Grand Cayman is renowned for being one of the most family-friendly holiday destinations in the Caribbean. The small paradise island is essentially a sunny playground fringed with tropical waters and palm trees, overflowing in fun activities for children of all ages.
There is much, much more to Cayman than its perfect beaches and once you've exhausted all that Seven Mile has to offer, an abundance of kid-friendly, holiday-bucket-list activities still await. We've compiled our favourites for you to try.
1. Camana Bay Day
Camana Bay is a one-stop shopping destination that doubles as an educational playground for kids of all ages. It offers parents the opportunity to relax and indulge in some much-needed shopping or a leisurely lunch while their kids are entertained. The entertainment offering includes everything from interactive storytelling, weekly movie showings on the big screen and a water feature cool-down. For budding young chefs, Cayman's culinary queen, Maureen Cubbons, offers a Culinary camp at Bon Vivant for kids aged 4-7 and 8-12.
2. Stingray City
A visit to Stingray City’s shallow sandbar’s is arguably the most popular and enjoyable of the child-friendly attractions in Grand Cayman. A swim with these gentle giants is sure to excite and delight even the harshest child critics.
3. Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter
Set aside a full day to enjoy all the turtle centre has to offer. Children of all ages have the opportunity to learn all there is to know about Cayman's turtle population and the conservation efforts being made to preserve these beautiful creatures. Here, children can enjoy an educational and interactive time at the centre's aviary, get a close-up of sharks at the predators' reef, snorkel with tropical fish and small sea turtles in the saltwater lagoon or enjoy the freshwater lagoon's waterslide and waterfall.
4. Bioluminescent Bay Tour
There are very few places on the planet where the illuminating phenomenon of bioluminescent phytoplankton can be observed in the ocean and Grand Cayman happens to be one of them. Book a kayak or boat tour with one of the many operators on-island who do tours to Bio-bay for the experience of a lifetime. Although swimming with these creatures is encouraged, it is important to remember to rid yourselves of any and all skin products like sunscreen lotions, mosquito repellent or moisturisers as these are dangerously harmful to the bioluminescent phytoplankton responsible for the magical glow you'll observe on your trip.
5. Swimming Ponies
For a memorable experience of your time in Cayman, saddle up with one of the riding schools in on-island and take a sensational stroll and a swim on horseback along here is Barker’s National Park through the shallow warm waters of the Caribbean.
6. Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park
Young skaters, BMX riders, rollerbladers and even parkour enthusiasts are invited to try out their skills on the 62,000 sq. ft. of quarter pipes, half pipes, rails, stairs, and bowls at Grand Cayman's Black Pearl Skate Park. The park ranked largest skate park in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world is open to all ages from Sunday to Thursday 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm and Friday & Saturday 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm.
7. Kittiwake Shipwreck
The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD), provided the Cayman Islands with the Kittiwake to add to the world-class diving. The USS Kittiwake, a service ship of over 49 years was deployed throughout the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian oceans and decommissioned on September 30, 1994. Today, the Kittiwake serves as one of the most popular wreck dives due to its convenient proximity to Seven Mile Beach and its shallow depths, perfect for those scuba diving with kids.
Though there can be no substitute for sugary white beaches, sapphire skies and azure warm waters, there is definitely no deficit of non beach-bound activities to keep young ones occupied in Grand Cayman on days when the lure of the beach just isn’t enticing enough.
Photo by dive365cayman.com
