There are definitely some helpful things to know when visiting Grand Cayman that don’t necessarily fall into a “Review” post, so I thought I’d do an extra bonus post with some additional Cayman tips and tricks! To be honest, most of these tips can be applied to almost any Caribbean island trip, or really, on most trips anywhere 🙂 Hope you find them helpful, and happy travelling!
Cayman Tips and Tricks:
1.) The islanders are very friendly and are super helpful in recommending places to visit and giving directions, so don’t be afraid to ask! We may or may not have stopped several times to ask for directions 😀
2.) Driving is a little tricky in Grand Cayman for several reasons:
- First, there are hardly any street signs. For people who don’t have an international phone plan (us), it can get pretty tricky if you can’t use Google Maps internationally. Luckily, about halfway through our trip we discovered that you can download certain portions of Google Maps and use them to drive with even if you don’t have wifi. Once we learned that we were golden, so I HIGHLY recommend using this free option if you plan on driving.
- Secondly, there are LOTS of roundabouts. Probably not an issue for Europeans, but for us Americans who don’t use them much it is something to be aware of. Most likely, your car rental dealer will want to explain them to you since locals don’t like accidents either.
- Third, if you’re American, you’ll be driving on the opposite side of the road in Grand Cayman. Not particularly hard, it just requires a bit more concentration. You MAY even get a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side as well, our rental dealer asked what we preferred, so you may have an option, but if you don’t have reservations you may not have an option
3.) Just a head’s up…the island itself if pretty expensive. We went to the grocery store and bought our own bread, cheese, and snacks so that we could make our own breakfast and lunches in an effort to avoid going out for every meal. We actually do this on almost every trip…European-styled breakfast/lunches are super cheap and filling, all you need is some decent cheese (we recommend Gouda or Havarti) and a french baguette!
4.) As you could have guessed based on the previous item, drinks can also be fairly expensive. At one location, one drink cost us $17! In order to avoid steep drink prices, we bought local rum ($20), coke ($2), and Pina Colada mix ($4) at the store, and made our own rum and cokes and Pina Coladas in our room. We were lucky enough to have a full kitchen at Caribbean Club that included a fridge with an icemaker and a blender, so we could easily make our own, but this may be a bit more difficult if your hotel doesn’t offer those appliances. Either way, there are definitely alternatives to spending a ton of money on food and drinks if you think creatively and plan ahead, but if you’re on a budget it is helpful to know what to expect! (Pro Tip – invest in some Yeti tumblers and pack them on every trip! These worked like a charm for us and kept our homemade drinks nice and frozen all day!)
5.) Pack your own snorkel gear – all you REALLY need is a mask, don’t pay outrageous prices for rentals when it’s small enough to pack! If you plan on using it on other trips it’s probably worth the (small) investment.
6.) This is obvious, but if you’re on a budget…do the FREE things! Starfish Point, Rum Point, Smith Cove, 7 Mile Beach…all free! Read more here, but honestly, you don’t NEED to drop a ton of money on tours, trips, and toys to have an amazing Cayman experience. Cayman may be a bit expensive, but you can definitely MAKE it more budget friendly if you want to.
7.) Pack your own sunscreen in your checked bag – we ALWAYS do this, sunscreen prices in tourist locations are astronomical, so we prefer to bring our own sunscreen that can be bought at home for a less inflated price. (Can anyone guess who wears which sunscreen options between the 2 of us?? :D)
remotely interested in Grand Cayman…and for good reason! Easily our favorite Caribbean beach, 7 Mile is absolutely breathtaking! The sand is white and the water is clear and beautiful…..clear enough to see 50 feet in all directions and a wonderful ombre color of blue and turquoise! We visited in early July 2017 and the water was warm enough to not be chilly, but cool enough to be refreshing – a perfect blend! It’s also great for snorkeling….we saw a variety of fish at 7 Mile Beach, and even a few wild sea 
turtles! There are plenty of restaurants and bars on the beach (our favorites were Luca and Royal Palms) within walking distance. We stayed in Caribbean Club (read more 
Complete with a pier, lounge chairs, shops, and dining, you could spend all day here! We went on a Sunday morning (during the rainy season) and had the whole place practically to ourselves, which is how we were able to get photos without other people in it, although I’ve heard that it can get pretty crowded. However, the downfall of a Sunday morning trip was that we couldn’t get mudslides unless we were willing to wait until the bar opened at noon, and we weren’t since we had other things to do that day. But we would definitely recommend a stop-in! We walked along the 
boardwalk area, along the beach, and up and down the pier before finding some chairs to lounge in and eventually snorkel a bit. Since we didn’t end up getting mudslides, this ended up being a free activity for us, so for those on a budget this is a great option! This was about a 45 minute drive from our hotel in 7 Mile Beach, so we were glad to have a car. Rum Point is also situated right next to Starfish Point…so if you make the trip over here I highly recommend making a stop at both locations! Check it out 
trip to Smith Cove. One of our favorite things to do is explore un-commercialized coves and areas of natural beauty, so we knew this would be a highlight. From what I’ve read, this spot can be 
crowded when cruise ships are in town, but there were only 3 people there when we got there….then again, we went around 8:00am in order to avoid any crowds 😉 We were a bit disappointed to find that the rocks were not as high as we had thought they would be, we had read about cliff jumping, but these were definitely not cliffs. Still super fun though, we were still glad we went! This is definitely not a commercialized spot as there is nothing around it, and no bars or restaurants to rent beach chairs from. There is a little beach area, but you’ll have to bring your own chair or just use a towel. The cove is perfect for snorkeling 
though, and we had a great time jumping of the rocks and exploring all the nooks and crannies under water and meeting all kinds of fish! This would also be a great area to kayak or paddle board to. This is definitely a great place on the island to visit, especially if you’re on a budget since it’s free! Just be sure you have some kind of shoes on… those rocks are super sharp 🙂 Also, it’s kind of hard to find, so downloading Grand Cayman on Google Maps ahead of time and searching for “Smith Barcadere” helps! Find it 
selling any product, and the user experience at Caribbean Club is top notch! Caribbean Club did not miss a beat, starting from the week before our stay, when we got an email from the hotel asking if we had anything in particular we would like our room stocked with, to the welcome package that greeted us when we arrived. Full disclosure, there is a stocking fee, so we didn’t take advantage of that perk, but definitely a great option to have! You can easily walk to the grocery/ABC store too if you’d like. Every detail of your stay is thought out by the hotel ahead of time so that all you have to do is focus on relaxing…not that that will require much concentration 🙂
bags for us and provided towels so that we could change and hit the beach right away. The walk from the lobby to the beach is absolutely breathtaking. The patio lends itself to the hotel restaurant, Luca, which is both super convenient and also absolutely delicious. Read more about Luca 
and is unlike any other we’ve been to. The water was absolutely perfect….cool enough to be refreshing, yet warm enough to not be chilly, and clear enough to see 50 feet in all directions. So perfect, in fact, that you could almost think that you were in a pool with how clear it was! It is perfect for snorkeling and offers a wide variety of fish to discover…in fact, on the last morning of our stay we found ourselves swimming with wild sea turtles, which was super cool! Arguably, the other best feature of this particular area of 7 Mile Beach is how private it is! Caribbean Club, in my opinion, is situated on the best stretch of 7 Mile Beach in that it is close enough to little beach bars that is easy to stroll down and find something to eat or drink, but it is private enough that you pretty much get your own stretch of beach! Caribbean Club only has 37 rooms, so their beach isn’t crowded like many other hotel beaches are. They offer lounge chairs, mats, and umbrellas for every guest, and you don’t even have to get up early to make sure that you get a seat. Literally the most perfect beach, and we even visited during the rainy season! The other major perk of this location is that it also offers prime sunset views 🙂
Caribbean, just 18 miles from Venezuela. Also known as “The Happy Island”, it is a Dutch island owned by the Netherlands, which makes it part of the “Dutch Caribbean”. It’s capital is the colorful city of Oranjestad, which boasts Dutch-inspired architecture and colors, and the weather maintains a pretty consistently amazing 82 degrees year round. About 75% of Aruba’s gross national product comes from tourism, so you will find plenty of resorts, casinos, restaurants, shopping, and taxis. The locals are all extremely friendly and willing to help, and pretty much every establishment will accept US dollars and speak English. My husband and I visited Aruba for 3 days and 2 nights in February 2017 and had a blast! Fair warning though, I wouldn’t classify Aruba as one of our cheaper destinations. Being that they rely on tourism, they are used to tourists spending money, so prices aren’t overly friendly. I think of all of our travels over the past year and a half, we spent the most per meal on food in Aruba than anywhere else. Still wasn’t bad, just not as budget friendly as other places we’ve visited and we weren’t necessarily aware of that when we booked it. There are, of course, ways to MAKE it more budget friendly, but just a head’s up, it may require a little more research and creativity! Below is a list of some our favorite parts of Aruba!
not. This is one of the most popular beaches on the island, characterized by its white sand and beautiful turquoise water. However, the unique feature of this beach are the trees that appear sporadically throughout the beach. These famous divi-divi trees are common throughout the Caribbean, but the uniqueness of the Arubian divi-divi tree is the fact that all the branches of these trees in Aruba point southwest due to the constant trade winds that blow across the island. The trees are a popular photo subject and are also a common place to post up for the day for whoever gets there first, so you may have to try a few times before you’re able to get a photo without anyone else in it! However, other than the trees, this is a gorgeous 
beach that surely won’t disappoint. Most hotels/resorts have a block of lounge chairs and umbrella huts that you can use, however, they fill up quick, so you’ll need to get down there early to claim your spot (early like 6am!). There are also several beach bars spaced throughout the beach where you can get drinks….be sure to ask about Happy Hour to get that BOGO pina colada! Just a head’s up, if you’re looking for seclusion and privacy, this is probably NOT your beach. It isn’t the most crowded beach we’ve ever been to, and you can still find plenty of room to walk and swim, but it is a popular beach. If you are looking for more seclusion I’d recommend walking down the beach away from the resorts, however, there won’t be chairs for you there, so you’ll have to prioritize what’s more important to you. We stayed right next to Eagle Beach, read more 
More of a local place, so it’s not overly “touristy”. My husband and I shared the seafood paella plate which was wonderful!! Would definitely recommend! The owner actually goes fishing every morning so the seafood is super fresh! If you’re looking to eat with a view this is not the place, as it is right off the road and the view is a road/parking lot, but they have dressed it up as nice as you probably could! It is covered seating but you’re technically outside, but it is flourishing with greenery everywhere which makes it a really cool spot! Would absolutely go back! For more info visit 
beach is definitely more crowded than Eagle Beach, partly due to the fact that there is a pier jutting out from it and a boardwalk directly behind it. We only stayed long enough to eat our pitaya bowl lunch since crowds aren’t really our thing, but it was still worth going if not only for the pitaya bowl and for seeing more of Aruba. The boardwalk behind the beach is great for little bars and dives, and the town behind the boardwalk is great for shopping if you’re wanting to shop! There’s also a Starbucks in the town area if you’re one of those people who just HAVE to get a Starbucks country mug for every country you go to 🙂
vegan-ish establishment. I’m not vegan or vegetarian or anything, so I don’t know which one this place is, but it’s one of those super healthy places. I got a pitaya (dragon fruit) bowl and my husband got an acaia bowl. Pitaya bowls have been my new favorite thing since Feb. 2017. I came back to the states and found out the closest place to me that makes these asap! It’s basically a smoothie blend (mine was dragon fruit, his was acaia), topped with granola, honey, all kinds of fresh fruit, and raw coconut. SO AMAZING! And such a refreshing treat/lunch right at the beach! Fairly cheap too compared to other island food…”fully loaded” bowls (the ones with granola, honey, and coconut) were $10 each, but cheaper options are available if you’re looking for something smaller. The bowls are big enough to share though depending on how hungry you are! Do yourself a HUGE favor and check it 
you go to and from the airport, but if you can fit it in, you should absolutely make plans to walk around and visit this incredibly fun little city! With it’s Dutch architecture (maybe it’s just me, but I’m a sucker for cool and unique architecture, so this may not actually be a selling point for everyone else) and vibrant colors it’s definitely something you’re not going to want to miss! We aren’t city people by any means, but we were so glad we spent an afternoon here. It was honestly like what I would imagine visiting a little beach town in the Netherlands would be like. Not that I would know, but one day I’ll find out for sure 🙂 If you’re a shopper then this is probably your best one-stop shop, with lots of convenience stores, boutiques, touristy stores, and designer stores as well. We just took a few hours and walked around the city, eating dutch pancakes, admiring the awesome buildings and visiting the blue horses.
NOT try one, especially if it has nutella and strawberries on it! There are several well-known pancake houses that the web will point you towards, but this was just the one we happened to walk by and stumble upon first, so that’s how we chose this one. I’m sure they are all pretty much the same though! Not fluffy and thick like our pancakes in the US, but more like a cross between US pancakes and crepes, and absolutely DELICIOUS! Honestly, this was more of a dessert than a brunch, but they have so many options that can be more breakfast OR lunch based, including savory and cheesy options! We just split the one because we really just wanted a taste and didn’t want to spend money, but it was HUGE! So I’d recommend splitting one for sure. But a DEFINITE must-try! The mimosas and Arubian ice coffee sure weren’t too bad either 🙂 Read more 
Pilot Life for Me 