Sensible day in GC or way too much?

[Debbierpof]

I'm planning our July 22nd day in GC. We have our own snorkeling gear. Here is what I thought we could do (party of 6). Start as early as possible, rent a car, visit Rum Point, Star Fish Beach, Blow Hole, and then return the car by 1:30 pm so we can still have time to snorkel off of Eden Roc and buy cigars at a shop right across from the tender pier. Does this sound like too much? My FIL & MIL are coming along and they are not big beach people (my FIL has had melanoma) so I don't expect our stop at Rum Point to be for very long (mainly want to see the starfish at ). Is this too much??? What should we cut out? :D Thank you for the reality check!

[Debbierpof]

Just bumping up! :D

[rjscott]

What time is your ship expected to tender? What time does your ship depart? Are you renting at the airport? Have you ever driven on the left? That makes it a bit more confusing, so you'll want to allow a bit more time for finding your way to your points of interest.

It does sound doable if you are in port for most of the day. If you have to cut out anything, you can either forget about the blow hole (nice, but not the most fabulous I've ever seen) or snorkeling at Eden Rock (good, but not the best. Will you be snorkeling elsewhere on your cruise?).

[Debbierpof]

rjscott - thanks! We are there 7 am to 4 pm, so I figure we'll be out at 8 am and back at tenders by 3ish pm. Have not driven on the left... which I'm a little concerned about...

 

I guess we could do the blow hole at Cozumel (we'll be there much longer). The rental company is supposed to drop-off the car across from the tender pier.

 

There are 6 of us, not sure if maybe we can just hire a driver for the day (how much more will that be??). Any recs on this? Thanks again for making me think of other issues... :D

[rjscott]

The worst of it will be getting out of Georgetown, as the congestion will be bad there. Driving on the left in GC is not too bad, as it's flat, and you will not have too many turns to make, so staying on your side of the road will not be too much of an issue. Just make sure you have someone to be the navigator and give the driver plenty of advance warning when there is a turn or a roundabout and just take your time. You'll be fine. Will the rental car company also pick the car back up in Georgetown as well? That will save you waiting for a shuttle. So, you should be fine to do all that you want.

 

I haven't read anything about drivers for hire on this board. Just google a map of GC and see where you want to go. Plan it out and make sure the rental company gives you a good map and you'll do just fine.

Have a great time!

[marshhawk]

You may get to Rum Point,put your feet in the water, and not go anywhere else. I'm thinking that if you snorkel at Rum Point, Eden may be too much. Have fun! There won't be shade at Eden unless you sit in a building.

[azkcruizers]

I was wondering who are you renting the car from that is dropping it off across from the tender spot for you? I am looking at rentals but figured on having to go to the airport. Thanks for your help!

[caribbeansun]

What you've laid out is easily doable in a day - personally I wouldn't waste time with Eden Rock or the blow holes. If part of your party isn't into beaches you'll struggle. Please note that there is virtually no shelter at Starfish point and it's really nothing much to see but you can snap a couple pics of starfish and be on your way over to Rum Point in no time at all.

 

There are a number of large trees to provide shelter at Rum Point but you'll want to get there early. I'd suggest you leave those not interested in sun at Rum Point while you pop over to Starfish point.

[Debbierpof]

I was wondering who are you renting the car from that is dropping it off across from the tender spot for you? I am looking at rentals but figured on having to go to the airport. Thanks for your help!

 

We are using Budget. They will actually pick us up at the Hard Rock and take us to the airport. But we will have to drop-off at the airport. It's a great deal (or so I think): $125 includes minivan, fuel, insurance and mileage. It's an all-inclusive package for cruisers. How I wish we were in Cayman for as long as we are going to be in Cozumel (an additional 3 hours)... :(

[Debbierpof]

What you've laid out is easily doable in a day - personally I wouldn't waste time with Eden Rock or the blow holes. If part of your party isn't into beaches you'll struggle. Please note that there is virtually no shelter at Starfish point and it's really nothing much to see but you can snap a couple pics of starfish and be on your way over to Rum Point in no time at all.

 

There are a number of large trees to provide shelter at Rum Point but you'll want to get there early. I'd suggest you leave those not interested in sun at Rum Point while you pop over to Starfish point.

 

Any chance we will see starfish at Rum Point? I guess we can start at Rum Point and then decide if to go over to starfish point or not... I've been in contact with Red Sail at Rum Point about going over to Stingray City from Rum Point. Had heard they were not extremely reliable so will probably not book and wait to arrive before deciding if we need to see the rays.

 

Any other beach snorkeling stops in the North or East side that you would recommend? I'm stressing more over the plans for Cayman because I'm planning for 2 other couples also and want this to be perfect!

[azkcruizers]

When I was at Rum Point I saw one starfish. We did the Nativeway sports rays reef and rum point tour which included lunch at rum point and it was very good. That's why we decided to rent a van also this time. I had looked into budget but also andy's. They are very comparable in price. With the discount code IMAC it came to $113 with insurance and everything....just not sure about the code:D

[caribbeansun]

No guarantees that you'll see them anywhere I'm afraid. I've never seen one at Rum Point but it's less than 3 minutes drive over to Starfish point from Rum Point so I wouldn't stress over it.

 

You might want to give some thought to doing a hour or hour and a half snorkel with Ocean Frontiers on East End - they'll take you in a boat out to the reef, it's inside the reef so no worries about sea conditions and you won't have to swim out to the reef which can be a concern if you have some swimmers that aren't as strong as others. I've used them many times for diving and hired them for a snorkel trip as well with a larger group because of the variations in comfort with swimming.

 

Any chance we will see starfish at Rum Point? I guess we can start at Rum Point and then decide if to go over to starfish point or not... I've been in contact with Red Sail at Rum Point about going over to Stingray City from Rum Point. Had heard they were not extremely reliable so will probably not book and wait to arrive before deciding if we need to see the rays.

 

There's a public beach on the East End just after Portofinos restaurant that is rather nice with facilities.

 

Any other beach snorkeling stops in the North or East side that you would recommend? I'm stressing more over the plans for Cayman because I'm planning for 2 other couples also and want this to be perfect!

[Debbierpof]

No guarantees that you'll see them anywhere I'm afraid. I've never seen one at Rum Point but it's less than 3 minutes drive over to Starfish point from Rum Point so I wouldn't stress over it.

 

You might want to give some thought to doing a hour or hour and a half snorkel with Ocean Frontiers on East End - they'll take you in a boat out to the reef, it's inside the reef so no worries about sea conditions and you won't have to swim out to the reef which can be a concern if you have some swimmers that aren't as strong as others. I've used them many times for diving and hired them for a snorkel trip as well with a larger group because of the variations in comfort with swimming.

 

Thanks for the recommendation! They are written in my trip report.

[cruisingforsix]

No guarantees that you'll see them anywhere I'm afraid. I've never seen one at Rum Point but it's less than 3 minutes drive over to Starfish point from Rum Point so I wouldn't stress over it.

 

You might want to give some thought to doing a hour or hour and a half snorkel with Ocean Frontiers on East End - they'll take you in a boat out to the reef, it's inside the reef so no worries about sea conditions and you won't have to swim out to the reef which can be a concern if you have some swimmers that aren't as strong as others. I've used them many times for diving and hired them for a snorkel trip as well with a larger group because of the variations in comfort with swimming.

Hi we are looking forsmall snorkel excursions and i was wondering about about Ocean frontier, it doesn't sound like a very long trip (2 hrs) and i wonder how much of this is spent traveling?