Arriving soon and I have a few questions

Well we try to spend time in Grand Cayman every other year and we are arriving feb 7th. Normally due to non-stop flights from Houston we only get to spend 4 "complete" days in GC. This time we are blessed with 6 days of beginning and ending each day in GC.

And I have some questions!

the last time we went I rented a car for a day and drove to Rum Point. I only made one mistake driving on the left side! This time I'm renting for two days, spending one at Rum Point and the other at Boatswain's Beach

so Question #1 - how do you buy gas if I need to? I remember walking past the pumps and seeing two colors and each had a number and I wondered what that meant. Is one for diesel? if I have a rental which gas or "color" should I use - bonus question - does the pump take credit cards like in America? Or do I pay the attendant in advance?

Qustion #2 - I understand there's some type of dive center at or near the Cracked Conch. If I have time after Boatswain;s Beach are there any Dive Buddies I can rent at the dive center to make a quick shore dive? My wife doesn't scuba but she would be happy to relax and read a book while I did. If you have a name for the dive center or an e-mail address I can ask myself.

Question #3 - When we leave Boatswain's Beach, if we go left out of the parking lot instead of right (towards 7 mile beach) are there any sights along that road that hugs the shoreline?

Question #4 - since we will be close by at Boatswain's Beach, is it worth driving by and seeing Hell? I've seen enough rock outcroppings in my life but since we will be so close and in a rental car maybe we'll stop by. Is there a charge to see the rocks? That alone will effect whether we go!

Question #5 - are there any other CAG recommended snorkle tours to Stingray City besides Soto's? I have already made reservations with Soto's but the e-mail they sent to me explained that they must have a minimum # of passengers or the tour will be cancelled. If I have to scramble and find somebody on sunday afternoon for a monday trip who can I call? I thought Oh Boys did Stingray City bit I did a search of the forums and everything about Oh Boys focuses on fishing.

so anyway, we look forward to going back. We're staying at the comfort Suites so hopefully Coconut Joe's won't be out of ribs. I made diving reservations with Danny at over the wall divers, this will be my first time diving with them but since they are CAG recommended I'm sure I won't be dissapointed.

Thanks for all your help and for this great forum, I come here everynight just to catch up with GC and enjoy the posts.

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject:

Gas can be bought with cards at the pump around SMB and GT. Farther out, stations might not have the swipe pads. I don't remember the colors, but always just pulled up and pumped regular into the Jeep. Be aware of the prevalence of full-serve stations, too

Ollen Miller has his "Sundivers" operation at the Cracked Conch. Google up "sundivers grand cayman" and it'll come up. It'll be the one with the "KY" suffix. Best to ask the about a 'rent-a-buddy'. It might be hit-or-miss finding a lone diver wanting a partner or a group that would let you join them. Check the guide for a coupon. There used to be one for diving and drinks.

DS

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject:

Hope you enjoy your trip to GCM.

In regards to quesiton #4: Admission to see Hell is free. The "beauty" of the area is somewhat subjective but I find it gorgeous. The t-shirts available at the 3 different shops have gotten a bit less cute than I remember them but there are some interesting ones in there.

Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:06 am Post subject:

In regards to Question #2, as divesergeant said, the name of the shop you are referring to is Turtle Reef at the Cracked Conch. It is run by Ollen Miller, who is a very special friend of mine. We have a nice thread about his shop here -

I just added his phone number and the shop's e-mail address to the bottom of the first post in that thread so that you can contact them and ask about the possibility of finding a dive buddy. I know that you can hire one of them to go with you on a guided shore dive.....but then that would cost more money, of course. See what they say.

It's a PERFECT place for your wife to hang out and wait while you dive.....you've got the Macabuca outdoor Tiki Bar and Grill right there...plenty of seats to lounge around in and a great view. There are two coupons in the Activity Guide that are accepted there....you can use one of them. One is for 10% off the shore dive, but the one I really like is the Dive, Dine and Drink one for $19CI which includes the shore dive, an appetizer and a Caybrew!

Don't wait too long into your vacation to go up there, because there are a few days where the current can be too rough to do the dive....if you call them, they'll tell you how things are that day.

Now, on to your question about the Stingray City trip with Soto's....I wouldn't worry about the trip being cancelled if there are not enough people. I think that's just the typical disclaimer. I know they'll do everything possible to get you out. If that doesn't work, though, I know that Oh Boy Charters does still take out Stingray City trips. (You are absolutely right.....we need to have a topic about them in our Stingray City forum and not just under the fishing section.....sorry Embarassed

).

Don't forget that there is a coupon now in the Activity Guide for 10% off the entrance fee to Boatswain's Beach. You asked about what to see if you turn left out of there and head back towards 7 Mile Beach.....you get a really nice view of the whole area from there as you drive along, since it's kind of up in the "hook" area of West Bay. There are some nice spots for snorkeling, if you want to stop and do that......some that are hardly frequented at all.

I know that you are planning on driving to Rum Point one day, but you should consider going to Kaibo instead.....it's right up in the same area and won't be nearly as crowded with cruise ship passengers. I've never been, but I'm anxious to try it this year when we go. I understand that they have a very quiet beach and nice casual restaurant downstairs, with a fancier one upstairs. There is a coupon in the February Activity Guide entitling you to a free rum punch with the purchase of an entree at the casual restaurant (I think).

Glad you're going to Cayman again.......and that you can stay a bit longer this time.

Char

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 2035 Location: Illinois

The fancier restaurant at Kaibo is only open for dinner and only on the weekend. The beach restaurant is always open for lunch and dinner--- don't miss the french fries and fried onions---they are the best. One afternoon we just went over and ordered a basket of fries and another day a basket of onion rings---felt so naughty doing it, but they were great!

Tuesdays evenings there is a band and barbecue buffet on the beach.

Shelly :-)

Frequent Flyer Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 98

Don't know how much of GC you've seen, but a stop at the Botanic Park on the way to Rum Point/Kaibo is worthwhile. A sunset visit to the BlowHole is great. (Rum Point can be a handy "rest stop" but it's not very good for snorkeling, and can be too crowded).

You can get to BB by bus, if you want to use your rental car day for seeing other parts of the island. But on a BB car day, by all means take a quick look at Hell -- it's a cute tourist trap, but even better, it gets you driving around in a local residential neighborhood to get a better feel for GC. You can continue North to see the beach at Conch Point (out by Pappagallo and Pampered Ponies) and pick up an old shell or two. A stop at West Bay beach lets you look back all the way down 7MB. Since you're staying on the island, you can't buy rum at the Tortuga shop that's near BB, but you can taste a lot of yummy rum and cake. Try not to go to BB and Tortuga on cruise ship days -- too crowded.

We went to BB shortly after it opened and decided we didn't need to bother going again -- too many other pleasant places to swim and snorkel that are free. I guess it's interesting to go once.

My boring recent Trip Report (unfortunately without photos) may give you some ideas.

Buying gas is easy -- we did the full service both times this trip, just an extra $1 tip (pay after pumping), but you can do it yourself and it's easy to tell which kind to get. It was cheaper out in Savannah than in town, but not by much.

(Is there a tactful way to say that RP and BB are geared more for cruise ship day visitors, and that there are more pleasant experiences to be had "off the beaten track"? -- but they certainly can be fun places to visit if you want to check them out).

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 2035 Location: Illinois

Yikes! Are you supposed to tip the gas guys? I don't think we ever have done that.....we never used to do it in the states.....when we came back they always gave us gas and didn't put sand in the tank....so guess it wasn't the end of the world.......Does everyone else tip the gas guys?

Shelly :-)

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:05 am Post subject:

An added bonus I found out at Boatswain's beach. You save 20% by using and American express card! When I went 2 weeks ago, I presented my 10% CAG coupon. The cashier told me if I used an AMEX card she sould give us a 20% discount. For the day, it cost us $88 instead of $110!(or $99 w/ CAG)

Native Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 1023 Location: Illinois

Happy to read you are returning, Squiddy......hope you have a great trip...as far as Hell, it's not something we will do again, but it was fun sending postcards from Hell...... Mr. Green

Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject:

Thanks Knees!

And thanks to everyone for all the help!

I e-mailed sundivers diving center at the Cracked Conch and they do have a "rent a buddy" plan if there's nobody else around to buddy up with.

or I may just snorkle with my wife

Char I am going to try Kaibo. If that's the same area we went to two years ago it was known as "starfish beach" and we found alot of starfish there. If I'm thinking of the same place you are calling the Kaibo area. when we went there was a statue of Jesus that I understand has since been removed.

As usual there will be some exploring along with doing our usual favorites.

can't wait to get off that plane!

can't wait to get on that beach!

can't wait to get in that water!

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:41 am Post subject:

Hi, Squidkisser! I just found out we get to go back this year, too! I have a piggyback question. Can you still get to the starfish beach?

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:04 am Post subject:

We drive a lot on our trips to GCM and buy gas a couple of times each trip. I've never tipped the full serve guys. When I travel to NY/NJ I know the NJ stations are all full service and I've never tipped them either.

Don't want to start that custom!!!

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:31 am Post subject:

Believe it or not, when I used to pump gas back in the late '70s, I used to make at least $5 a day on tips. And that was 30 years ago!

Frequent Flyer Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 98

We had one man, and one woman, who filled up the tank -- neither were surprised at getting a tip. I guess we're more used to tipping from my daughter's many years in the service industry. With the cost of living on GC being what it is, I'm sure the tips are even more appreciated. (And I don't think we're starting a trend).

As of a few weeks ago, you could still drive pretty close to the "starfish beach" -- It's called something like Ivory Kai now, marked off for home development, with a big fancy gate arch (no gate) but no other sign of development, except for the sign out by the beach. We didn't see any starfish, but it was kind of late in the day and cool, so maybe we didn't go out far enough. It's very pretty, tho. I think there is an actual Kaibo Beach public beach down another fork in the road.

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:09 pm Post subject:

Thanks, mecllap. It's been awhile since I checked in and the search function has changed a little. I'm glad to hear you can still get to Ivory Kai. I was afraid the development had already been started. My big guys will be 5.5 and 4 this time and I know they will love to see the starfish again.

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