7 mile beach

We exited the port, caught a bus 2 block in. $2.50 pp for the ride, US dollars. Went to the public beach, by Calico Jack's. They immediately offered to rent us chairs and umbrellas. We declined as we had plans to walk to Cemetary Beach.

I noticed that the beach is not very deep, beginning at Calico Jacks. Therefore, it seemed to be crowded. We walked a long time to get to Cemetary Beach. Found 1 piece of sea glass, our purpose. It was so nice to walk a bit, swim a bit and walk more. We did see one stingray, but, not many other fish. There is limited shade, up away from the beach. Unless it is a property, it is allowed to place your towel down.

When we walked back, we showered off at Calico Jack's and had lunch. We had the fish and chips. it was good, although pricey since we paid in cash and were hit with the upcharge. Using a credit card would have changed that.

For every Cayman $1.00, US is $1.25. They also go ahead and add the gratuity to your bill. They do accept US dollars.

We walked a block back to the main street, and caught another public bus (van) back to the port.

This was a very enjoyable day. The beach there is just beautiful

When we walked back, we showered off at Calico Jack's and had lunch. We had the fish and chips. it was good, although pricey since we paid in cash and were hit with the upcharge. Using a credit card would have changed that.

 

For every Cayman $1.00, US is $1.25. They also go ahead and add the gratuity to your bill. They do accept US dollars.

FYI, the exchange between Cayman and US dollars is set on a permanent basis island-wide. That's not just a Calico Jacks up charge. Had you used your credit card, you would have been charged the exact same amount.

We exited the port, caught a bus 2 block in. $2.50 pp for the ride, US dollars. Went to the public beach, by Calico Jack's. They immediately offered to rent us chairs and umbrellas. We declined as we had plans to walk to Cemetary Beach.

 

I noticed that the beach is not very deep, beginning at Calico Jacks. Therefore, it seemed to be crowded. We walked a long time to get to Cemetary Beach. Found 1 piece of sea glass, our purpose. It was so nice to walk a bit, swim a bit and walk more. We did see one stingray, but, not many other fish. There is limited shade, up away from the beach. Unless it is a property, it is allowed to place your towel down.

 

When we walked back, we showered off at Calico Jack's and had lunch. We had the fish and chips. it was good, although pricey since we paid in cash and were hit with the upcharge. Using a credit card would have changed that.

 

For every Cayman $1.00, US is $1.25. They also go ahead and add the gratuity to your bill. They do accept US dollars.

 

We walked a block back to the main street, and caught another public bus (van) back to the port.

 

This was a very enjoyable day. The beach there is just beautiful

This is what we plan to do when we are there in December. Thanks for the info.

GC is one of the easiest DIY ports!

Grand Cayman is probably one of the easiest and SAFEST Caribbean ports to do on-your-own.

It also tends to be one of the most expensive.

FYI, the exchange between Cayman and US dollars is set on a permanent basis island-wide. That's not just a Calico Jacks up charge. Had you used your credit card, you would have been charged the exact same amount.

I am not sure every restaurant automatically adds the gratuity. But, yes, if we had brought a credit card, we wouldn't have been charged the exchange. We just have gotten into the habit of bringing cash and no credit card on islands

I am not sure every restaurant automatically adds the gratuity. But, yes, if we had brought a credit card, we wouldn't have been charged the exchange. We just have gotten into the habit of bringing cash and no credit card on islands

Almost every Cayman restaurant, at least in the tourist areas, adds the gratuity. It's very, very common.

And yes, you would have been charged the exchange between Cayman and US dollars no matter whether you paid cash or by credit card. It's a government-set currency exchange rate. If menu prices are in CI$ then your price in US$ will be different (more), just like it would when converting any other countries' currency into US dollars.

Trust me. We own a vacation home there and spend a minimum of two months (total) on island every year, and have done so every year for the last decade. I am an expert at using my credit card in Cayman... :-)

sounds like a fun day!

I will be in Grand Cayman next month, and we want to do the same thing. Go to Public and Governor beach. Thanks for the information.

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Bookbabe : are there any all inclusive beach clubs on Cayman ... Which beach would you recommend:)

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Bookbabe : are there any all inclusive beach clubs on Cayman ... Which beach would you recommend:)

Sorry, no AIs of the type found in other ports.

Anywhere along Seven Mile Beach will be a similar experience between sections. The facilities really don't vary that much. What are you looking for? What's the makeup of your travel group? That will make a difference in recommending somewhere.

I'm looking for a beach with chair and umbrella rentals, off the beach snorkeling and some local eats. I love island music but prefer to be away from blaring rap. (Our last trip to our perfect beach was kind of dampened by extremely loud rap that was mostly just foul language and it really took away from the beauty of the island!)

If you can make some suggestions on where I should ask the taxi to drop us off, I'd really appreciate it! Also, should we pre arrange taxi back to the ship or is it pretty easy to locate a taxi at the beach? There will be one in our group who is not able to walk a long distance so figure the bus would not be an option for us!!!

Thanks for any hints!

Most of what you're looking for is in post #2 of this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2299895

The problem is going to be the snorkeling. The best beaches generally have the worst snorkeling. Any of the developed 7MB beach club areas have mediocre or non-existent snorkeling. The best (but not fantastic) snorkeling along 7MB is at the spots like Cemetery Beach, and there are no facilities there.

Taxis are easy, though. There will be tons at most of the common spots.

Thank you!

Any one do Royal Palms, with or without cabana rentals, looking for in put... thanks!

Any one do Royal Palms, with or without cabana rentals, looking for in put... thanks!

What kind of input are you looking for? There are lots of threads on Royal Palms if you use the search feature in this forum. I go to RP multiple times a year, and have posted pics of menus, etc. It's my favorite of the beach clubs.

Most of what you're looking for is in post #2 of this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2299895

 

The problem is going to be the snorkeling. The best beaches generally have the worst snorkeling. Any of the developed 7MB beach club areas have mediocre or non-existent snorkeling. The best (but not fantastic) snorkeling along 7MB is at the spots like Cemetery Beach, and there are no facilities there.

 

Taxis are easy, though. There will be tons at most of the common spots.

Thanks for the information. We will be in Grand Caymen next week. :)

Regarding taxis. Are the fares negotiable.? Or, what is the typical taxi fare to/from cruise port to 7 Mile Beach? And, how much travel time to allow getting back to the cruise port? We do not snorkel, but enjoy beach combing.

Or just walk around the downtown area? Or for a quick overview, do the 1 1/2 hour .Jolley Roger Train excursion?

Thank you.

Taxi fares are a set rate, around $4-8 US pp each way depending on what part of SMB you want to go to.

Travel time, same deal...depends on which end of the beach you go to. Leave extra time on the return trip in case of traffic

Not sure there's much 'beach combing' to do along SMB, it's pretty developed especially at the end closer to the port.

We were in GC in October on our Disney cruise. We took a bus from the port to public beach. It was $5 per person. They let us out right at calico jacks. We spent $13 US on a plate of chicken strips and fries to share. We got a beach chair and umbrella for like $5 just to throw our bags on. But if we hadn't done that we could have just put our stuff on a towel in the sand. Perfect, white powdery sand and crystal clear water. My kids had a blast looking for shells and diving under the small waves. It dropped off quickly about ten to fifteen feet out so I made my son wear arm floaties just in case. My husband walked down the beach a minute or two and found a lady selling coconuts so we got one cut open with straws for a snack, then she would chop it up after you drank the milk.

My only complaint the whole day was the weird positioning of the showers. There was nowhere to rinse feet near the area where the buses picked up, so my kids rinsed and then walked through deep soft sand h were a soggy wet mess in the bus. And my son was sitting there trying to dump sand out of the lining of his suit while we drove.

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We were in GC in October on our Disney cruise. We took a bus from the port to public beach. It was $5 per person. They let us out right at calico jacks. We spent $13 US on a plate of chicken strips and fries to share. We got a beach chair and umbrella for like $5 just to throw our bags on. But if we hadn't done that we could have just put our stuff on a towel in the sand. Perfect, white powdery sand and crystal clear water. My kids had a blast looking for shells and diving under the small waves. It dropped off quickly about ten to fifteen feet out so I made my son wear arm floaties just in case. My husband walked down the beach a minute or two and found a lady selling coconuts so we got one cut open with straws for a snack, then she would chop it up after you drank the milk.

 

My only complaint the whole day was the weird positioning of the showers. There was nowhere to rinse feet near the area where the buses picked up, so my kids rinsed and then walked through deep soft sand h were a soggy wet mess in the bus. And my son was sitting there trying to dump sand out of the lining of his suit while we drove.

 

 

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Thanks for the report.

We did a half day island bus tour when we were in Grand Cayman earlier this month. Next time SMB.

Any there Clamshells or lounge chairs for rent there? Cost?

Thanks for the report.

 

We did a half day island bus tour when we were in Grand Cayman earlier this month. Next time SMB.

 

Any there Clamshells or lounge chairs for rent there? Cost?

The bus was $5 per person, each way. The beach was free, you just paid for a chair. They were the fully reclining ones but not super high quality. I believe the chairs were $5 each. They were charging for umbrellas as well but the beach had literally maybe ten people on it most of the day so we ended up just moving to a chair next to an umbrella later.

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Before you think about this beach club there are some expensive decisions to make. We were there last week during the Silhouette's western stops.

Taxi - $4pp each way

Entrance fee - $2pp

Umbrella - $15

Chairs/loungers - $12 per

Food - pricey

Nice beach, though Small shelf as you enter the water(cloudy)

This is the closest to the port so most of the taxi drivers drop off there(kickback)

Hal

Before you think about this beach club there are some expensive decisions to make. We were there last week during the Silhouette's western stops.

Taxi - $4pp each way

Entrance fee - $2pp

Umbrella - $15

Chairs/loungers - $12 per

Food - pricey

Nice beach, though Small shelf as you enter the water(cloudy)

 

This is the closest to the port so most of the taxi drivers drop off there(kickback)

 

Hal

That doesn't seem expensive at all. :). YMMV.

BTW, we did a beach day at Princess Cay for $29 USD. Included Clamshell, 2 lounge chairs, and a buffet lunch. 👍👍

Before you think about this beach club there are some expensive decisions to make. We were there last week during the Silhouette's western stops.

 

Taxi - $4pp each way

 

Entrance fee - $2pp

 

Umbrella - $15

 

Chairs/loungers - $12 per

 

Food - pricey

 

Nice beach, though Small shelf as you enter the water(cloudy)

 

 

 

This is the closest to the port so most of the taxi drivers drop off there(kickback)

 

 

 

Hal

The beach you are describing sounds like Royal Palms. The OP went to Public Beach. Both are sections of Seven Mile Beach, but they are very different spots.

I know I saw a picture on this website, or a link - a layout of their beach cabanas and how they are numbered. Anyone know where I can find this? I'd like to request the one closest to the water.

Thanks if anyone can help, I can't seem to find it again for the life of me.