Timmy and I flew to Grand Cayman for his Spring Break. Mommy and Scarlett were so jealous! We were there for 4 days and wanted to explore and enjoy as many activities possible. So we came up with a list of the best things to do on Grand Cayman with a child. We weren’t able to do everything on the list, but we still had a great time and look forward to coming back.
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When we returned from our vacation to Grand Cayman, Timmy presented the best things to do in Grand Cayman with a child to his classmates. Here is the video of his practice run the night before he presented to his classmates.
In This Post
The 7 Best Things to do in Grand Cayman with a child
Here are the best things to do in Grand Cayman with a child, a little description of the activity and some pictures of us exploring Grand Cayman. We hope that this summary inspires you to visit Grand Cayman with your family.
Stingray City
Our favorite activity of the trip was visiting Stingray City. It has to be one of the most popular activities on the whole island. There are many tour options available to visit Stingray City. We chose to book through our hotel’s concierge desk. It may have been a little more expensive than the other tour options, but it was worth it. Stingray City is a must do when creating your list of the best things to do in Grand Cayman with a child!
Snorkeling or Scuba Diving
There are so many amazing places to explore while snorkeling or scuba diving in Grand Cayman. As part of our Stingray City package, we made a stop at Rum Point to do a little snorkeling. Check with your hotel for the best local locations.
Star Fish Point
Star Fish Point was the 3rd stop on our tour that the Kimpton Seafire concierge booked us on. After Stingray City and snorkeling at Rum Point, it was time to get up close and personal with some starfish. There are plenty of starfish in the shallow waters to explore. Whatever you do, keep the starfish under water so they can breathe!
Cayman Turtle Centre
The Cayman Turtle Centre is a short shuttle ride away from Seven Mile Beach. Our resort, the Kimpton Seafire, was one of the stops for the free shuttle to and from the Cayman Turtle Centre. This made the excursion super convenient and cheap since we didn’t have a car and wouldn’t have to pay for a taxi.
There are two options when you arrive at the Cayman Turtle Centre. The basic entrance fee is $18 for adults and $9 for children. This includes access to the turtle breeding pond, the grow tanks, and a small education center that shows a short film and offers a couple exhibits. The Turtle Adventure Tour ($45 adults, $25 children) allows you to do everything included in the basic entrance fee, plus it provides access to a swimming pool with two slides, a pond where you can snorkel with turtles and fish, and an aviary where you can feed local birds.
Cayman Crystal Caves
On the north side of Grand Cayman are the Cayman Crystal Caves. From our hotel on Seven Mile Beach, it was about a 45-minute ride in an open-air jeep. On the tour, there was one other family, but the 6 of us fit comfortably in the back of the jeep and the breeze from the fresh Caribbean air kept us cool. Once we arrived at the caves, is was a short walk to start exploring the 3 caves. Each cave was bigger than the one before… and we were quite surprised at the pool of water and the number of bats (don’t worry, they left us alone) inside the largest of the caves.
Lounging at the Hotel Pool
Although you hate to be the tourist that never leaves the resort, especially since there are so many things do on Grand Cayman with a child. There is also something to be said for enjoying the wonderful resort property that you’re paying for. Our property, the Kimpton Seafire Resort had a wonderful pool are to enjoy. After exploring the island each day, we spent the rest of the time enjoying the warm Caribbean sun at the pool.
Hotel Non-Motorized Activities
Many of the Grand Cayman hotels include complimentary non-motorized activities, such as aqua bikes, snorkeling, stand up paddle boards, and many other options. Timmy and I ventured out into the sea on an Aqua Bike. Honestly, it was harder than it seems because you have to pedal against the current and they don’t steer too well. Even after that, though, we still had fun trying it out.
Best things to do on Grand Cayman with a Child – Honorable Mentions
There are so many wonderful activities to enjoy on Grand Cayman. Besides the best things to do on Grand Cayman with a child that I mentioned above, here are some other activities to consider if you have time.
- Dolphin Discovery Cayman – swim with dolphins
- Bioluminescence Bay – see the wonders of glowing water at night
- Horse Back Riding – some horses even swim in the ocean water
- Swimming in the Warm Caribbean Water – even if you’re from California like me, the ocean and lakes of the US can’t compare to the warm water of the Caribbean
The Bald Thoughts
We had such a great time on Grand Cayman and look forward to returning with Anna and Scarlett. I’m glad I did a little homework ahead of time to figure out the best things to do on Grand Cayman with a child before our trip began. There is so much to do on the island, and we wanted to make sure we hit the activities that meant the most to us.
The Cayman islands sound like an animal lover’s paradise! I would love to look at the starfish up close. We don’t get those huge starfish in Trinidad and Tobago. Good tip about leaving them underwater! Responsible travel is always important, especially when we teach it to the little ones.
If you hold the starfish long enough, they relax and their little feet start to tickle your hands and fingers. Such a unique feeling! I agree… it is up to us to ensure we teach our children to behave and act appropriately when interacting with animals (if only adults were so willing to listen and learn).
This is a great post to help parents who often think that travel to destinations they like with their kids will not be as much fun as it used to be before they had kids. Grand Cayman is obviously an extremely popular holiday destination and having a list like this to know it can be kid friendly too is fabulous.
Thanks, Nicole. We take our kids everywhere. I’m a big believer that, just because you are married or have kids, you don’t have to give up having fun and doing “adult” things. As long as you plan in a mix of activities that are catered to your kids, you can have your adult fun too. And, as a parent, half of my joy comes from watching them experience things for their first time and watching their reactions of joy, disgust, curiosity, etc. Have a good one!
Spring break is such a great opportunity to take the kids exploring. You picked an amazing destination and it looks like you both had a fantastic time. I would absolutely love to take my girls I am sure they would enjoy seeing all the stingrays and starfish as well as all those non motorized activities. The pool at your hotel was out of this world. How did you ever manage to get yourself away from it? Thanks for all these I will be looking to add to my ever growing list of places to visit.
Thanks Jo! We really enjoyed ourselves on Grand Cayman. Couldn’t have hoped for a better place to vacation… until we tried to leave and got caught up in the Delta mess in Atlanta. It was definitely hard leaving the Seafire to explore. Our room and the view was just as beautiful as the pool area. If you visit Grand Cayman, I recommend staying there.
Grand Cayman looks like a place for water lovers. Hotel Lounge Pool is so beautiful. My boys would like to do Swim with Dolphins.
Swimming with the dolphins is an amazing experience. We did it in Cabo last summer and had a blast. I totally recommend it.
I can imagine how jealous your wife and daughter were! Sometimes it’s best if you aren’t able to do everything on your list because it’ll give you reason to come back 😉 Would love to visit Grand Cayman someday, it looks beautiful and the activities seem so fun!
The cool thing is that Kimpton social media team sent my wife a little care package since she wasn’t able to join us. It was an ocean breeze scented candle. Not a big gift, but something that was unexpected and brought a smile to all of our faces.
I agree. I often call traveling “sampling” or “appetizing” because we’re never there long enough to do everything, so it’s like we’ve had an appetizer of the destination to determine if we want to come back for a “full course”. We will definitely be back to Grand Cayman.
I would love to bring my son here! He would love meeting all of the animals and lounging by that pool. What a great suggestion, we never considered it before now
Thanks, Natasha. I’m sure he would have a blast, just like Timmy and I did. The water is warm all year long, so it is a great getaway any time of year.
I have been to the Grand Cayman about 10 years ago, so this post brought me back some pleasant memories. You are right, the Cayman Islands are the ideal place to visit with kids. Here, they can get in touch with ocean life and enjoy water activities. I will surely take my children there one day as well.
I can only imagine how much the island has changed in the last 10 years. The Kimpton Seafire, where we stayed, is brand new and there are several other new resorts being built, such as the Margaritaville nearby on Seven Mile Beach. I hope that you are able to come back and visit. I know I look forward to returning with my wife and daughter also coming along for the journey.
The Grand Cayman seems to have loads of activities perfect for families. All the marine life and underwater experiences are sure to be a blast for the kids! Great tip on keeping the starfish underwater. It’s important we as travellers remain responsible and limit our footprints on Earth.
Thanks, Riely, there definitely is so much to do on the island for families. We get so busy at home with work and home life, that experiences like this are such a treasure to us.
Oh my gosh. How fun for you two! I had no idea that you could do so many things with kids in Grand Cayman, and it’s even better that they’re almost all water-related activities. The snorkeling and scuba diving are a personal draw for us, and hopefully our future kids (we’d love for them to be scuba junkies like us). Thanks for all the great suggestions! And btw, amazing photography! Timmy is such a cute kid! 🙂