Best Activities in Cayman Islands

Seven Mile Beach

Seven Mile Beach is renowned as one of the best beaches in the Caribbean. Just a glance at this crescent-shaped shoreline and feeling the soft coral sand between your toes will reveal its allure. This stunning beach is home to many of Grand Cayman’s finest resorts, along with casual beach bars and restaurants. You’ll also find a playground, restrooms, and showers available. Additionally, it’s an ideal place for first-time snorkelers, as the crystal-clear waters offer stunning views of vibrant fish and beautiful coral.

Stingray City

Situated about 25 miles off the shore in the North Sound area of Grand Cayman, Stingray City is the top attraction among the three Cayman Islands. This “city” is a shallow sandbar (three to five feet deep) where you can interact with and feed wild Atlantic stingrays that roam freely in the waters—no enclosures here! For decades, this spot has been a favored gathering place for these graceful creatures, initially drawn by fishermen cleaning their daily catches. Now, the stingrays have learned to associate the sound of boat engines with food, making them comfortable around humans.

Visitors have loved the chance to get up close to the stingrays, reporting that it’s safe as long as you adhere to the instructors’ guidelines. Most who visit Stingray City consider it a must-do experience in the Cayman Islands, and local lore suggests that kissing a stingray brings seven years of good luck!

Kittiwake Shipwreck & Artificial Reef

The USS Kittiwake was an ex-U.S. Navy submarine that served for more than 50 years before it was sunk off the coast of popular Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman in 2011. An interesting tidbit about the ship’s history is that it played a significant role in recovering the flight recorders from the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986. The submerged submarine and artificial reef now delight scuba divers with its swim throughs and sea life, including shrimp, eels, barracuda, turtles and grouper.  

Because Kittiwake is a popular snorkel and dive site, recent travelers highly recommend booking your tour reservation well in advance. Others say it’s a great wreck dive for beginners and advanced divers, alike. The high visibility and shallow placement of the ship at around 12 to 60 feet deep make it accessible to all diving levels. It’s a place where you can spend several hours swimming through the wreckage. It’s equally fun for snorkelers, too, since the submerged submarine is easily visible from near the surface.

Cayman Crystal Caves

Once submerged under the sea millions of years ago, the Cayman Crystal Caves were shaped by water erosion, creating rooms filled with stalagmite and stalactite formations. Over time, dripping water caused mineral deposits, which eventually turned into crystals. It’s believed that pirates like Blackbeard used these caves as hideouts hundreds of years ago. In addition to using the caves as a shelter during hurricanes, it’s also believed that they stashed their treasure here.

Discussion to turn the caves into a tourist attraction began in the 1990s, and the caves finally opened to the public in 2016. Today, visitors can embark on a guided tour that lasts approximately 90 minutes, exploring three caves and learning about their formation and history.

Cayman Spirits Co. Distillery

What started in 2008 as a small distillery producing ocean-aged rum has become the 5,000-square-foot Cayman Spirits Co. Distillery. What’s unique about the Cayman Islands’ only distillery is the where they age their rum: on the ocean floor. In fact, it was the first distillery to do so. These days, in addition to producing its famous Seven Fathoms rum, the distillery also produces flavored rums, vodka and liqueurs.  

Recent visitors highly recommend taking a tour of the facility, stating that it’s not a sales-y commercial presentation, but fun, informative and entertaining with the ability to sample outstanding small batches of rum and distilled spirits.  

Travelers can book a tour of the George Town distillery, which usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes and includes tastings of Seven Fathoms Rum, Gun Bay Vodka and Governor’s Reserve Rum, along with the seasonal Distiller’s Special spirit. The tours cost $15 per person, and the distillery recommends that travelers book their tours in advance of their trip since they tend to fill up quickly. Tours are offered three times a day from Monday to Saturday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.