Tours you can buy at the dock

[landni]

George Town has a great public "bus" system that is pretty easy to find from where the tender drops you. The buses are little minivans that leave every 15 minutes or so from a small lot near the public library and Heroes Square. They go pretty much all over the island (but NOT Rum Point) to the major attractions - Seven Mile Beach, Cemetery Beach, Turtle Farm, Hell, etc. The bus drivers (who, of course, speak English, as that's the language of the Caymans) will drop you off anywhere along a route that you want to go. The fare is usually $2.50 U.S. and you pay when you leave the "bus." To catch one going back, you stand on the opposite side of the street from where you're dropped off, keeping in mind that Caymanians drive on the left side of the road. There are no official bus stops, so if you see a minivan coming, wave at it and it will stop. If it honks at you when approaching, it is because the driver is asking if you want to get on the bus.

 

If you're only planning to go to a few places on Grand Cayman, it is easy to make up your own tour by taking the buses. The buses all return to the lot near the library, so you don't need to be afraid of getting lost. You will not be the only tourist on the bus, and you will find the drivers and passengers very courteous and helpful.

 

Can you tell me if the buses require exact change?

[re-re]

Great info, Posting so i can find this later. Thanks:)

[Sonnydjoe]

We have done the western Caribbean cruise now 6 times and we always use port excursions. in Grand cayman we use discount excursions shayma always takes great care of us and they are Americans lol

 

that's kinda big for us... they really know about customer service and thats king in our book!!

 

my wife has also left a review on trip advisor

check them out.

[sredish]

do you know if the price of admission to the turtle farm is included in the price of the tour that goes to the turtle farm?

 

No it isn't. In fact the additional cost was so much we decided NOT to do it. We weren't told it wasn't included until we actually got to the Turtle Farm. We were pretty disappointed with this tour, actually. We spent the bulk of our time sitting around the dolphin cove place waiting for the tour to get going again. We got off at the 7 mile beach stop and walked the rest of the way back...this was the most enjoyable part of the day as the beach is stunning. Should have just taken a cab for a few dollars to the beach and saved about $40.

[cc1824]

I know sometimes some wish to just see what tours they can buy as they arrive in port. Here are a few picks of what is offered in Grand Cayman. This was on our 2/5/12 Freedom cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you know if its possible to have enough time to do more than 1 tour? Say jet ski's and horseback riding? I would also like info on the beaches, are there any spots that are private for like a vow renewal ceremony? It would only be 6 of us and we dont want to plan a vow renewal with a lot of people, we just want a spot for us to renew our vows with our friends. One of the ladies we are traveling with is a notary, not that we need one but she will be performing the ceremony for us. It doesnt have to be anything fancy, but nice views on the beach would be good.

[clackey]

George Town has a great public "bus" system that is pretty easy to find from where the tender drops you. The buses are little minivans that leave every 15 minutes or so from a small lot near the public library and Heroes Square. They go pretty much all over the island (but NOT Rum Point) to the major attractions - Seven Mile Beach, Cemetery Beach, Turtle Farm, Hell, etc. The bus drivers (who, of course, speak English, as that's the language of the Caymans) will drop you off anywhere along a route that you want to go. The fare is usually $2.50 U.S. and you pay when you leave the "bus." To catch one going back, you stand on the opposite side of the street from where you're dropped off, keeping in mind that Caymanians drive on the left side of the road. There are no official bus stops, so if you see a minivan coming, wave at it and it will stop. If it honks at you when approaching, it is because the driver is asking if you want to get on the bus.

 

If you're only planning to go to a few places on Grand Cayman, it is easy to make up your own tour by taking the buses. The buses all return to the lot near the library, so you don't need to be afraid of getting lost. You will not be the only tourist on the bus, and you will find the drivers and passengers very courteous and helpful.

We have done the public transportation in Georgetown and Calica/Playa del Carmen. We took a van to Cemetary Beach, spent the whole day and then grabbed a van back to town. It is a really neat, cheap way to travel.

Love it!

[Floridiana]

We are not beach and water people. A land tour is what we are looking for. The public transportation sounds great, but wouldn't a tour be better because the guides are great sources of information? ... Are they?

 

Is there a bus schedule and a map in town? Do busses run frequently enough for not being stuck somewhere and late for the ship's departure? For example when taking a route to the north side? Should we better stick to close-by places?

http://caymanislandsyp.com/Island/Getting-Around/index-2.php

[wishfultraveler]

Great post! Thanks!

[bookbabe]

We are not beach and water people. A land tour is what we are looking for. The public transportation sounds great, but wouldn't a tour be better because the guides are great sources of information? ... Are they?

 

Is there a bus schedule and a map in town? Do busses run frequently enough for not being stuck somewhere and late for the ship's departure? For example when taking a route to the north side? Should we better stick to close-by places?

http://caymanislandsyp.com/Island/Getting-Around/index-2.php

 

In town, you'd be fine with the buses. Hell, Turtle Farm, Seven Mile Beach...no problem. Worst case scenario, a nearby store or someplace could call a taxi for you if you were running late.

 

As a cruise ship visitor, I would absolutely not try to take buses outside of town. They do not necessarily run regularly, and there would be no taxis in the area as a backup. (Also, the buses don't run all the way to Rum Point.) If you want to head to North Side or East End, your best bet is to rent a car or hire a driver for the day.

[Newcruiser35]

Anyone know where these leave from? is it a long walk or do they drive you?

[TurtleTagger]

The glass bottom boat may be one of these semi-submersibles: Nautilus -not sure if this vessel is still operating or the Seaworld Observatory

 

Both are located in George Town and walk-able from the tender area.

 

:confused:

[Floridiana]

Thanks bookbabe. We had the same issue in Barbados. Not wanting to be stuck on the other side of the island, we booked a ship's tour. The guide was ok. The year before, we had one of the best Caribbean guides ever. One never knows.

[xo101]

Thanks for posting these!!! I wish I could find these for all the islands we are going to! : )

 

Very helpful!

[mitsugirly]

Awesome idea! I agree with the previous poster...if only we had this for every port. :p

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the info. You answered my question. We're considering touring the Rum Factory, then wandering around town. I was wondering the best way to get to the factory. It's probably hard to beat $12.

[4nlalaland]

Great information!!!

Are the prices lower further from the dock? If there are 4 of us, should we ask for a discount? Info on the Island Tour?? Recommendations on places to have lunch?

Thanks...

[StacyB2011]

Has anyone done that $25 stingray express? What does that include and how long is it? I just wanna see the stingrays an have sum time for seven mile beach... I wanted to go with moby but they get back at 1:30 and that wouldn't really give me enough time to get back to the ship. So if this stingray express is really an express lol that would be perfect for me :)

[minnemom]

Thanks for posting these. Much appreciated!

[2snorkel/cruisers]

We went with Moby Dick a couple of years ago and it was AWESOME!

[CimW]

We sailed on 8/19. When we got off the tender we had no idea of what to do.

 

We had someone ask if we wanted a tour, so we did the island tour. $20 per person.

It was not very long, 2 hours but we were able to see quite a bit.

 

The mini van/bus was well air conditioned and our driver was very nice. Restrooms at every stop.

 

The stops are fairly short but long enough to see what is there.

 

One thing, the dolphin discovery is on one side of the road and the turtle farm is on the other side. We opted to just watch the dolphins. The turtle farm was $10 for those who wanted to go there. There is not enough time to see both or at least on the tour we were on. I think this stop was only about 30 minutes.

 

You just drive by the Governor's mansion and the old homestead.

 

The Tortuga rum place was crowded but be sure and get a sample of the rum cake and rum. They let customers cut their own sample and there were some pretty good sized ones being cut. I kind of had to push my way to the samples. The banana rum was very good and so was the cake.

 

The stop at Hell was only about 15-20 minutes. Enough time to view and take photos. They had on a sign they would stamp your passport. If you want this, take your passport, we didn't have ours and wished we did.

 

Seven mile beach, I guess we just drove alongside it, we didn't stop at a beach.

 

It was a good short tour. Of course there is shopping at the dock.

[jebl]

Thanks so much for all this great info.

 

We will be there in Mar and I was hoping to find this info.

 

Last time I was in GC I booked Capt. Marvin and did the stingrays. This time I am with DH who has mobility issues so this will be perfect for us.

[EZcruiserfamily]

Thanks this info is so helpful! I am debating between doing a tour or just getting a taxi to take us to a few stops. Has anyone hired a taxi who was also good as a pseudo to.ur guide? I have had good experiences on other islands...or for ucky...when we hired a cab and the driver was so friendly and told us a lot as he drove

[Anyislandwilldo]

Great post! Thanks for posting!

[utlady]

We sailed on 8/19. When we got off the tender we had no idea of what to do.

 

We had someone ask if we wanted a tour, so we did the island tour. $20 per person.

It was not very long, 2 hours but we were able to see quite a bit.

 

The mini van/bus was well air conditioned and our driver was very nice. Restrooms at every stop.

 

The stops are fairly short but long enough to see what is there.

 

One thing, the dolphin discovery is on one side of the road and the turtle farm is on the other side. We opted to just watch the dolphins. The turtle farm was $10 for those who wanted to go there. There is not enough time to see both or at least on the tour we were on. I think this stop was only about 30 minutes.

 

You just drive by the Governor's mansion and the old homestead.

 

The Tortuga rum place was crowded but be sure and get a sample of the rum cake and rum. They let customers cut their own sample and there were some pretty good sized ones being cut. I kind of had to push my way to the samples. The banana rum was very good and so was the cake.

 

The stop at Hell was only about 15-20 minutes. Enough time to view and take photos. They had on a sign they would stamp your passport. If you want this, take your passport, we didn't have ours and wished we did.

 

Seven mile beach, I guess we just drove alongside it, we didn't stop at a beach.

 

It was a good short tour. Of course there is shopping at the dock.

 

OK my decision is made I'm going to Hell. Have been on several cruises and never get my passport stamped and have been dying to do this.

[kimala]

Noticed that there is a Kayak trip for $35. We would really like to Kayak in GC on the day were there for our Freedom sailing Nov 1st. There was only one outfit I could find CaymanKayak but they will be on vacation when were there. Has anyone here done the Kayak tour on the blackboard posted by the OP?

 

Thanks