BOOKING AN EXCURSION vs PORT LOCALS?

Hi, I have a group of 6 adults going to Grand Cayman on Dec 2. I've probably seen a lot of the tours from different sites but I'm just wondering if it would be wise/better/cheaper to just negotiate with a local where we want to go? Or book ahead of time?

We will be there in April and I'm wondering the same thing. We already have Cozumel planned, sort of thinking of just 'winging it' at GC.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We will be there in April and I'm wondering the same thing. We already have Cozumel planned, sort of thinking of just 'winging it' at GC.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I havae the exact same thoughts. I will be booking a tour in Cozumel and just winging it at GC but not sure what the risks and benefits are.

What do you want to do/see? There are no "risks" to winging it...GC is pretty safe! Have you checked a guidebook for what interests you? Some info on where you're going is always a good idea. If there is something specific you want to do, tell us...we can help. If a beach day is what you want...catch the bus and head to Seagrape (on 7 mile beach)....easy, relatively cheap (for GC!) and fun.

Grand Cayman is probably one of the safest places you'll ever be to do something on-your-own. :D

LuLu

What do you want to do/see? There are no "risks" to winging it...GC is pretty safe! Have you checked a guidebook for what interests you? Some info on where you're going is always a good idea. If there is something specific you want to do, tell us...we can help. If a beach day is what you want...catch the bus and head to Seagrape (on 7 mile beach)....easy, relatively cheap (for GC!) and fun.

These are the things I have on my list so far: Sting ray city for snorkeling, barrier reefs, blow holes which is quite random and out of the way, possibly see Rum Point?, visit the tortuga rum shop, and just hang out at 7 mile beach and do water sports. We'd like to swim with the dolphins too but it might be a little pricey. Our port time will be from 10am to 6pm.

I'm leaning towards just taking the taxi/bus but I'm unsure of local traffic since there are also 6 of us adults.

4 ladies and no Stingray City for us. I'd like to spend time at 7 mile beach but I'm not sure if we'd like staying the whole day there. I would like to get in the water with the dolphins!

Other than that, idk. I did order a brochure from GC and it came in the mail the other day. Nothing really stands out for me...we will be in port from 8am - 3pm.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

These are the things I have on my list so far: Sting ray city for snorkeling, barrier reefs, blow holes which is quite random and out of the way, possibly see Rum Point?, visit the tortuga rum shop, and just hang out at 7 mile beach and do water sports. We'd like to swim with the dolphins too but it might be a little pricey. Our port time will be from 10am to 6pm.

 

I'm leaning towards just taking the taxi/bus but I'm unsure of local traffic since there are also 6 of us adults.

Well, there's no way you will be able to do all that in one port stop. You could break it up this way:

Stingray City & Barrier Reef Snorkeling with 7 mile beach (and maybe Tortuga)

(you could hire someone at the dock for this I'm sure)

or

Blow Holes and Rum Point (you'd definitely need to hire a driver for the day or rent a car to do this).

We got off the ship, walked into port and did an island tour for cheap! Way cheaper than booking ahead of time. Just get off the ship and ask around i'm sure you'll find someone that is willing to give you a great price to wherever you want to go.

Azmike480

The only thing I would caution you about would be booking a trip to stingray city as you walk off the ship. While we were there a few weeks ago, the $40 local boat pulled up next to us and it was absolutely jam packed! It took them forever to get everybody off the boat and into the water because they were giving out snorkel fins and masks, which you do not need at stingray city. I felt really bad for those who didn't get off the boat right away as their time at stingray city was really shortened.

I would strongly recommend that you check out Stingray Sailing. Great personalized attention and wonderful customer service. They will also go out even if the boat is not full. Their motto is "the only time we cancel is if we have less than one." :-)

stingray sailing (dot) com

The only thing I would caution you about would be booking a trip to stingray city as you walk off the ship. While we were there a few weeks ago, the $40 local boat pulled up next to us and it was absolutely jam packed! It took them forever to get everybody off the boat and into the water because they were giving out snorkel fins and masks, which you do not need at stingray city. I felt really bad for those who didn't get off the boat right away as their time at stingray city was really shortened.

 

I would strongly recommend that you check out Stingray Sailing. Great personalized attention and wonderful customer service. They will also go out even if the boat is not full. Their motto is "the only time we cancel is if we have less than one." :-)

 

stingray sailing (dot) com

Would definitely book stingray tour ahead of time. I think some of the better tours book up with cruise passengers doing online on their own. We used Moby Dick and they were good also. I liked that we didn't have to pay until we got there. They were very organized.

Hello all - In November of 2014 I was able to take the West Bay Loop Bicycle tour. Here's my review of the service. I booked with the local company directly and it was a great experience.

The bicycle tour I took with West Bay Loop was hands down the best activity of my entire vacation. I was on a cruise ship and was in Grand Cayman only for one day. Richard and Eddie made it a wonderful experience.

The service began with a shuttle ride from just outside the cruise terminal. Richard came to get us. He is very personable and friendly. The ride out to the bike area near the Cracked Conch Restaurant is short, only about 15 minutes.

Once we got to the bikes, Eddie, the guide and ride leader, made sure that each of us had a good fit on our bike. There were 7 people in the group I rode with. West Bay Loop has both men's and women's bikes. The bicycles are very nice beach cruisers. They have only one gear and when you want to stop you pedal backwards. They are super easy to ride and pretty comfortable. The bikes have nice padded seats.

The ride around the loop is mostly flat and the rest stops were well timed. The total ride was about 3 hours. Richard and Eddie make sure everyone has plenty of water. We were given water to drink before the ride even began to hydrate. During the ride, each time we stopped, Eddie reminded everyone to drink. He would top up our water bottles as needed with water he carried on his bike. The bikes have water bottle holders and a pouch for holding small objects. The guys took care of items that riders didn't want to have with them while we rode. They also have bike helmets for those who want them.

I'm so glad I got to do the tour with Eddie. He is a great guide. He is very knowledgeable about the island and has friends and family all over the West Bay area. We rode past his grandmother's house and he took us to meet her. She is 95 years old and very friendly. Eddie made sure we were safe as we rode and it was very nice not to have to try to follow a map. You can rent just the bike and get a map but it was great to have a guide. If you choose to just rent the bike, you get a map to follow of the route. There are signs along the route as well.

The ride is about 9 miles. Some of the ride is on small roads but much of it is along dirt roads away from cars and along the beaches. The ride felt pretty easy to me and I am only an occasional rider. A friend of mine who hadn't ridden in a long time came and she made it to the end of the ride. Eddie made sure everyone was ok with the ride and was very fun to ride with. He watched the pace of the first rider and kept track of the last rider to be sure no one was ever left behind. He customized the tour for us making sure we got to see the things we wanted to.

The ride goes along residential roads and you get to see some houses, it goes over to a couple of gorgeous beaches so you might want to wear your bathing suit. The loop goes through Barker's National Park home to mangrove wetlands which were amazing and almost totally undeveloped. You get to see a part of the island that is beautiful and untouched.

The bike stand is next to the Cracked Conch which had good food. They are right along the beach. You can dive there as well. There is a dive shop and you can dive in the cove and see Turtle Reef. Speaking of turtles, the bike stand is also near the Cayman Turtle Farm, and the Cayman Motor Museum. The Motor Museum has some awesome cars, but that's another review.

Getting back to our ship on time was no problem. Richard helped us calculate when we needed to leave and watched the time for us to be sure we were on the shuttle on our way back in plenty of time. He dropped us off right outside the cruise port. Our total time was about 5 hours from 9 am when the shuttle picked us up to 2 pm when we caught the tender back to our ship.

I booked this adventure directly with West Bay Loop from their website http://westbayloop.com/ . Richard was very good at communicating with me before my cruise. He told me when I got off the ship, to call him and let him know I was there. I found the information desk in the cruise terminal and they let me use their phone to call him. He was there to pick us up in about 15 minutes.

Richard and Eddie encouraged everyone to have a good time and enjoy the island, the ride and each other. We had a nice group of people even though we had not met before. The prices are very reasonable on both the rental and the tour and the price includes the shuttle to and from the cruise port. They accept US Dollars and they only take cash.

If you are planning a visit to Grand Cayman I highly recommend this bike tour. It is a fun way to see the West Bay part of the island, get some fresh air and enjoy the views.