u/Son_Of_Dot

My wife and I got married in Healdsburg, California, and then immediately went on a 6-day honeymoon to Grand Cayman. We got back earlier this week, and we cannot stop thinking about this place. We were legitimately sad our whole travel day back to the Bay Area, California! We cannot wait to go back!

Below is a list/recap of what we did, and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions that you all have!

Accommodations: Botanica Luxury Guest Cottages right across the highway from Hotel Indigo on Seven Mile Beach. Everything was amazing, and we'd definitely stay here again. Our place was a very nice, updated 1-bedroom cottage, and it came with pool access, free bikes, and free snorkeling/beach gear (chairs, towels, umbrella, etc.). We had a full kitchen too, so we bought some groceries at Fosters and were able to cook breakfast most mornings and have snacks for the beach days. There are only 6 or 7 cottages in a row on the street, so there is no concern about the pool being crowded or bikes/beach equipment gone! It actually seemed like we were the only ones who used those amenities! The hosts were also very kind and accommodating, and they even cleaned our place and restocked various items for us the third day into our trip (took out the trash, replenished coffee, paper towels, new towels and bed sheets, etc.).

Beaches we visited:

• Cemetery Beach
• Governor's Beach
• Public Beach (and the beach adjacent to Bonny Moon)
• Spotts Beach
• Beach Bay (we were the only people here! Kind of dirty though, very unlike the rest of the beaches)
• Smith's Barcadere (water was a bit rough when we went, didn't stay too long but looked very nice)

Activities: Bring sunscreen and BUG SPRAY for these activities!

• Lounging and swimming at the above beaches. All of them were so nice! No real advice here. We didn't have parking issues, space issues while on the beach, etc. It was all so easy everywhere we went.
• Snorkeling: the snorkeling was out of this world for us, and we went basically every day. I really felt like we hit all the right spots and saw different marine life at each location! We snorkeled at Cheeseburger Reef (off the shore from the Burger King across the street from Kirk Market); Eden Rock (off the shore from Eden Rock Diving Center); Gamma Shipwreck; Spotts Beach for turtles; a little at Cemetery Beach but water wasn't as clear that day; and Macabuca (off the shore just South of Macabuca/Cracked Conch). I really wish we had an underwater camera; it was truly magical.
• Stingray City: I did a lot of research on the best company to use. With this being a touristy type of endeavor that involves the public in contact with wild animals, I was looking for someone who truly cared for and respected these creatures, and with that we landed on Stingray Sailing with Captain Chip. After reading countless reviews and discussions with them over email, it was the right choice and I'm glad we picked them. The respect they have for these animals was evident when we got to the location. Stingrays know Chip and his crew mate Mark, and they flocked to them when our boat came in, and it's because of how they treat them. They do not do that with other boats/charters. When we got in the water, we were immediately surrounded by dozens of stingrays, and it was awesome. They are truly like puppies, swimming and nudging Chip and Mark for pets and food! We got to pet, feed, and even kiss them (for good luck), and it was like the stingrays wanted to be there, rather than being forced. On the way to Stingray City, Chip stopped at a reef for us to snorkel at, and that too was great. We saw entirely different marine life than we saw at the other snorkel spots, including a couple rays! I HIGHLY recommend Stingray Sailing and would do this activity again.
• Golfing at North Sound Golf: Was expensive because we did not bring our own clubs (and didn't have the foresight to pack a small bag with our own balls and gloves lol) but so nice, and a really well-maintained course. It was also extremely hot, but that made it so that there was basically no one there. We had a 9:40am tee time but would recommend 7:00am if you want to do this. I was soaked in sweat by the end of our 9-hole round (around 11:30)!
• Botanical Gardens: For $25/person, I'd recommend going. It was very wholesome and worth it just to walk through the orchid garden and the Blue Iguana Conservatory!
• Cayman Crystal Caves: For $45/person I'd say it's worth it even if you're not the biggest fan of caves (these are mostly stalactite and stalagmite formations). It was a cool experience. Our tour guide was interesting though and he slowed down the pace a bit, so we were there an hour longer than anticipated (island time), but that's okay. They served alcohol so we walked around with our daiquiris which was nice! A word of advice: I thought the temperature would be cooler in the caves... it was not. It was brutally hot/humid and I'd recommend a personal cooling fan! You can also rent them there for like $5. They have free bug spray for use though!
• Cayman Spirts Co Tasting: For $30/person, worth it. Our host was funny and very informative. We got to try some really great rum and then at the end of the tasting he let us try anything else we wanted too, with no real limit on quantity! There were only 5 of us in the group so we made friends with the others pretty easily which was also fun.
• Drove around the island: Since we stayed at Seven Mile Beach and Crystal Caves were on the other side, we used that as an opportunity to take the long way back around the island. It was very nice driving with the top down taking in all the scenery!
• Bike Rides - using the bikes that came with our cottage! We rode around the surrounding neighborhoods and also biked to Bonny Moon for morning coffee on two or three occasions!

Food and Drink: The food was amazing!

• Heritage Kitchen: We went here for our first meal the day we landed, and it was so good we talked about it until we went back again later in the trip. To top it off, you walk across the one-lane road, and you are looking out over a sea wall with impeccable views. HIGHLY recommend
• Jerk BBQ Hut: Very good food-stand like place. All outdoors area with huge smokers going and a radio blasting on full volume, but the food was great with huge portions and had a very local feel! Recommend
• Bonny Moon Beach Club: We went here for dinner once and then three times for morning coffee. Wonderful each time! Recommend
• Czech Inn Grill: We went here after the Botanical Gardens, before our Crystal Caves tour (all same day), as they are all within a 10/15-minute drive of each other. It was so good (a little biased as a big Prague fan) and we HIGHLY recommend
• Cayman Cabana: We went here for the Thursday Farm-to-Table dinner which was awesome! A little pricey but it was a fun experience, got to know the group next to us since we all sit at long tables together, and it was all you can drink wine. Additionally, huge tarpon swam up next to the deck where we were eating and we got to feed them!
• Cracked Conch: We did the tasting menu here and it was very good! Expect to spend about $120/person not including drinks though. The views were great too!
• Peppers: We went here on our last night. It had been on my list and then our Stingray Sailing captain recommended it without me prompting it. The BBQ ribs we had were the best I've had in my life. It was packed on a Sunday night when literally everywhere else was dead! Even with it being packed, we got to know our waiter and a bartender really well, and just by chance it was the bartender's last night after 11 years, so it was basically a party. Highly recommend.
• Rackams: We went here for some drinks after snorkeling and it was a great time!
• Library by the Sea: We walked into this cocktail lounge not expecting it to be what it was, but it was a great experience. They specialize in vintage cocktails, so if that's your thing, this is the spot. They have vintage spirits on their shelves from the early 1900s that you cannot find anywhere else.
• Pom Pom: Great cocktail bar on the roof of Hotel Indigo
• Macabuca: Sat and had a drink here during the World Cup final after snorkeling that morning. Great vibes!
• Jack's Beach Club: This place never came up when I was doing research prior to the trip, but we saw signs and decided to check it out one night. It was really the only beach club vibe we got on this trip, so it was fun to hangout for a few hours one of the nights. The food was OK, but the drinks were great and the owner of the bar was DJ'ing and people were dancing in the sand.
• Blue by Eric Ripert: We had a reservation for this spot, as I know that Eric Ripert was close friends with Anthony Bourdain and even has his own 3-Michelin star restaurant in NYC. But, in reading all the reviews, it seemed like it wasn't worth the money, and this was going to be a $500+/person meal. Considering we just had a meal of this caliber the night after our wedding, we decided to cancel. Read the reviews on various websites and come to your own conclusion, but I don't think we missed out on too much given the other meals we had.
• Casa 43 Mexican: We did not have a chance to go here but wish we did! We had two locals specifically tell us to try this place.

There you have it! 10/10 experience and would definitely go back. Thanks for reading.