West End of the island. Taxis are very pricey on the island, but we did not want to a rent since they drive on the other side of the road there. The views from my table was amazing!
We had a snorkel cruise booked for the next day. Our first stop on the cruise was Star Fish Point. Star Fish Point was a shallow sand bar where one can interact with star fish. The only rule was not to take them out of the water. After that, we went to Sting Ray City. We interacted with sting rays there. They swam right by us. We got to hold them too. The last stop on the cruise was snorkeling in the bay. The water was super warm! For dinner that night, we went to one of the top restaurants on the island, Grand Old House. This old plantation by the sea had delicious food and amazing views of the sea. A Cuban guy even hand rolled cigars on site. I tried an Indian and Caribbean fusion fish for my entree which had seafood in a curry sauce with saffron rice and raita. Dinner was not cheap, but it was great!
On our last day on the island, we had an East End Tour. Our first stop was the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park. This large garden had lots of blue iguanas which are only found on Grand Cayman. It was a hot and humid day however so Joy and I did not want to walk around the whole gardens. The next stop was the East End Blow Holes. Afterwards, we went to the historic site, Pedro St. James. A lot of historical events happened here including the freeing of the slaves on the island. The last stop was the Tortuga Rum Factory where they make the delicious rum cakes!
Grand Cayman was a super cool place! It should be on everyone's bucket list!
After we landed in GCM, the car service I booked took us to the resort, Hampton Inn Seven Mile Beach. The car service was prompt and waiting for us outside customs. Actually, customs and immigration was very fast and efficient in Grand Cayman! So far, we were super impressed with this island. The resort upgraded us to a partial ocean view room. Although this was a Hampton Inn, it was a resort so they had a resort fee which included complimentary shuttle service to some destinations on Seven Mile Beach and Camana Bay, afternoon snacks, and access to beach chairs and umbrellas. The hotel was right by the beach. There was a super short walk way to the warm waters of the Caribbean on Seven Mile Beach. I had to just jump into that bath temperature water after we unpacked. That night, we took the shuttle to Camana Bay for dinner. This beautiful retail and restaurant complex was safe, clean, and beautiful. Actually, Grand Cayman was probably the safest Caribbean island I have been to. We found a great Indian restaurant called Pani for dinner. Grand Cayman has a large Indian population which is typical of British territories and former colonies since India was once part of the British Crown also.
The next day, I went snorkeling in the waters off the beach near our hotel. There was some coral in the protected waters which had a barrier reef to keep the water super calm so I saw a decent amount of tropical fish. We took the free shuttle from our hotel to the Cayman Turtle Centre around noon. This large attraction is dedicated to preserving sea turtles. We saw turtle eggs and baby turtles after we entered the park. We got lunch there, and I enjoyed the Jamaican inspired jerk chicken, rice and beans, and fried plantains. Afterwards, we got to pet the smaller sea turtles which had colorful shells. They had lots of larger turtles too which swam right by us. After getting back to our hotel, we enjoyed the music festival that was going on at our resort. I tried this local rum called Seven Fathoms which was delicious! For dinner, we went to Cracked Conch on the West End of the island. Taxis are very pricey on the island, but we did not want to a rent since they drive on the other side of the road there. The views from my table was amazing!
We had a snorkel cruise booked for the next day. Our first stop on the cruise was Star Fish Point. Star Fish Point was a shallow sand bar where one can interact with star fish. The only rule was not to take them out of the water. After that, we went to Sting Ray City. We interacted with sting rays there. They swam right by us. We got to hold them too. The last stop on the cruise was snorkeling in the bay. The water was super warm! For dinner that night, we went to one of the top restaurants on the island, Grand Old House. This old plantation by the sea had delicious food and amazing views of the sea. A Cuban guy even hand rolled cigars on site. I tried an Indian and Caribbean fusion fish for my entree which had seafood in a curry sauce with saffron rice and raita. Dinner was not cheap, but it was great!
On our last day on the island, we had an East End Tour. Our first stop was the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park. This large garden had lots of blue iguanas which are only found on Grand Cayman. It was a hot and humid day however so Joy and I did not want to walk around the whole gardens. The next stop was the East End Blow Holes. Afterwards, we went to the historic site, Pedro St. James. A lot of historical events happened here including the freeing of the slaves on the island. The last stop was the Tortuga Rum Factory where they make the delicious rum cakes!
Grand Cayman was a super cool place! It should be on everyone's bucket list!