Week in the Caymans

You must do a snorkel trip: the Happy Hooker is the best boat in town. It’s not for the faint of heart, but then, what fun things are?! The Wharf restaurant is good for an elegant evening. Find the little Irish pub next to the Treasure Island Resort for an authentic shepherd’s pie. Swimming and snorkeling Cemetery Reef is cool, though it is very far out, so you must be in good shape. Skip the shopping plazas, as they mostly have jewelry and T-shirts.

Quick Tips:

Your hotel will have tons of discount books, and the "Key to Cayman" guide is indispensable for all advice. The concierge at your hotel will more than likely be able to help arrange tours, and the island is an English-speaking country, so it’s easy to get around.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking was our choice--the beach just begs to be discovered. We rented a car for 2 days, and since the island is only about 7 miles long, that is all you need to explore every corner. Anything more is a waste of cash.

Best Things Nearby:
It’s on the beach, with a private snorkel garden with BARRACUDA!

Best Things About the Resort:
A beautiful beach you can walk for miles

Resort Experience:
This is a nice, budget-friendly condo hotel with several pools and a great beach, and you can walk to the main town. It is close to a vacation-type shopping center. There is a good restaurant inside featuring seafood as well as American-style cuisine and good drinks.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Wharf is an elegant restaurant on the shore of the beautiful Caribbean. We chose to eat on the spacious deck under a sun-shading umbrella. The Cayman-style seafood (with a sweet mixture of peppers and marinade) was delicious. My husband had Jerk-style mahimahi, which was spicy but good. The highlight of the dinner, other than the beautiful views, was feeding the leftovers to the 8-foot tarpon that congregate near the deck--hold on to small children!

The Happy Hooker snorkel tour is not to be missed! They take you to three locations so you can dive for conch shells (which we then ate) and snorkel at the reef, where we saw sharks, moray eels, and stingrays. Then there's a trip to Stingray City to mingle with the great creatures. They are so gentle and feel like raw chicken--lots of fun for all! The last thing is a picnic lunch on the beach.