Seven Mile Beach Travel Guide

About Seven Mile Beach

A visitor could conceivably come to Grand Cayman and never leave Seven Mile Beach. Some consider the beach the best in the Caribbean.

Beach:

On Seven Mile Beach, there is an overwhelming temptation to just relax: stretch out on a lounge chair, let the silky, white, powdery sand run through your fingers, watch the calm, crystal waters slide to the shore and feel the soft sea breezes brush your skin. Snorkelling is good at Cemetery Reef at the beach's north end. Although the shore can get pretty crowded in some spots, the ambiance will not be disturbed by trinket and basket sellers. And forget the seven mile name tag. It is really only 9km (5.5 miles) long.

Beyond the beach:

Discover the East End. Visit Pedro St James Castle to see the rain, mist and smoking pots that make its multi-media, historic presentation quite unique. Stop by the old fort ruins at the isle's first capital, Bodden Town; then continue on to the Mastic Trail for a walk in the woods. Farther up the road is one of the island's premier photo ops, the Blow Holes. The erupting water and crashing waves against the rocks are hypnotic.

Family fun:

Families will never be at a loss when it comes to activities. Older kids can hand-feed the rays at Stingray City, snorkel or maybe even dive, while the whole family can enjoy a ride in a submarine or the Jolly Roger (www.jollyrogercayman.com), a 2/3 replica of Christopher Columbus' Nina. The area known as Hell is little more than a patch of fenced of craggy rocks, but at its gift shop everyone can send their friends postcards from Hell. Families flock to the Cayman Island Turtle Farm (North West Point Road, West Bay) where 16,000 of the creatures swim around tubs and 'touch tanks.'

Exploring further:

Like Grand Cayman, its sister islands have excellent dive sites, white sand beaches, transparent waters and friendly people, but each is unique. A homely atmosphere pervades Cayman Brac. The 'brac,' a limestone bluff, which reaches 42.5m (140ft) at its eastern end, bisects the island and attracts hikers and birders in search of the elusive Cayman Brac parrot. The smallest of the islands, Little Cayman, is so peaceful that the jail was only used once (A Honduran lady found her husband with another woman and she stabbed him with a fork.) and a sign near the airport reads, 'Iguanas have the right of way.'