Grand Cayman - Seven Mile beach or East side?

[freewillie]

We are trying to plan a trip for next spring break with the family. There are two divers, myself and my daughter, with a non diving wife and two non diving kids. We have never been to Grand Cayman but hear it is great for both divers and non divers.

I was looking at the options and it seems that Seven Mile Beach is where most of the resorts and activities are. But it also seems that is where the cruise ships dock and it can get very crowded. It seems that would have the best options for things to do for the non diving spouse and kids if they get tired of the pool and beach.

On the other hand it looks like the East side is quieter but has more wind and the beach conditions can be a little rougher compared to SMB.

I had planned to do a few days diving with my daughter and the rest of the days with the family as a whole. Any thoughts or recommendations. Thanks.

 

[Damselfish]

West end crowded, East end windy and quiet, is an oversimplification.

I'm assuming going with your family you would want a 3 BR condo type unit with a real kitchen. As far as activities when they get tired of the beach and pool, what did you have in mind? Beyond the usual water oriented tours and activities, which you can get plenty of at either end of the island, I'm not sure Grand Cayman has much more to see or do than any other small Caribbean sand spit. It is relatively easy to get to and very 1st world, and does have plenty of restaurants and shopping. But not a great deal as far as sightseeing or interesting hiking/biking/touring that some other places have.

The East end is certainly quieter than the downtown area or SMB. The cruise ship crowds will most noticably affect downtown, and are easy to avoid if you check the cruise ship schedule and don't go there then. (IMO you wouldn't be missing much anyway.) SMB is not the same as downtown, but it's relatively busy most of the time, as it's lined with big hotels, condos, restaurants and shopping malls. And often traffic. You might think you didn't leave Miami.

The West Bay area (kind of the northwest area of the island, the north end of SMB and beyond) is also pretty quiet. At the same time it's a fairly short drive to SMB when you want what's there. There are a variety of condos, as well as Cobalt Coast Resort. Cobalt Coast is a good base for divers and very nice, but on ironshore and not good if you need a beach on site. Also has more like kitchenettes than real kitchens. Lighthouse Point condos are similarly diver oriented on beachless ironshore. If you prefer relative quiet while being nearish stuff, condos towards the north end of SMB might be good options for you.

East End has several big timeshare resorts with on-site dive ops that are mostly full condo style units, as well as Compass Point condos where Ocean Frontiers is. The East end is known for being windy in the winter which can make your boat ride rougher, but that doesn't necessarily mean the beach is rough - the resorts are in a sort of reef-protected lagoon and the beaches at the Reef and Morritts are very nice. Personally, I think the beaches and pools at the timeshares are more pleasant and interesting places to hang out than what I've seen of SMB. The snorkeling is also pretty good, just be careful if you go all the way out to the fringing reef especially near any cut.

It's possible your non-divers will find more to entertain them on site at one of the timeshare resorts than they will at any condo on the west end. They have some scheduled activities and seem oriented towards being more self-contained, having been sitting out there for years with little else around - a little like AIs that don't have required meal plans. Compass Point is very nice, but essentially beachless, and very oriented to divers. There are fewer restaurants than the West End but enough to have some pretty good choices in a reasonable distance now. Not much for shopping. (There's a small grocery store which is not bad, but you'd want to do major grocery shopping at one of the real grocery stores nearer town; note that they are not open on Sundays.) A bit of a drive to get to some other things you might want to do.

Rum Point area is also away from things, I'd say even more so than the East End. And quiet except for maybe the point itself midday when there's lots of daytrippers visiting the beach bar and restaurant there. AFAIK there's only one choice of dive op leaving from there. I believe there's plenty of rentals in the area, but not really "resorts."

 

[freewillie]

Thanks for the responses.

We have a week with Interval International. We have a choice between 7 Mile Beach resort next to a Marriott or Moritt's on the East End. We are trying to decide on which resort to choose. Either way I'd choose a dive op near where we are staying but was also concerned about things to do for the non diving portion of the family.

 

[jonhall]

Have been 3 times vacationing/diving. Two of the times were with a vacation club of friend. One week at Morritts on East End (diving with Ocean Frontiers) one week at Cobalt Coast on West End (diving with DiveTech onsite.) The first time I went I stayed at the Westin on SMB and dove with DiveTech (they were located somewhere else back then.)

Damselfish gave some great descriptions of places. My 2 cents: diving is good everywhere. East and West Ends , the water can be a little rougher. SMB is usually calm and there are lots of dive sites along that coast. Cruise ships aren't a concern along SMB.

Not much to do and the drive to Georgetown and SMB is long from East End. Along SMB , you're a little closer to sites to see, things to do, other resorts to explore, and shopping.

 

[Bubbles below]

I vote for East End! I'm staying at the Morritt's w my 2 twin 14yrs old girls, non diver, my friend (non diver) and hubby, newly certified diver. I like the peace and quiet! This March, we stayed close to town in Cozumel and I didn't get any sleep between traffic noises and cruise ships arrival. Also, in the afternoon after our dives there's No lounge chairs for us cause it was taken over my cruisers.
This is our agenda: If I'm not overly tired, I might do the afternoon dive at Morritts on the day of my arrival and if they have an availability. Mon, Thur, and Sat diving w Ocean Frontier for 2 tank dives in the morning. By the time I'm done, they will be awake and at the pool/beach. Tuesday, we're going to Georgetown ( only one cruise ship at port) and will dive Kittawake in the afternoon while my girls and my friend shop and go visit turtle farm. On Wednesday, we may head over to Rum Point or hang out at our timeshare, 3 cruise ships at port. Thursday, hubby and I dive together in AM w Ocean Frontier, then do a lionfish hunt w Morritts in the afternoon while the girls paddle board/horseback riding on the beach and then do an ultra violet night dive w Ocean Frontier at 7-9pm. Friday, family snorkel w the Stingray if I talk my girls into it and maybe go to Georgetown, one cruise at port. Sat, hubby and I last AM dives w Ocean Frontier and hang w the girls in the afternoon for social activities at the pool, 3-4pm ice cream social daily. Sunday, everyone head to the airport in the afternoon. My girls and my friend will travel back to the states while we travel to Little Cayman, best of both worlds! We have a rental car, but Morritts also offer shuttle services to Georgetown daily. Have a great time!

 

[tkaelin]

I have been to GC many times, with family, with divers, with non divers. For your first trip with family with non divers and wanting to do some diving I would recommend 7MB and staying further out from GTown at a place like Discovery Point. You will not notice cruise ship crowds unless you venture into GTown or stay close by. You can rent a condo right on the beach and enjoy all the 7MB activities. You can still get some very good diving and for a first trip there is some very good diving off 7MB. You can find a small dive boat operation that may be willing to pick you up by boat right at your resort. I prefer staying on the East side when it is primarily a dive trip. Enjoy either way you decide

 

[diversteve]

I agree with the above poster. By my count "Bubbles" is going to spend about 8 hours in the car just driving from Morritt's to the West side.

Most of the non-dive touristy things are either downtown or in the West Bay area. Staying at 7MB Resort puts you in the middle. One downside of 7MB resort is I believe they solicit cruise excursions to their beach. A plus is you can walk over to the Marriott - Red Sail Watersports is there, they have a couple of nice restaurants and I believe a man-made snorkel trail - either there or it's at the Westin. Plus the beach is nicer than the East End generally.

There's two clusters of shops/restaurants, one a little south of the Ritz Carlton and downtown. Once the cruisers leave, downtown is very pleasant. We head down around 4PM - we've even caught a dive at Eden Rock and been the only ones there.

The tourist attractions, Stingray City, SandBar <- the 4' snorkel all the cruise excursions do nearby, the Turtle Farm/Boatswains Beach, Tortuga Rum Cake factory, town of Hell (Postcards from...) are all in the Wet Bay area. As is the dolphin encounter but I'm not sure where. There's also a watertoys operator on the Sound that does Kayak trips across to the Mangroves - Red Sail also does some activities.

Red Sails afternoon dive is a shallower/Discover Dive so if you plan to dive afternoons go with someone else. Most of the Stingray City dives are done around 1PM or later also. Just about every dive operator will also pick you up by van there to go diving. So don't feel like you have to use Red Sail. There's a complete list in the link I posted below.

Cayman has a frequent micro-bus system that runs all over the island - mostly up and down West Bay road from NW Point to downtown. So the non-divers have a convenient way around if you did need the car - maybe get up early one day and drive/dive with Ocean Frontiers. Plan on 45mins drive+. Look at a map, you'll see there's a second major road behind SMB - it runs past the airport and straight out to the East End - bypassing Georgetown completely. It's called various things but near 7MB resort it should be Tibbetts Hwy.

A simple comparison indicates why the West side will be better for your family if they plan to do anything but play on the beach/pool - check where activities are located - sort by East End and you'll see nine including a car rental. Pick West Bay. Georgetown or SMB and there's pages of them: Cayman Islands Tourism Association - Things To Do In Cayman, Cayman Culture,Cayman Islands Watersports

 

[tkaelin]

We plan our trips to islands that have cruise ships around avoiding the crowds and ships. Check out CruiseTT and you can find out when ships arrive. Georgetown can be nice to visit and Eden Rock a nice dive when cruise ships are not in town. You can usually find at least one day or at least one morning when there are no ships. That's usually when we plan our visit to GT and a dive at ER. We have stayed at Discovery Point and it is pretty quiet that far down the beach. Christopher Columbus condos are next door. Have not stayed there but look comparable. The Kittiwake wreck is worth doing once and you and your daughter may enjoy it. It is also out front of the condos I mentioned.

 

[jonhall]

Sorry, I meant to add this to my post above. Staying at Morritts, we were in a 2 bedroom unit, 2nd floor. The room facing the water had a nice view of the ocean. The 2nd room was toward the road and had a door to a walkway outside the room in which you could hear anyone walking by.

Also while snorkeling around the pier at the Morritts beach, standing depth for me, a reef shark swam right at us. Very cool! Was so glad I had my camera with me.

 

[freewillie]

Awesome photo, that must have been a great experience. I would suspect that if you saw the shark snorkeling I have a wife and a daughter who would probably never get back in the water to snorkel if they saw the shark. I'm not sure how my son would react but I'm pretty sure my oldest daughter (the diver) would try and get a closer look. We saw a silhouette of a tiger shark off the coast of Kona and she starting heading towards the shark to get a better look.