hello from foggy san francisco! at the end of november / early december, we went on our honeymoon to the cayman islands and had a total blast! we had never been to the caribbean, but received awesome advice and recommendations from my friend caitlin and her family, plus i did a bunch of research and pinning (obv). we wanted to have ideas on things we wanted to do, without having a set schedule or plan.
it was such a beautiful island. the people there are kind and welcoming. the food was sooooo delicious (although afterwards, i needed a break from fried conch!). my favorite part was just how many fun water-related activities there were to go! we typically would snorkel or swim in the morning and spend the afternoon reading, lounging on the beach or at the pool and starting on happy hour early!
i thought it would be fun to recap the trip and share some of our photos, plus offer some recommendations in case you’re planning a trip to the caribbean soon!
WHERE WE STAYED:
shangri-la bed & breakfast
wyndham reef resort
the westin grand cayman
WHERE WE ATE:
West End:
Alfresco – local spot where you can eat right next to the water
Macabuca – we went here several times for happy hour and dinner. the bar is right over the water, plus right next to a great snorkel spot
Catch – fancier seafood spot on the west end, we especially loved their ceviche!
Ristorante Papagallo – italian food! the mac & cheese was A+++
Seven Mile:
Billy Bones Bar & Grill – total dive bar where you can eat right by the pool and drink frozen cocktails. so fun!
Yoshi Sushi – we went here twice just because we didn’t want to deal with fancy hotel restaurants. all the rolls we had were so yummy.
Island Naturals Cafe – our go-to breakfast spot when we stayed in SMB. acai bowls for the win!
Craft Beer & Cocktails – hipster-y cool gastropub with huge beer list
Sunshine Bar & Grill – this is a hidden gem; you’ll never read about it in a tour book or see advertisements. order the fish tacos!
Veranda Grill @ The Marriott – wednesday is lobster night (surprisingly affordable). we really liked the vibe at this hotel (even though it’s a chain!)
Camana Bay:
The Brooklyn – PIZZZZZZAAAAA!
The Waterfront Urban Diner – super cute, upscale diner spot that serves breakfast all day. pictured below!
Georgetown:
Georgetown Yacht Club – literally one of the only places that serves breakfast after 10am on a sunday. thank goodness!!
The Brasserie – my absolute favorite place that we ate. it’s a farm-to-table / sea-to-table spot that makes everything fresh from local, sustainable ingredients. amazing.
East End:
Tukka – this australian restaurant is sooo yummy and has such a fun vibe. THE BEST conch & crocodile fritters we had during the entire trip. we also ordered the chef’s special which featured fresh everything (mussels, scallops, lobster, calamari, salmon, prawns, crab with a thai-lobster broth).
Vivinne’s Kitchen – local food literally from a woman’s kitchen. everything is super homemade and authentic. cash only!
Mimi’s Bar @ Morritt’s – casual beach bar & restaurant situated on a pier
Eagle Rays – another great, casual spot right on the water.
North:
Kaibo – awesome beach restaurant where you can literally sit 5 feet from the water! also hilarious, pitbull is performing here in january ha!
Rum Point – this spot is amazing! we spend several days just lounging on the beach here in hammocks. it’s the perfect place to spend the entire day because you can get food, drinks, get in the water and swim/snorkel or just soak up the sun and read.
ALL THE WATER THINGS!
best places to snorkel:
west side: cemetery beach, turtle farm (off the macabuca bar’s pier!)
georgetown: eden’s rock, wreck of the cali (you can see a huge ship underwater)
east end / north: rum point & literally ANYWHERE!
other: the mariott at seven mile beach, spott’s beach near bodden town (this is where we swam with turtles!)
other awesome water-related things we did (highly recommend all of them!):
scuba diving: my first time doing this! was super cool to be underwater for an hour and see everything.
bioluminescence kayak trip – i had NO idea what this was, but it was really cool! bioluminescence is when a living organism produces and emits light from a chemical reaction – so when we put our hands in the water in this bay, the water lit up to be this glow-in-the-dark blue. it was crazy cool! we kayaked really far to this bay to get there at night and it was also amazing to stargaze from the kayak.
swim / hang out with stingrays (the water was only about 4″ deep) – SO FUN! and creepy at the same time. i was a little nervous about stepping on them (as you can see from the photos of me ha!) but they were super friendly. E even held them and fed them!
A FEW TIPS FOR TRAVELING!
neighborhood guide: seven mile beach is the main place most people stay, where the beach is INSANELY gorgeous and there are tons of hotels & restaurants, georgetown is the capital city and also where all the cruise ships dock so it’s super touristy. north / east / west ends of the island are quieter and less touristy. there’s lots of good restaurants and bars in all the areas, plus amazing and snorkel and scuba spots all around those areas.
the island overall is pretty expensive and the current exchange rate equals out to $8 Cayman dollars = $10 US dollars.
GET A CAR! the island is really small – you can drive from one point of the island to the other in under an hour. we loved being able to check out all parts of the island and it wouldn’t have been as easy (or even possible) without a car.
booze is really pricey; i recommend getting stuff at duty free at the airport BEFORE you arrive in Cayman (we made the mistake and forgot!). oh! and you can’t buy alcohol on sundays.
annnnnnd here’s more pics from our trip! thanks for reading!
