Cayman Islands | Your local guide to the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands Travel Requirements, June 2022

The Cayman Islands are ready to welcome you back and we’re sure you’re itching to get back! (It is, however, understandable if you’re a bit concerned or timid about what you need to do to meet the travel requirements of our Caribbean nation so that you keep yourself and others safe (and have fun!). Have no fear; we’re about to spell out exactly what you need to do to get your toes back in our sugary white sands…

Newest Travel Regulatory Updates

As of early April 2022, the Cayman Islands Government has made the following amendments with respect to COVID and travel.

Any fully vaccinated person may travel to the Cayman Islands without being subject to quarantine on arrival if they: Complete the pre-arrival test, complete the mandatory medical and travel questionnaire and undergo a medical examination. Additionally, if a Customs and Border Control agent considers it necessary one must complete and submit a travel declaration to Travel Cayman in advance of your travel time. This must be done no later than 72 hours before your trip. You also must provide evidence of the travel declaration when requested to do so by a CBC Officer upon arrival in the Cayman Islands.

Other Important Notes – Cruise Ships

As of March 2022 any person disembarking must have completed an approved vaccine course at least two weeks prior to embarking a cruise ship. This applies for captains and crewmembers of the ship as well. Additionally, unvaccinated children under twelve years old can only disembark when accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult. Lastly, fully vaccinated travellers can enter the Cayman Islands via cruise ship without having to quarantine. The Cayman Islands government also encourages anyone planning to travel to the islands to check back frequently for further updates so they are up to date on the most current information.

More Important Information For Travellers

Take a breath, it will be okay. We have a few more bits of useful information for those of you readying yourself for arrival. Children the age of 11 and younger will take the vaccination status of their parents. This means that we’re allowing fully vaccinated visitors to travel with children aged eleven and younger. Unvaccinated travellers aged twelve and over are not able to travel to the Cayman Islands at this time unless the visitor has a “close tie” to the nation. A “close tie” is defined as any person who can demonstrate that they own a business or property in the Cayman Islands or has a close family tie. A family tie is anyone that is the spouse, civil partner, sibling, parent, stepparent, grandparent, grandchild, child or stepchild of a Caymanian or Resident. Visiting unaccompanied children under the age of 12 years, even if unvaccinated, will not be required to quarantine under certain conditions. If you are an unvaccinated Caymanian or returning person with resident status you will be required to quarantine for at least seven days. For more information about vaccine requirements, quarantine it is strongly suggested that you visit the official Cayman Islands Government website.

Now Let’s Make Those Travel Arrangements

Now that you’re ready to go, lets quickly review the next steps to getting here. First and foremost you must apply to the Travel Cayman portal for an official Certificate to Travel by requesting a Travel Declaration. You also must be fully vaccinated by an approved vaccine. Once you’ve fulfilled those obligations you must take a certified rapid antigen test, a PCR test or a NAAT test the day before departure. This test must display a negative result for any travellers the age of five and older. Additionally, this test can be taken at any time the day before your departure. To eliminate any confusion, the test is not limited to 24 hours before departure so you don’t have to worry about counting the minutes…

Approved Vaccines

Just so you know. These are the approved vaccines for entering the Cayman Islands. Also, it should be know that if a person is found to be producing a false vaccination document they will be liable, on conviction, to a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for two years.

  • Janssen COVID-19 vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) (single dose)
  • Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (two doses)
  • Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (two doses) European Version SK Bio Version Serum Institute of India version ‘Covishield
  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (two doses)
  • Sinopharm (two doses)
  • Sinovac (two doses)
  • Novovax
  • Covovax
  • Covishield (Astrazeneca/India)
  • Covaxin

“Mixed doses of approved vaccines taken at least eight weeks apart”

We know it sounds like a lot to digest but trust us, it is very doable and these measures are in place for your safety and the safety of the other travellers and airline staff accompanying you to the Cayman Islands. It is also important to note that these measures are very dynamic and always changing so its important to make sure you are checking back regularly to ensure that you are up to date on the most current information. Someday soon things will be back to normalcy but until then, we’re all in this together. We look forward to seeing you on the beach!

Where is the best snorkeling spot on Grand Cayman?

There are two types of snorkeling activities on Grand Cayman and that is snorkeling by the shore or going snorkeling on a boat.

On a boat, your boat captain will be able to tell you the ideal snorkeling spots depending on the water current and time of year. They know all that information so this blog will only answer: What is the best shore snorkeling spot on Grand Cayman?

There are quite a few and it will depend on your swimming skills and comfort level in the water. For beginners I want to recommend Cemetery Beach along Seven Mile Beach. Right by the shore, probably in 4ft of water you will find a rock mound with cracks and crevices that have a myriad of fish. This is ideal for young kids just learning to swim.

For the more advanced snorkelers you may want to swim around 200 ft out on Cemetery Beach. Look for the yellow house (presupposing they haven’t changed the color of the house yet), this house is the first house on your right from Cemetery Beach facing the water. Follow that house in a straight swim out 200 feet and you will come across a huge boulder and right beside it is an artificial reed made of huge upside-down flower pots. Its pretty cool when you first see them. On this same spot we have seen turtles, eagle-rays and of course the ever present bermuda chubs and lots of other species of fish. We hope this blog was helpful in deciding where to go snorkeling on Seven Mile Beach, please contact us if you have any questions.

What to do in Grand Cayman if you only have 5 hours

Cruise ship passengers only have about five hours on Grand Cayman from the time the ship docks to the time when it leaves so this is an apt question.

We have a lot of favorite things to do in Grand Cayman but if you only have 5 hours, this would be time well spent.

The first recommended thing to do in Grand Cayman is Stingray City — for some reason someone called it a “City” but beware, this isn’t a city for people — there are no restaurants, bars or shopping centers instead Stingray City is a Sandbar. It is located via a 30-minute boat ride from Grand Cayman. You can book tours directly from your cruise ship but please be aware that there are many Stingray City Tour Operators that are not listed on your Cruise Ship directory but offer equal value and are less crowded on their boats.

How much time is it going to take: About 2 to 3 hours depending on the number of stops your tour takes. Some tours offer additional stops for snorkelers.

Why its worth it?

Stingray City is the defining adventure in Grand Cayman and perhaps the Caribbean as you won’t experience this anywhere else in the world. Swimming with wild Stingrays is a once in a lifetime experience, except ,of course, if you lived in Cayman where it has become something of a regular trip. The Stingrays are wild, they are not in captivity, they are free to leave anytime they choose to but they have been domesticated and are gentle enough to be handled.

What is Stingray City like?

Initially its daunting because there are so many of them and in your mind Stingrays are wild animals. But good advice would be to listen to your boat captain, the instructions that they give and you should be fine. Remember the Stingrays are accustomed to being with people and taking food out from their hands. In Cayman they are likened to puppies because they are “trained” to come to you when you have a treat, in this case a squid.

In my own personal experience its better to come to the Stingray City Sandbar when the water is calm vs. when its too windy. When the day is windy its a little more difficult to keep your feet on the sand and thats something that you need to do so that you don’t accidentally step on one. When the water is calm your mind can focus on the experience vs. trying to keep both feet on the ground.

What to do with the remaining hours on Grand Cayman?

After Stingray City, you may have a couple more hours on your hands. We suggest going to Seven Mile Beach and more specifically Governor’s Beach for some sunbathing. Governor’s beach is right next to the Governor’s house and is not usually filled with other tourists. Its a wonderful place to relax. If you want to try local cuisine, we suggest looking for a restaurant that serves Conch Fritters. Done right, these fritters are delicious.

Remember because you need to ride a boat tender back to the ship you need to give yourself time to line up. The lines are usually long so the earlier you get back to the ship, the less time you have to line up.

We hope this blog was helpful in helping you decide what to do with your time in Grand Cayman. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Seven Mile Beach

Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is not actually 7 miles long.  It’s only 5.5 miles and runs from Grandview Condos (a little before those properties) and goes all the way to West Bay Public Beach.

A first time visitor to Grand Cayman may think that all there is to Seven Mile are:  Governor’s Beach, Public Beach, Cemetery Beach and West Bay Beach but there is so much more to it than that.  Obviously those are the four public beaches but the entire front beach is actually public domain.  You will see trespassing signs on the beach when you overstep your bounds.  But not to worry, I’ve never actually seen a guard that will reprimand you for walking on their beach.

Not all the condos on Seven Mile Beach have a great location.  Personally I have favorites along the stretch.  I prefer the white sand vs. the rocky beach and so if you are like me, you want to rent condos along the center to the northeast of Seven Mile Beach.  Most of the condos / hotels in the beginner part of the beach don’t have the same great white expanse.

The rocky shoal at the beginning of Seven Mile Beach is ideal for vacationers who want to snorkel right off their beach.   Some of the better snorkeling on Seven Mile are at the beginning of it, the center and end are not as idyllic for snorkeling unless you are strong enough to swim at least 200 yards out.

Snorkeling Spots on Seven Mile Beach

On Governors Beach you need to swim out to the white buoy in the distance.  It is visible from the beach.  You need to be an intermediate swimmer to get out there as sometimes the water can be rough.  Make sure you bring your flippers and goggles for this trip!

On the Public Beach — there is no snorkeling to be had… its like a large swimming pool really.

Cemetery Beach — not everyone who comes here finds the reef and it can get tricky.  But I’ve discovered that if you swim straight from the Orange house on the beach, it will take you directly to the reef.  There is a welcoming committee of Bermuda Chubs (fishes who look like they are smiling at you).

Welcome to the Cayman Islands

First of all, we wanted to welcome 2015 with a bang and a new website design! After all doesn’t the most visible website deserve some attention? We thought so.

And so for 2015 we are also accepting smartly designed Adverts for special landing pages throughout the site. Need online visibility? We got you covered.

So for the none-business visitors and are specifically here for the weather and the beach, Welcome! You have made the right decision in choosing the Cayman Islands as your winter-vacation-land. If its your first time here, check out some of the activities we recommend.

  1. Stingray City — the thought of swimming with real stingrays is scary at first but when you get here, it will seem as natural as it is breathtaking. If you manage to get a photo while kissing one, it is guaranteed to replace your Facebook profile photo for about a month, maybe more.
  2. Scuba Diving — if you are going Scuba Diving, make sure you go with highly rated dive operator. Check out Tripadvisor.com for reviews and listen to your gut. Nothing can be as frustrating as going scuba diving in the best diving destination in the Caribbean (IMHO) and feeling like you could have gotten better service elsewhere. The North Wall is a personal favorite for Boat Dives and for Shore diving, I love, love, LOVE — Turtle Reef or whats commonly called Macabuca because of the bar in the same location. BTW Macabuca has some amazing food (jerk chicken) and their beers are always cold. Best drunk after the dive (not before!)
  3. Kayaking from Kaibo to Starfish Point — so one of my favorite activities on island is renting a Kayak in Kaibo (Rum Point) and paddling it all the way to Starfish point. It is important to NOT do this on a weekend as so many party boats dock on Starfish point. Do this on a weekday — bring a picnic basket and have an awesome day!

If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll be sure to answer you right away.