General
Information
The Cayman Islands
are situated in the Caribbean, 290km (180 miles)
northwest of Jamaica, and comprise Grand Cayman,
Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Cayman's beaches
are renowned to be among the best in the world,
in particular Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman.
Although in relative proximity, each of the islands
is unique in its developed infrastructure as well
as the type of topography found both on land and
underwater.
Grand Cayman is the main tourist destination and
its capital, George Town, is today one of the leading
commercial centres in the Caribbean region. The
gingerbread-style buildings lining George Town's
harbour front are prime examples of traditional
Caymanian architecture.
Cayman Brac, northeast of Grand Cayman, is a much
smaller island, about 19km (12 miles) long and about
1.6 km (1 mile) wide. The area is riddled with caves
and dozens of wrecks for divers to explore. It provided
the basis for Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel
Treasure Island.
 11 km (7 miles) southeast
of Cayman Brac, the tiny island of Little Cayman
is best known as a sanctuary for wild birds and
iguanas. It is also known as the world's best location
for bone fishing. The food and restaurants in the
Cayman Islands are excellent, in particular the
variety of local fish specialities. The Cayman Turtle
Farm, one of Grand Cayman's tourist attractions,
now undertakes strict conservation measures. The
Cayman Islands have a fairly limited number of nightclubs,
which sometimes feature international acts.
Diving
 Divers have
been making the trek to the Cayman Islands for many
years. The water is warm and visibility is super.
The Caymans offer divers of all skill levels something
to remember.
Reefs, colorful and vibrant, with marine life in
such an abundance, it will bring out the best in
every photographer. You want walls? From all three
islands, the wall diving has become famous. How
about wrecks? There are a number of wreck dives,
one of the most popular being the Captain Kieth
Tibbetts, an ex Russian warship, sunk in 1996 and
now home to an abundance of reef fish.
Climate: 75 - 87F 24 - 30C
Water Temp: 77 - 82F 25 - 28C
Visibility: 100+ ft. 30+ m
Check
out a sample of Caymans Dive Sites
Dive
Centers & Accommodations
New
Travel Regulations
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
The proposed implementation timeline has two
phases:
Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including
U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the
United States and Canada, Mexico, Central
and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda
will be required to present a valid passport,
Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant
Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration
Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons,
including U.S. citizens, traveling between
the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South
America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land
or sea (including ferries), may be required
to present a valid passport or other documents
as determined by the Department of Homeland
Security. While recent legislative changes
permit a later deadline, the Departments of
State and Homeland Security are working to
meet all requirements as soon as possible.
Ample advance notice will be provided to enable
the public to obtain passports or passport
cards for land/sea entries.
The passport
requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens
traveling to or returning directly from a
U.S. territory. U.S. citizens returning directly
from a U.S. territory are not considered to
have left the United States and do not need
to present a passport. U.S. territories include
the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands. More
Details... |
Getting
There
Air Travel
Island
Air based at Owen Roberts International Airport,
offers scheduled daily inter-island service between
Grand Cayman and Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Island
Air flies from Grand Cayman to the Sister Islands
four times each day via 19-passenger turboprop Twin
Otter, 9-passenger Navajo Chieftain and 9-passenger
Islander aircraft. Charter service is also available
upon request on a 6-passenger Lear jet B-20 and 19-passenger
Jet stream. The flight between Grand Cayman and the
Sister Islands is approximately 40 minutes.
There are more than 108 weekly flights into Owen Roberts
International Airport including 70 flights each week
between Miami and Grand Cayman with connections to
Cayman Brac.
American
Airlines has three direct, non-stop daily flights
from Miami to Grand Cayman.
Cayman
Airways offers regular service from Houston, Texas,
Tampa, Florida and Kingston, Jamaica to Grand Cayman
and daily service to Cayman Brac.
US
Airways provides daily service from Charlotte,
NC and Philadelphia to Grand Cayman.
Northwest
operates direct service from Detroit from December
through April.
Delta
Airlines flies non-stop New York/JFK-Grand Cayman,
using a B737-800 airplane. Service is daily from December-April.
They also service Atlanta-Grand Cayman daily using
the B757 airplane. The Atlanta-Grand Cayman service
continues to operate year-round.
Continental
Airlines operates a Boeing 737-700 aircraft equipped
with 12 first class and 112 economy class seats. Continental's
New York flight departs from Newark International
Airport (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) at
9:15am and arrives in Grand Cayman at 1:15pm. The
return flight departs at 2:00pm and arrives in New
York at 6:00pm. For more details contact your travel
agent or the airline directly.
Air
Canada provides direct twice-weekly service to
Grand Cayman from Toronto on Sunday and on Wednesday.
Flying southbound Air Canada’s flight 972 departs
Toronto at 10:45 AM and arrives in Grand Cayman at
3:05 p.m. Northbound flight 973 departs Grand Cayman
at 4:05 p.m. and arrives in Toronto at 8:05 PM.
British
Airways offers service four times weekly Boeing
777 service from London (Heathrow) to Grand Cayman
on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with
an intermediate stop in Nassau, Bahamas.
Air
Jamaica and Cayman Airways offer regular service
to Kingston, Jamaica and Montego Bay. Islena connects
Grand Cayman with La Ceiba, Honduras, and Cubana Airlines
offers weekly flights from Grand Cayman to Havana.
A number of charter flights also operate from various
US cities and Canada year-round.
Entry Requirements
British, Canadian citizens as well as citizens of
British Dependent Territories Do Not Require passports,
but must present proof of Citizenship and a return
or ongoing airline ticket.
Commonwealth citizens, and citizens of the following
countries must have passports but do not require Visas
to enter the Cayman Islands:
Andorra Argentina Austria Bahrain
Belgium Brazil Chile Costa Rica
Denmark Ecuador El Salvador Finland
France Germany Greece Guatemala
Iceland Irish Republic Israel Italy
Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein Luxembourg
Mexico Monaco Netherlands Norway
Oman Panama Peru Portugal
San Merino Saudi Arabia Spain Sweden
Switzerland Venezuela
All other countries not noted above should contact
the nearest British Consulate or High Commission Office
to inquire about entry requirements or receive applications
for Visas. Entry is granted for up to six months.
Resident aliens of the US who show a valid US Alien
Registration Card (green card) may be permitted to
enter and remain in the Cayman Islands for up to 30
days.
For Specific Questions regarding entry into the Cayman
Islands contact the Cayman Islands Department of Immigration:
(345) 949-8052
Upon arrival please keep the pink Immigration slip
given to you! This is our equivalent of a tourist
identification card. Visitors should keep it with
their travel documents and present it when departing.
Anyone who wishes to extend their stay after arrival
must visit the Department of Immigration and obtain
an extension and may be asked to show proof of financial
resources to permit an extension.
Departure Tax: There is a CI $20.00 or US$25.00 departure
tax for the Cayman Islands that is included in the
price of your airline ticket.
Travel Tips
Getting Around
Taxis
Taxis are available at Owen Roberts International
Airport on Grand Cayman and offer a fixed rate per
vehicle or per person to all points on Grand Cayman.
This information is available from the taxi dispatcher
at the curb. Hotel vans cannot provide courtesy arrival
pickup at the airport. Taxis are also readily available
from all resorts .
The bus terminal is located adjacent the Public Library
on Edward St. in downtown George Town and serves as
the dispatch point for buses to all districts. Daily
service starts at 6 a.m. from the depot and the schedule
is as follows from George Town to:
West Bay - every 15 minutes, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sunday
- Thursday; 6 a.m. - midnight, Fri. & Sat. Fare
is CI$1.50 each way.
Bodden Town - Every 30 minutes, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.,
Sunday- Thurs.; 6 a.m. - midnight, Fri. & Sat.
Fare is CI$1.50 each way.
East End and North Side - Every hour, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.,
Sunday - Thurs. and Saturday. On Friday, buses will
operate until after Midnight. Fare: CI$2 each way.
Language
English is spoken on all three islands. The dialect
of Caymanians is somewhat of a mixture of American
southern drawl, English slur with a Scottish lilt
to punctuate.
Money
The local currency, the Cayman Islands dollar, is
equivalent to US $1.25. American currency is generally
accepted as are major credit cards. Banking hours
are 9 am to 2:30 pm Monday through Thursday, and 9
am to 1 pm, and 2 pm to 4:30 pm on Friday. The departure
tax when leaving Cayman is US $12.50.
Taxis
Taxis are available at Owen Roberts International
Airport on Grand Cayman and offer a fixed rate per
vehicle or per person to all points on Grand Cayman.
This information is available from the taxi dispatcher
at the curb. Hotel vans cannot provide courtesy arrival
pickup at the airport. Taxis are also readily available
from all resorts .
Bus
Service
The bus terminal is located adjacent the Public Library
on Edward St. in downtown George Town and serves as
the dispatch point for buses to all districts. Daily
service starts at 6 a.m. from the depot and the schedule
is as follows from George Town to:
West
Bay - every 15 minutes, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sunday -
Thursday; 6 a.m. - midnight, Fri. & Sat. Fare
is CI$1.50 each way.
Bodden
Town - Every 30 minutes, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sunday-
Thurs.; 6 a.m. - midnight, Fri. & Sat. Fare is
CI$1.50 each way.
East
End and North Side - Every hour, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.,
Sunday - Thurs. and Saturday. On Friday, buses will
operate until after Midnight. Fare: CI$2 each way.
Rental
Cars
Driving in the Caymans is on the left side of the
road. The law also requires mandatory wearing of seat
belts. In order to rent a car, you must obtain a temporary
drivers license from the police station or car rental
agency, easily granted upon presenting a valid drivers
licence from their home state, county. The fee is
US$7.50. You must be 21 to rent a car in the Cayman
Islands, and some rental agencies' insurance will
not cover renters under 25. Check with your rental
company in advance to determine.
Many
major rental car companies are located in Cayman,
as well as a number of local agencies. A variety of
models of rental cars are available, most with right
hand drive. Rentals are also available on Cayman Brac
and Little Cayman, mostly jeeps and 4 wheel drives.
Sopeds/Scooters
Mopeds and scooters are also available on Grand Cayman
and Cayman Brac. Riders are required by law to wear
a helmet at all times. Remember to stay on the left.
Average daily rate is US$25 which includes helmet
and permit.
Shopping
Cayman is a duty-free destination which means many
exciting opportunities for you to save on such things
as watches, china and crystal, perfumes and fine jewelry
on Grand Cayman and at a few stores on Cayman Brac.
Prices on perfume, watches and select luxury items
may be as much as 30% less expensive here.
In
addition to traditional duty free selections, varied
and interesting shopping--from chic European fashions
to outstanding local art--delights visitors in speciality
stores, hotel boutiques and shopping plazas.
You'll
find a small variety of Caribbean crafts and products
including crochet work, paintings and sketches of
Caribbean scenes, thatch work, pepper sauces, Caymanite
(the islands' own semiprecious stone), jewelry, sculpture
and wood carvings. Most of the items are made in Jamaica,
not in the Caymans. Antiques and treasure-coin jewelry
attract an enthusiastic clientele, though these items
can be expensive. You may see items made from black
coral and sea-turtle products, but we urge you not
to buy them: Both the coral and the turtles are endangered,
and each sale encourages more of these rare species
to be harvested (the gathering of black coral is done
in the waters of other countries -- it's prohibited
in the Caymans). Turtle products are illegal in most
countries.
Tipping
Many of the hotels and restaurants automatically add
a 10% to 15% gratuity on to the bill, others do not.
Be sure to examine your bill.
Drinking
Age
The
legal age for alcohol consumption is a minimum of
18 years old. It is a serious offence to drink and
drive. The legal limit is under .01.
Dress
Most restaurants require shoes and shirts, and shorts
instead of long pants are generally acceptable. Some
of the upscale restaurants may require slacks for
evening dinner. Please do not wear bathing suits or
"skimpy" beach wear beyond the beach or
cruise ship. Note that there are no nude beaches in
the Cayman Islands and that public nudity and topless
bathing are prohibited by law.
Electricity
The Cayman Islands use the same electrical standards
as the USA - 110 volts, 60 Hz.
Water
Public water in the Cayman Islands is safe. All hotels
and condos, and most restaurants and private homes
are connected to the city water supply. The water
is pumped from the sea and then purified by reverse
osmosis.
Medical
Facilities
Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac have a full complement
of modern medical facilities, including government
run hospitals. Private medical centres are in Grand
Cayman with a 911 emergency service. Medivac services
to the U.S.A. can be arranged when necessary. Vaccinations
are not mandatory.
Time
Zone
The Cayman Islands are on Eastern Standard Time all
year long.
|