I recently returned from my 3rd Grand Cayman (GC) Seven Mile Beach (7MB) trip and have assembled an array of information from the trip in this somewhat lengthy report/review.
Background
This trip was a family beach vacation combined with some diving for me, the sole diver in the group. As such, the focus and details of this report will probably be most useful to those traveling with non-divers, particularly if young children are part of the non-diver contingent.
Why do we continue to return to Grand Cayman and 7MB? Seven Mile Beach has been considered to be “one of the best” beaches in the world by numerous publications at various times. This assessment seems accurate; the sand is very nice, the water is a beautiful turquoise blue and best of all due to the geography and predominant winds for that area of the Caribbean, the beach is nearly always calm and therefore very kid-friendly particular for smaller kids.
The diving is pretty good too with typically very good visibility, not very challenging dive conditions and of course the “famous” wall dives on all sides of the island are well known. Add in that there are some good shore dives available as well and it has a reputation for being a good Caribbean dive destination.
The combination of it being a safe island with a nearly unbeatable beach with good diving makes it a fairly easy choice for combo family/diving trips for us.
COVID
Grand Cayman had a significant reaction to the pandemic. Traveling to the island was basically impossible for non-residents for an extended period and the phased re-opening was very slow in comparison to other tourist destinations. We went to GC in May of 2019 and despite wanting to return sooner didn’t considering it until quarantining and periodic testing had been completely lifted. We finally booked when entry/exit testing only was still required but fortunately all COVID restrictions were lifted by the time of our trip. It was a relief not needing to worry about any extra travel logistics with young kids as well as not having to worrying about false or actual positive test result upon return.
Upon arrival, I was quite surprised to see virtual no masks being worn on the island. The mandate had only been recently lifted and my expectation was to still see them in use due to the perceived high concern for safety regarding the pandemic on the island. Instead, whether airport, restaurants, shops or just out and about they were virtually nowhere, and the few I did see mostly seemed to be worn by folks that were clearly tourists. I found this a pleasant surprise, things seemed pretty much normal and as they were on our trip in 2019.
Accommodations
We stayed at Plantana on 7MB for the second time and once again were very happy with the choice. Plantana is located on the northern half of 7MB which is less crowded and further from the cruise ship traffic down in George Town. The beach was never crowded, some mornings we had it completely to ourselves. Where Plantana is located makes it possible to walk to restaurants and shops or take a very short car ride if the little ones are tired. One difference since our 2019 visit was that Fosters (one of the grocery chains) had moved from W Bay Rd to Camana Bay, a slightly further drive but still less than 10 minutes.
The Plantana itself provides the typical amenities you’d expect. There are ample beach chairs and umbrellas. The pool isn’t overly large or fancy but it too was never crowded and there were always plenty of chairs and tables available. There are plenty BBQ grills around the grounds and a hammock on the beach as well. There’s also a dive gear rinse area that is handy.
The units all have pictures online so that if you’re picky regarding the unit amenities it’s very easy to see exactly what you are booking. The way the condos are oriented most units have at least a partial ocean view but there are a few with garden view that are a little more economical. Most units are 2-bedroom but some of the 2-bedroom units have a den area with a door that worked great as a 3rd bedroom for our youngest that’s still in a crib and has an earlier bed time. All of the units have a decent sized patio that’s screened and great for enjoying the view. The condo full kitchens are helpful for meals particularly if you have young kids. Preparing meals was just as convenient as it is at home and stocking the fridge with groceries helped save on eating costs for a full family and was convenient.
The units also have washers and dryers which with young kids is once again very handy. There were no apparent shortcomings are obvious areas of improvement for Plantana as a whole and we preferred the unit we stayed on this trip 32, vs the previous unit 5, just slightly.
7MB
I’m not aware of any obviously better options in the Caribbean when it comes to beaches. Where Plantana is located there was never crowding on the beach and the sand on 7MB is pretty nice and soft, although it isn’t quite as soft, white and powdery as the FL Emerald Coast quartz sand beaches.
For us the biggest selling point is probably how calm and thus friendly for little kids the beach is always. The final 2 days of our trip the wind picked up to 20-25 MPH and it had virtually no impact on the enjoyability of the beach. The winds are nearly always out of the East and the beach faces the West so it’s protected. Our 2-year-old had no issue getting in and out of the water alone even on those days. This compared to the typical expectation of breaking waves on rough days at beaches makes this beach tough to beat for the little ones.
An additional benefit regarding 7MB being in the lee to the predominant wind is that sargassum being present is pretty anomalous as opposed to other Caribbean beaches somewhat regularly being impacted by sargassum.
The only imperfection I can think of is that snorkeling off most of 7MB is not good. There are plenty of good snorkeling spots elsewhere on the island but nothing special on 7MB itself.
GC in General
If you are not aware, expect everything to be expensive, including groceries. A dozen large eggs was $12 USD as example. We prepared breakfast in the condo all week and tried to limit eating out to just a single meal per day but alas, GC is not very economical.
We ate Chicken Chicken once and I’d say this is the most bang for the buck. The food is good and the quantity was such that we had ample leftovers. We ate Ragazzi twice; their pizza is good and pasta dishes also very good. The burgers at Seven Mile Burger were also good and of course we ate at Sunshine Grille which never disappoints and a must if you’re staying in the area. We also ate at Abacus in Camana Bay like on a prior trip. The regular menu is very good but the kid’s menu was expensive and pretty disappointing. Fortunately, our kids were not aware of how pitiful their chicken tenders were!
We’d initially considered doing Starfish Point for the kids but decided the long drive from 7MB with a 2-year-old was probably not a great idea. So instead, we did the Turtle Farm which perhaps for some is controversial but for young kids is still a good way I think to introduce interest in wildlife. Our kids thought it was cool seeing the turtles up close and the water slide and pools were also a nice break from the usual beach activities. If you do have young kids and go, try to arrive before the cruise ship excursions which seem to arrive around 10AM. We had it nearly to ourselves until the cruisers showed up. It wasn’t extremely crowded even then, but definitely more so than when we arrived at 8:30.
Travel to and from GC via Owen Roberts was uneventful and customs/immigration were fairly quick for us. We rented a mini-van from Marshals, our first time using Marshals (previously we used Andy's and Budget) and I think we'll stick with Marshals going forward. We had a lot of luggage with 2 young kids and my dive gear so the mini-van worked great and was a good price all things considered. I was prepared for driving on the left from previous trips and it didn't take long to be comfortable with it again.
(continued - Next The Diving)
Background
This trip was a family beach vacation combined with some diving for me, the sole diver in the group. As such, the focus and details of this report will probably be most useful to those traveling with non-divers, particularly if young children are part of the non-diver contingent.
Why do we continue to return to Grand Cayman and 7MB? Seven Mile Beach has been considered to be “one of the best” beaches in the world by numerous publications at various times. This assessment seems accurate; the sand is very nice, the water is a beautiful turquoise blue and best of all due to the geography and predominant winds for that area of the Caribbean, the beach is nearly always calm and therefore very kid-friendly particular for smaller kids.
The diving is pretty good too with typically very good visibility, not very challenging dive conditions and of course the “famous” wall dives on all sides of the island are well known. Add in that there are some good shore dives available as well and it has a reputation for being a good Caribbean dive destination.
The combination of it being a safe island with a nearly unbeatable beach with good diving makes it a fairly easy choice for combo family/diving trips for us.
COVID
Grand Cayman had a significant reaction to the pandemic. Traveling to the island was basically impossible for non-residents for an extended period and the phased re-opening was very slow in comparison to other tourist destinations. We went to GC in May of 2019 and despite wanting to return sooner didn’t considering it until quarantining and periodic testing had been completely lifted. We finally booked when entry/exit testing only was still required but fortunately all COVID restrictions were lifted by the time of our trip. It was a relief not needing to worry about any extra travel logistics with young kids as well as not having to worrying about false or actual positive test result upon return.
Upon arrival, I was quite surprised to see virtual no masks being worn on the island. The mandate had only been recently lifted and my expectation was to still see them in use due to the perceived high concern for safety regarding the pandemic on the island. Instead, whether airport, restaurants, shops or just out and about they were virtually nowhere, and the few I did see mostly seemed to be worn by folks that were clearly tourists. I found this a pleasant surprise, things seemed pretty much normal and as they were on our trip in 2019.
Accommodations
We stayed at Plantana on 7MB for the second time and once again were very happy with the choice. Plantana is located on the northern half of 7MB which is less crowded and further from the cruise ship traffic down in George Town. The beach was never crowded, some mornings we had it completely to ourselves. Where Plantana is located makes it possible to walk to restaurants and shops or take a very short car ride if the little ones are tired. One difference since our 2019 visit was that Fosters (one of the grocery chains) had moved from W Bay Rd to Camana Bay, a slightly further drive but still less than 10 minutes.
The Plantana itself provides the typical amenities you’d expect. There are ample beach chairs and umbrellas. The pool isn’t overly large or fancy but it too was never crowded and there were always plenty of chairs and tables available. There are plenty BBQ grills around the grounds and a hammock on the beach as well. There’s also a dive gear rinse area that is handy.
The units all have pictures online so that if you’re picky regarding the unit amenities it’s very easy to see exactly what you are booking. The way the condos are oriented most units have at least a partial ocean view but there are a few with garden view that are a little more economical. Most units are 2-bedroom but some of the 2-bedroom units have a den area with a door that worked great as a 3rd bedroom for our youngest that’s still in a crib and has an earlier bed time. All of the units have a decent sized patio that’s screened and great for enjoying the view. The condo full kitchens are helpful for meals particularly if you have young kids. Preparing meals was just as convenient as it is at home and stocking the fridge with groceries helped save on eating costs for a full family and was convenient.
The units also have washers and dryers which with young kids is once again very handy. There were no apparent shortcomings are obvious areas of improvement for Plantana as a whole and we preferred the unit we stayed on this trip 32, vs the previous unit 5, just slightly.
7MB
I’m not aware of any obviously better options in the Caribbean when it comes to beaches. Where Plantana is located there was never crowding on the beach and the sand on 7MB is pretty nice and soft, although it isn’t quite as soft, white and powdery as the FL Emerald Coast quartz sand beaches.
For us the biggest selling point is probably how calm and thus friendly for little kids the beach is always. The final 2 days of our trip the wind picked up to 20-25 MPH and it had virtually no impact on the enjoyability of the beach. The winds are nearly always out of the East and the beach faces the West so it’s protected. Our 2-year-old had no issue getting in and out of the water alone even on those days. This compared to the typical expectation of breaking waves on rough days at beaches makes this beach tough to beat for the little ones.
An additional benefit regarding 7MB being in the lee to the predominant wind is that sargassum being present is pretty anomalous as opposed to other Caribbean beaches somewhat regularly being impacted by sargassum.
The only imperfection I can think of is that snorkeling off most of 7MB is not good. There are plenty of good snorkeling spots elsewhere on the island but nothing special on 7MB itself.
GC in General
If you are not aware, expect everything to be expensive, including groceries. A dozen large eggs was $12 USD as example. We prepared breakfast in the condo all week and tried to limit eating out to just a single meal per day but alas, GC is not very economical.
We ate Chicken Chicken once and I’d say this is the most bang for the buck. The food is good and the quantity was such that we had ample leftovers. We ate Ragazzi twice; their pizza is good and pasta dishes also very good. The burgers at Seven Mile Burger were also good and of course we ate at Sunshine Grille which never disappoints and a must if you’re staying in the area. We also ate at Abacus in Camana Bay like on a prior trip. The regular menu is very good but the kid’s menu was expensive and pretty disappointing. Fortunately, our kids were not aware of how pitiful their chicken tenders were!
We’d initially considered doing Starfish Point for the kids but decided the long drive from 7MB with a 2-year-old was probably not a great idea. So instead, we did the Turtle Farm which perhaps for some is controversial but for young kids is still a good way I think to introduce interest in wildlife. Our kids thought it was cool seeing the turtles up close and the water slide and pools were also a nice break from the usual beach activities. If you do have young kids and go, try to arrive before the cruise ship excursions which seem to arrive around 10AM. We had it nearly to ourselves until the cruisers showed up. It wasn’t extremely crowded even then, but definitely more so than when we arrived at 8:30.
Travel to and from GC via Owen Roberts was uneventful and customs/immigration were fairly quick for us. We rented a mini-van from Marshals, our first time using Marshals (previously we used Andy's and Budget) and I think we'll stick with Marshals going forward. We had a lot of luggage with 2 young kids and my dive gear so the mini-van worked great and was a good price all things considered. I was prepared for driving on the left from previous trips and it didn't take long to be comfortable with it again.
(continued - Next The Diving)