Welcome to the Georgetown – Grand Cayman cruise port guide. Georgetown on Grand Cayman is the capital of the Cayman islands, where approximately 45.000 people live. Your cruise ship will visit Georgetown. Georgetown is a small simple town that has a couple of tourist sites to offer, but it is mainly your shopping paradise. Find all the international brands and local stores side by side for any kind of shopping you have on your list. The Cayman islands is an island group of which Grand Cayman is the largest and most populous. The island is pristine and offers many diving opportunities and white sandy beaches. Therefore it is no surprise that most of the sites to see are under the water level rather than above. Snorkelling tours, diving, glass-bottom boats etc. should be on the top of your list on Grand Cayman. For those who want to keep your feet dry there are lots of other things to see and do as well. Check the Grand Cayman cruise port guide underneath to see how to make the most out of your day ashore.
Also visit our cruise port guides for:
Grand Turk
Barbados
Fort Lauderdale
San Juan
Key West
Cozumel
Curacao
Cruise Port Guide Georgetown – Grand Cayman: at anchor
Cruise ships drop anchor in the bay of Georgetown and tender people to shore. There are 3 tender piers in town: the North Cruise Terminal, South Cruise Terminal and Royal Watler Terminal. They are all on Harbour Drive and only a short distance away from each other. Find their exact location on the map above. You will find all of the cruise docks are in the city centre and facilities like tourist information, ATM’s and taxis are close by. The shops are all across the road. If you would like to know what other ships are in port check the following link: http://www.caymanport.com/shipschedules.php The town of Georgetown is really small and you will find most of the town is set around the 3 streets at the tender dock. Therefore the town is easy to explore by foot. To get a little further afield you will need transportation. Find your transportation options underneath:
Taxis on Cayman
You will find many taxis driving on the street or at the taxi stand at the tender pier (Royal Walter Terminal). Aside from regular sized taxis mini-vans are also an available option. Taxi fares usually go per person. Take into account a ride to 7 mile beach will cost approximately 5 US dollars per person. Always negotiate the price before stepping into the taxi.
Public Transport
The mini vans with blue license plates are the public busses. Catch them at the bus station next to the library on Edward street. Busses to West Bay go several times per hour and the fare is CI$2.
Snorkeling
Grand Cayman is known for its snorkelling and diving. Diving can be best arranged straight through the dive school, which we recommend to arrange at home before you go. One of the most unique places for snorkelling is at Stingray city. These shallow waters (3,5 meters, 12 foot) is where you are going to find the famous stingrays of Grand Cayman. Find dozens of them here in the water.
Beach
Grand Cayman has several beaches. The best ones are situated on the west side of the island and luckily Georgetown is close to them (about 2,5 km away). The most popular beach on the island would be Seven Mile beach This 6,6 mile long beach called 7 mile beach is one of the best known beaches of the Caribbean and it is just a short ride away from Georgetown. The beach is ideal for snorkelling, for finding a high end resort or just a public beach. You can find it all on 7 mile beach. Just mention to your taxi driver what you are looking for (watersports, resort, bar, public beach etc.) and he’ll know where to drop your off. You could also walk from the tender pier to Seven Mile beach, but take into account it is at least a 30 minute (2,5 km) walk in the heat.
Distance from the dock:
Camana Bay Observation Tower: 4 km to the north
Hell: 12 km to the north
Cayman Turtle farm: 13 km to the north
Pedro St. James Castle: 12 km to the east
Bodden town: 20 km to the east
Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park: 29 km to the east
