Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Exploring
Grand Cayman
What attractions does Grand Cayman have other than
Seven Mile Beach? Admittedly, this strip of sand is its most fabled lure,
but if you can tear y ourself from the surf and sand, y ou may be pleas-
antly surprised by all there is to see and do. As one villa owner, who had
been living in Grand Cayman for 3 years, told us, “There is more to see
and more diversity here than my wife and I ev er realized.”
The most interesting sections of George Town can be explored on
foot in an hour or so, although you could easily spend hours shopping
in town. Explore the island in gr eater depth with a guided tour , or
rent a car or scooter and set out on y our own.
Most visitors driv e nor th of G eorge Town along West Bay Road
and Seven Mile Beach, which is the most heavily dev eloped part of
Grand Cayman. Those seeking a more in-depth look at the less tour-
isty areas can take our guided tour of the East E nd, going all the way
from George Town to Rum Point in the north.
In the East E nd, y ou'll find such attractions as blo wholes (r ock
formations that pr oduce huge spouts of water when wav es hit) and
botanical gar dens, plus r emains of G rand Cayman 's earliest settle-
ments. Of course, it's always fun to break up a drive across the island
with a swim in the Caymans ' warm waters or a picnic on a secluded
beach.
1
THE TOP FOUR ATTRACTIONS
Boatswain's Beach/Cayman Turtle Farm
You won't find
another gr een-sea-turtle farm like this anywher e else in the world.
Once the islands had a multitude of turtles in the surrounding waters
(which is why Columbus called the islands “Las Tortugas”), but today
these creatures are sadly fe w in number, and the gr een sea tur tle has
been designated an endangered species (you cannot bring turtle prod-
ucts into the U nited States). The main functions of the farm ar e to
provide the local market with edible turtle meat, thus preventing the
need to hunt tur tles in the wild, and to r eplenish the waters with
hatchling and y earling turtles. Visitors today can obser ve about 100
