The best things to do in the Cayman Islands
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00:00What's going on everybody, this is IslandHopperTV and today we're coming to you from the Cayman
00:23Islands showing you the best things to do.
00:25Let's do it.
00:26That's right IslandHoppers, we're just south of Cuba in the southern part of the Caribbean.
00:29We got 24 things to show you.
00:31Let's go.
00:32First up is Stingray City.
00:33This is actually where you go on a tour boat out to swim with wild stingrays.
00:37It's $65 for adults, $55 for kids.
00:41Next up is the most famous beach in the Cayman Islands.
00:43This here is Seven Mile Beach.
00:45Originally called Seven Mile Beach because it was seven miles of pristine white sand,
00:51but erosion has been eating away at it.
00:53It's no longer seven miles, although you still get beautiful, brilliant blue water.
00:58So it's a perfect place to swim.
01:00Some of the Grand Cayman's best resorts are going to be right along Seven Mile Beach here.
01:05Now while on the beach you can do plenty of different water sports.
01:08They have jet skis.
01:09You can also get pulled by a jet ski on one of these rubber tubes.
01:13That's a fun activity for the kids.
01:15Then they have red sail sports, which is a catamaran that will take you out for sunset
01:20cruises.
01:21You also have sailboats.
01:24Now here we are at the Dolphin Center where you can swim with dolphins.
01:28This is a super popular activity here on the island.
01:31People who come in on cruise ships, this is one of their favorites.
01:33You do need to book about four days in advance, so keep that in mind.
01:38Ticket prices start at $129 and then go all the way up to $150 or even more if you decide
01:44to do the Royal Swim.
01:45But yeah, everyone I saw in the water hanging out with these dolphins, they were just loving it.
01:50So were the dolphins.
01:51The dolphins seemed super happy to be there.
01:53Now if you do choose to get pictures taken, it can get a bit expensive, so try to get
01:58the bundle package whether you're coming in on a cruise or from one of the tour operators.
02:03Now here we are at the Turtle Center where you can swim with turtles.
02:07Yeah, so right across the street from the Dolphin Discovery is going to be the Turtle
02:11Sanctuary.
02:12These turtles are absolutely massive.
02:14They also have baby turtles and they have adolescent turtles.
02:18Going around here you'll see tons of green sea turtles, so if you're a turtle lover,
02:23go here.
02:24They also have a hatchery.
02:25Then you can go snorkel in the lagoon there with the actual turtles.
02:28That's pretty cool.
02:29If you just wanted to walk around the Turtle Sanctuary without swimming, it's about $40.
02:34But if you wanted to swim in the lagoon, it's $55 per adult.
02:38$45 per child.
02:40As you can see, they also have a swimming pool with a slide.
02:43Now here's a look at some of those adolescent turtles after they've already kind of grown
02:48up a bit.
02:49This is cool to walk around because people can touch the turtles right here.
02:53Now these particular green sea turtles can live up to 70 years or even more.
02:57In order to reach full maturity, it's typically around 25 to 35 years old.
03:02There's a look at the hatchery.
03:04Now one important thing is do not try to actually carry or hold the turtle.
03:08So this here rock formation is a geological site known as Hell here on the Cayman Islands.
03:13Now aside from having quite the sinister name, it does look like a heck of a place to walk
03:18around if you know what I'm saying.
03:20Now as far as how it got that name, people have some stories.
03:23You can look those up when you get there.
03:26The good news is it is free to visit.
03:28Typically it's part of one of the cruise package tours.
03:31You can easily do the dolphin, the turtle, and this particular geological site all in
03:36the same day because they're in the same area of the west end of the island.
03:40Now from this site, just about four or five minutes down the road, you're going to come
03:43to one of my favorite restaurants on the island.
03:46This here is Tukka Restaurant and of course I drank the Island Hopper IPA.
03:52Really good.
03:53They have several other local beers on tap.
03:54There are two Tukka restaurants on the island.
03:57I'm at this restaurant called Tukka and I got a seafood with grilled lobster, calamari,
04:09ceviche, lion fish.
04:14Now while on the island, if you're looking to do some high-end shopping, you may come
04:17over to Kamana Bay.
04:19It's a nice place to walk around, go for a leisurely stroll.
04:22They also have local booths set up, kind of like a market alongside the interior of the
04:28courtyard.
04:29So really a cool place to walk around and get some food.
04:32Looks like it comes to life at night as well.
04:35This is going to be for the people who are planning to stay on Cayman Islands for longer
04:39than three to five days.
04:40I'm not going to say if you're coming from a cruise ship that you're going to want to
04:43come here.
04:44This is for people who are going to be hanging out on the island looking for a variety.
04:47Now here we are at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands.
04:51Let's go inside.
04:52So as you can see, they've got lots of local art going on here.
04:55It's a bit smaller than you may expect.
04:57It's the Cayman Islands.
04:58Not a very big country, but they are making an effort to grow this place and it's free.
05:04So that makes it worth stopping by and it's nearby Kamana Bay, so you can easily do two
05:09for one.
05:11Now here we are in Georgetown.
05:14Now Georgetown is the main area of the island.
05:16This is the main commercial hub and you'll see they've got the cruise port right here.
05:21Many different restaurants and lots of jewelry shops.
05:24I don't know what the deal is with lots of jewelry here, but it seemed like they had
05:28one every two or three shops.
05:31So jewelry seems to be pretty popular with cruise ship tourists apparently.
05:35But they also have some really good restaurants.
05:38I mean, if you're looking for some variety, you're going to find that down here in the
05:42port of Georgetown.
05:44The one restaurant that kept getting recommended was the Bread for Life, which is the fish
05:48patties they sell there.
05:50It's right next to the cruise port.
05:52Right behind me here in downtown, you have the National Museum.
05:55Again, the National Museum is quite small, but you can get a good history there.
06:00While I was walking around Georgetown, I decided to get a haircut and it was a really outstanding
06:05haircut thank you to this man right here.
06:08Now let's talk about food.
06:10Now while I was here on the islands, I definitely got lots of fish, fish fritters, spicy beef,
06:15I had those pork ribs, jerk chicken was very popular, coconut rice.
06:20Now here we are at Pedro St. James Castle, also known as Pedro Castle.
06:25Now while here, I do recommend doing the guided tour because you're going to get lots of history.
06:30This is the oldest stone structure on the island.
06:34It burned down a couple times.
06:35They tell some really incredible historical information here.
06:39Great views, and it's part of a historical society.
06:44The tour does cost around $18.75 per person.
06:49They also have a restaurant here, so if you get a chance and you're doing the tour, also
06:53consider just having lunch or dinner here.
06:56And as we continue to show you around the island, I want to let you guys know that we're
07:00doing more tours coming up around the Caribbean.
07:03So if you want to visit the Caribbean and you're looking for information, subscribe
07:07to the channel, and thank you to all of our channel members and everyone who likes these
07:11videos.
07:12Here we are now at the Queen Elizabeth Botanic Gardens.
07:15Now this is going to be more towards the east end of the island.
07:19Ticket prices here are around $20 to $25 for adults.
07:23If you do come out here, I would expect to stay around two hours, maybe a little less
07:28if you are heat sensitive because it does get hot in the Caribbean.
07:33So make sure you bring plenty of water.
07:35Thankfully, they have some ice cream and refreshments in a very nice air conditioned
07:39environment at the actual entrance.
07:42I did notice that walking through some of these garden pathways, it can be like nature's
07:48air conditioner.
07:49So that was quite nice.
07:50They have the orchid boardwalk, the heritage garden.
07:53But as you're walking around, you'll see these blue iguanas.
07:56Now bear in mind that the blue iguana is actually indigenous to the islands.
08:00Something interesting to know about the name.
08:03So it was originally called Iguana Island.
08:06And when people first arrived here, they did see these large reptiles.
08:10They were called caimans, right?
08:11Here we are now at the blowholes over here on the east end.
08:15So the blowholes are going to be an area you can stop while driving out to the east end.
08:19It is probably worth a stop because especially when the waves are really pumping, you'll
08:23see how the water just flushes right through there and shoots up into the sky like a fountain.
08:28But a lot of it's going to depend on how strong the swells are.
08:31Now just to finish the story about the name, there are no more caiman crocodiles on the
08:35island.
08:37Most tourists who visit caiman islands only go to the west end, but don't forget about
08:41the east end.
08:42It's beautiful in its own unique way.
08:44It is about a 30 minute drive from Georgetown.
08:46Well here we are at a place called Pirate's Cove.
08:50Now that Pirate's Cove bar really caught my attention because it seemed like a local crowd
08:54was in there.
08:55So if you wanted to mingle with some locals, this seems like the place to be.
08:59Now just down the way is going to be the Wreck of the Ten Sails.
09:02People go out here because it's a viewpoint out towards the reef where you can actually
09:06see the wreck of the Ten Sails.
09:10And the reason it's called the Ten Sails is because in February 8, 1794, ten British military
09:16ships were sailing to the United States from Jamaica when they actually wrecked and hit
09:21the reef.
09:24Now here we are at the Parrot Sanctuary.
09:28So all of the parrots you'll see here are indigenous parrots to the island that were
09:32injured or had some sort of issue and they ended up here.
09:35So there's the Grand Cayman Amazon Parrot and then there's the Cayman Brock Amazon Parrot.
09:41They do have a few more different types of animals here and birds.
09:46The ticket price is $16 per person.
09:49The good news is when you do visit here, you're helping support the sanctuary which is taking
09:54care of these parrots, giving these birds a second lease on life.
09:58Really cool, right?
10:00And I want to let you know that if you actually wanted to eat lunch while out here, you can
10:04eat at Tuca.
10:05Show them your ticket from the Parrot Sanctuary and you'll save about 10 to 15% on your meal.
10:12And you get to eat at Tuca again, this time at the East End with great views and good
10:16food.
10:17And when you come to the island, you can also do the Crystal Caves right here.
10:21They actually have to shuttle you into the area where the caves are and the tour is about
10:26an hour and a half.
10:28This is one of the most popular activities on the island.
10:31Now here we are at Over the Edge Cafe on the north end of the island.
10:34If you do decide to stay out at the East End or maybe even the north end, coming here for
10:39breakfast, lunch or dinner is an option.
10:41I would say breakfast or dinner would be probably the prime time because in the afternoon it
10:46does get quite hot here.
10:50Now for those of you looking to do some hiking, you may consider checking out the Mastic Trail.
10:53Let's go take a look.
10:55Now there's two different trail heads.
10:56There's the north end or the south end of the trail head.
10:59It would take at least an hour because you're going from the north side of the island to
11:03the south side of the island.
11:05And now here we are at Rum Point.
11:07I guess we've saved the best for last.
11:09I really enjoy Rum Point.
11:11This is a super cool place to be if you're looking for a relaxing, chill atmosphere at
11:17nice hotels with good food.
11:20This is where you want to be.
11:22They've also got some other stuff going on out here, but really flat water.
11:27It's on the north side of the island.
11:29When I walked out onto the pier, we saw a barracuda and a very aggressive grouper that
11:33was hunting.
11:35So add snorkeling to the list of things to do.
11:37Seems like it's popular to do that all across the island, but really out here at Rum Point,
11:43a really cool place to do that, or even over here at Starfish Point.
11:49Now why do you think they call it Starfish Point?
11:51Because yep, you guessed it.
11:52You will see starfish in the water.
11:55Please, it is not recommended to touch them.
11:58Some people just can't resist themselves and they need to touch them.
12:01But do not ever lift a starfish out of the water because it really does hurt the starfish.
12:08And so that's going to be our episode of Island Hopper TV from the Cayman Islands.
12:12If you enjoyed this one, please watch more of our tours from across the Caribbean, like
12:16the U.S. Virgin Islands and Aruba.