My wife and I were in Grand Cayman (7/11-7/15) and Little Cayman (7/15-7/20). I thought I'd share some of our experiences with you.
We debated long and hard about east end vs. west end and finally decided that since we tend to gravitate toward the lesser populated areas that we would stay on the east end, and chose The Reef. I think The Reef would be ideal for you if you were traveling as a family with kids but if you are, like us, a couple looking for quiet solace this is not the place for you. While the rooms were clean and bright with nice amenities, we found the number of families with uncontrolled kids to be not to our liking at all. The beach is OK, although there is no sand which you can easily walk into the water - it's called The Reef for a reason, bring water shoes.
We tend to enjoy nicer (and quieter) dining, and both are virtually non-existent on the east end. We had dinner our first night at Over The Edge, which is a pretty cool place which I'm convinced is named after your cholesterol count after eating there: they start you with fried bread (which was delicious, and we should have been forewarned), and I followed with fried conch served with french fries and fried bananas. We also ate at Portofino (decent and very low-key) and the Lighthouse (which I do not recommend - very overpriced for the quality of food, although the conch ceviche was dee-lish). Our best meal by far was on the west side at The Grand Old House, just south of Seven Mile Beach. The food and service and quality and setting are among the best meals we've had anywhere we've been in the world.
I've read people recommending to stop at Foster's for groceries near the airport - avoid it and travel east a few minutes and go to Hurley's instead. The quality is vastly superior.
Important note: if you need to visit the U.S. Consual, it is not where the Cayman phone book or the U.S. State Department website says it is (The Micro Center)! Furthermore, the hours are not what the State Department says they are! You'll find it in the Cayman Center across from the airport post office on the west side. The hours are Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 8:00-2:00 only!
We first dove with Indigo Divers, a husband and wife team that operates essentially a six-pack, although the boat is small enough that I don't know how they would serve more than four. They picked us up at the fuel dock at Kaibo Yacht Club and took us to sites called White Stroke Canyon and Blue Pinnacles. We saw .... nothing. I would not dive that side of the island again and would most likely not dive with Indigo again either. I exchanged emails with the husband and talked with the wife on the phone before we left the states and explained that the single thing that my wife was looking forward to on the trip was Stingray City; they seemed to have no problem with going so long as it was OK with the other folks on the boat. When I called from The Reef, the response was "we went there yesterday." Thankfully, we were able to talk them into spending our surface interval at the SC sandbar, which was my wife's favorite part of the trip. Nitrox available for $15/tank. We did absolutely love the Kaibo Yacht Club; we had lunch there twice. Quiet beach bar, nice people, good food, ice-cold beer. If you are considering staying or beaching in the Rum Point area, which was a complete zoo, do yourself a favor and flee the ridiculous crowds there and head a few minutes down the point to KYC.
Our second dive day was on the east end with Ocean Frontiers, who is among the best and most professional operations I've ever dived with. We dove Jack McKinney's Canyon and Grouper Grotto, both of which were swarming with fish! Clear water, great viz, swim-throughs, millions of silversides, dozens of tarpon, etc., and very knowledgeable divemasters. It was night-and-day different from the north side we dove previously. Nitrox available for $15/tank.
We went on to Little Cayman and stayed at the Southern Cross Club, which was paradise. Very quiet, beautiful rooms, excellent food, excellent dive operation, exceedingly nice people. I can not recommend this place highly enough!! The first day we took a ride over to Cayman Brac and visited the wreck of the Tibbetts. The rest of the time we dove the walls and reefs of Jackson Bay and Bloody Bay and did a night dive at the wreck of the Soto Trader. Wonderful dive op and great captain and divemasters! The only meal we did not eat at Southern Cross we ate at the Hungry Iguana, which should be renamed the Hungry Mosquito. We did not see a single one at Southern Cross but they were swarming at the Hungry Iguana!
As drastic the difference between the north side and the east side of Grand Cayman, it was even greater between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman/Cayman Brac. If we go back, we'll likely stay on the west side of Grand Cayman for only a couple of days to shoredive and dine and then spend an extended period at Southern Cross on Little Cayman. Based on what I saw, I can not for the life of me understand why more people don't spend more time on Little Cayman!!
We debated long and hard about east end vs. west end and finally decided that since we tend to gravitate toward the lesser populated areas that we would stay on the east end, and chose The Reef. I think The Reef would be ideal for you if you were traveling as a family with kids but if you are, like us, a couple looking for quiet solace this is not the place for you. While the rooms were clean and bright with nice amenities, we found the number of families with uncontrolled kids to be not to our liking at all. The beach is OK, although there is no sand which you can easily walk into the water - it's called The Reef for a reason, bring water shoes.
We tend to enjoy nicer (and quieter) dining, and both are virtually non-existent on the east end. We had dinner our first night at Over The Edge, which is a pretty cool place which I'm convinced is named after your cholesterol count after eating there: they start you with fried bread (which was delicious, and we should have been forewarned), and I followed with fried conch served with french fries and fried bananas. We also ate at Portofino (decent and very low-key) and the Lighthouse (which I do not recommend - very overpriced for the quality of food, although the conch ceviche was dee-lish). Our best meal by far was on the west side at The Grand Old House, just south of Seven Mile Beach. The food and service and quality and setting are among the best meals we've had anywhere we've been in the world.
I've read people recommending to stop at Foster's for groceries near the airport - avoid it and travel east a few minutes and go to Hurley's instead. The quality is vastly superior.
Important note: if you need to visit the U.S. Consual, it is not where the Cayman phone book or the U.S. State Department website says it is (The Micro Center)! Furthermore, the hours are not what the State Department says they are! You'll find it in the Cayman Center across from the airport post office on the west side. The hours are Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 8:00-2:00 only!
We first dove with Indigo Divers, a husband and wife team that operates essentially a six-pack, although the boat is small enough that I don't know how they would serve more than four. They picked us up at the fuel dock at Kaibo Yacht Club and took us to sites called White Stroke Canyon and Blue Pinnacles. We saw .... nothing. I would not dive that side of the island again and would most likely not dive with Indigo again either. I exchanged emails with the husband and talked with the wife on the phone before we left the states and explained that the single thing that my wife was looking forward to on the trip was Stingray City; they seemed to have no problem with going so long as it was OK with the other folks on the boat. When I called from The Reef, the response was "we went there yesterday." Thankfully, we were able to talk them into spending our surface interval at the SC sandbar, which was my wife's favorite part of the trip. Nitrox available for $15/tank. We did absolutely love the Kaibo Yacht Club; we had lunch there twice. Quiet beach bar, nice people, good food, ice-cold beer. If you are considering staying or beaching in the Rum Point area, which was a complete zoo, do yourself a favor and flee the ridiculous crowds there and head a few minutes down the point to KYC.
Our second dive day was on the east end with Ocean Frontiers, who is among the best and most professional operations I've ever dived with. We dove Jack McKinney's Canyon and Grouper Grotto, both of which were swarming with fish! Clear water, great viz, swim-throughs, millions of silversides, dozens of tarpon, etc., and very knowledgeable divemasters. It was night-and-day different from the north side we dove previously. Nitrox available for $15/tank.
We went on to Little Cayman and stayed at the Southern Cross Club, which was paradise. Very quiet, beautiful rooms, excellent food, excellent dive operation, exceedingly nice people. I can not recommend this place highly enough!! The first day we took a ride over to Cayman Brac and visited the wreck of the Tibbetts. The rest of the time we dove the walls and reefs of Jackson Bay and Bloody Bay and did a night dive at the wreck of the Soto Trader. Wonderful dive op and great captain and divemasters! The only meal we did not eat at Southern Cross we ate at the Hungry Iguana, which should be renamed the Hungry Mosquito. We did not see a single one at Southern Cross but they were swarming at the Hungry Iguana!
As drastic the difference between the north side and the east side of Grand Cayman, it was even greater between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman/Cayman Brac. If we go back, we'll likely stay on the west side of Grand Cayman for only a couple of days to shoredive and dine and then spend an extended period at Southern Cross on Little Cayman. Based on what I saw, I can not for the life of me understand why more people don't spend more time on Little Cayman!!
