When I knew that Timmy and I were going to visit Grand Cayman, I looked up the best things to do on Grand Cayman with a child.  The number one activity I wanted to do was visit Stingray City Grand Cayman.  It was the highest rated activity on TripAdvisor and is such a unique experience, I would have been satisfied if Stingray City was the only thing we did during our vacation.
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Stingray City Grand Cayman
Stingray City  Grand Cayman absolutely did not disappoint.  It was our favorite activity of the trip, even though Timmy was initially reluctant to kiss a stingray.
Booking a tour to Stingray City Grand Cayman
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.  Our trip was $90 for adults and $45 for children through Red Sail Sports.
Here’s why… the other tour boats that arrived were packed with people. Ours was a private boat that we shared with one other family. The six of us shared the boat and had plenty of space to walk around the boat, sit on the bow, and had personal attention from the photographer that accompanied us.
I was hesitant about the cost of the photographer, but it was a relative steal at only $75 for all of our pictures from the day exploring Stingray City Grand Cayman, snorkeling at Rum Point, holding starfish at Star Fish Beach, and touring the mangroves.
Best of all… we arrived at Stingray City Grand Cayman well before the major tours, which provided us with plenty of time to enjoy the experience without fighting the crowds. That alone was worth paying a little extra when we saw the hordes of people arriving on the big boats. Literally hundreds of people!
Here are some options for Stingray City Grand Cayman:
The Bald Thoughts
If you’re planning a trip to Grand Cayman, you absolutely must visit Stingray City Grand Cayman. Â It is a unique experience that you’ll never forget. Â The stingrays are so gentle and it is fun to watch them swim by in the shallow clear waters of the Caribbean.
Can’t wait till next Spring Break. We have a stay at the Marriott planned. I’ve been there before and loved it!
Hey Nathan, have a great time during your stay!
I think I would be a little hesitant to kiss a stingray, too. I mean, we would have JUST met 🙂 Looks like an awesome trip! I’d love to bring my kids there!
Thanks Marcie. HAHA Yeah, you don’t want to be too forward and get a reputation among all the stingrays as being too free with your kisses. 😉 If you do make it down there, I’m sure the kids will enjoy it as much as Timmy did.
What an incredible experience. I really love the option of the photographer. I think it is well worth it to have those memories and not have to worry about taking pictures yourself. If I ever go here I will do like you and book the tour through the hotel. So much better to have a small group on the boat than a large one.
Totally agree Joella. I was worried about how expensive the photographer may be. We did a Dolphin Discovery excursion in Cabo and the pictures were way more expensive for a shorter duration of time. It was closer to about $100 a person for a couple of hours compared to the $75 total we paid for 3 hours.
This is such an incredibly unique and fun experience. Who wouldn’t want to try this? This would be something you would always remember and I think the cost of the photographer is absolutely worth it!
Thanks Nicole. I’m usually frugal on things I don’t care about so that I can splurge on memorable experiences like this. Have a great week!
Wow this experience seems something extra special. I’ve seen some pictures of people swimming with stingrays before and always wondered where do people do that and how is it not dengerous 🙂 After reading this, I’m ready to try it. Thanks for the nice insight!
It is totally safe. When we were leaving, literally a couple hundred people were getting off the big boats to be with the stingrays. I highly recommend it!
Swimming with stingrays is so adventurous. This experience is so incredible and worth to be treasured lifelong. I would remember the name of Red Sail Boats.
Red Sail was a great way to see the island. We saw Stingray City, Star Fish Beach, and snorkeled at Rum Point. I would definitely use them again.
I reallllly want to go here. This looks like amazing good fun. I love that it is so kid friendly too as I travel with a little one. Need to go here for sure. It looks like you had a blast and your son seemed to really enjoy it
Hi Natasha, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it. Check out the link for best things to do in Grand Cayman with a child. You’ll find that there are so many options to entertain you and the kids. Enjoy!
It looks like Timmy was pretty good with the Stingrays, my daughter would be so scared! I took a similar stingray tour in Bora Bora, my then wife was scared, so Tommy did very good! His photo with the Stingray is definitely Instagrammable!
Thanks. Timmy wasn’t too thrilled with getting a kiss. Haha. It will be better when he’s a bit taller and can stand on the sandbar. Right now he was just floating around in his life jacket.
I would be hesitant to kiss a stingray as well! Quite a brave boy you have. Most definitely worth it to spend a little more as you had your own private boat with one other family and got there before all the crowds! It would have been a whole other experience with loads of people. Glad you enjoyed your experience.
Thanks Riely! We were so glad to be leaving when the hoards of tourists were coming off the big boats. It was like the movie 500. Haha
What a cool experience that is especially since you were able to bring your kid along. I think anything that involves animals will be a hit with kids. It looks like he had a great time, albeit hesitant to give that kiss, haha.
I totally agree about animals and kids. Timmy was able to interact with stingrays, turtles, and starfish on this trip and he loved all 3 experiences.