New Year's Eve ideas and "swim the ponies"

Hi Everyone,

I will be celebrating New Year's Eve on Grand Cayman. Do you know if there will be any free or reasonably priced things to do to ring in the New Year? Do they maybe have fireworks at midnight?

The main reason I am posting, though, is about the Swim the Ponies. That definitely looks like something that my friend and I would like to do. We have ridden horses through the jungles of Chichen Itza, and on the beaches of Mexico, but we have never "swum" a pony. Can you please tell me how long they actually let you swim the pony as opposed to just riding it? Also, what is the cost?

Thanks in advance.

Signed,

This will be our first time to Grand Cayman.

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

Hi caymannewyear

Yes

There are fireworks that you can see along the beach at midnight---It's the most amazing thing to be out on the beach, watching the fireworks (and they are in a number of spots) on Dec. 31st--instead of in the freezing cold of chicago. I hope you have a great time. sorry but I don't know anything about the ponies, but I'm sure someone else will answer. A number of people on the forum have done it and had a great time.

Shelly :-)

Thanks, Shelly. I posed that very same question on another website and someone from New York who had supposedly been to Grand Cayman several times, told me that there was nothing free to do on Grand Cayman to ring in the New Year. That reply did not sound right to me as usually resorts have fireworks on New Year's Eve. You are a lifesaver; now I won't have to worry about packing dressy clothes to go clubbing on New Year's Eve! Thanks again! ThumbsUp

D.

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

Hi caymannewyear

Are you staying at a hotel or condo? The condo we used to stay at had a new years eve party--we all brought different foods to share for dinner. In the later years, we just had smaller dinner parties in our units and then went out on the beach to watch the fireworks.

Maybe those people were not content to watch fireworks and needed something more than that.

We just made our own parties and have never gone out for New years. (There are probably a lot of people who have had too much to drink on the roads--coupled with driving on the left---well you get my drift)

Shelly :-)

Hi Shelly,

We will be staying in a hotel. That was sweet of you to come up with another idea for New Year's Eve. Thanks!

D.

Newbie Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 2

Hi caymannewyear,

I've not actually done it myself so I couldn't give you any personal views on the horse riding, but do a search for Pampered Ponies Ltd - I believe they will let you take the horses into the sea. Their website also has contact details if you want to find out more info.

Good luck, and let me know about the trip if you decide to do it...

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:26 am Post subject:

Honestly, I've always found New Year's Eve to be somewhat of a letdown... We went to GC a few years back for New Year's. We went out for evening cocktails, took a nap, woke at 11:30 for the fireworks, went back to sleep and started the year off with me on a dive and my wife catching rays.... Not too shabby!! I've always thought it's about the NEW year, not the old one...

(Back in the 80's, I used to start the New Year by being the first on the slopes, but I digress....

)

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:06 am Post subject:

caymannewyear,

I know you are really interested in swimming the ponies with Pampered Ponies.....be sure to read this link and learn a little bit more about them....

From what I understand, swimming with the horses is something they do as part of the whole ride, most of which is probably on the land.....but, I'm sure the time spent in the water is plenty of time, and probably as much as you and the horses would need to do. Looks like fun!

Char

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:30 am Post subject: new years eve & swim the ponies

Hi,

We were in Cayman last March & went on the Pampered Ponies ride. I can tell you it was my best experience on Grand Cayman. My advice is don't make your reservations at the end of your stay in Cayman, because if it is too windy or rainy and they need to cancel, you will need time to reschedule. We walked the horses along the beach for about 1/2 hour, then unsaddled them & took them into the water for about another 1/2 hour. Everyone stays together as a group & the guides watch you closely. If you prefer not to go too deep you don't have too. After you are done swimming the horses, they let them rest a while before they saddle them back up and head back. It was the highlight of our trip!

Bonnie

Temporary Resident Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 329

I am not sure of your age, but Royal Palms always has something on New Year's Eve and it is either free or a very low cover charge. It is an outside bar/live music/dancing where you would not have to dress to extremes. You would also be able to see fireworks from that location. Also, there are lots of other bars and nightclubs that will be having N.Y's celebrations. The best suggestion I could make is wait until you get down there and check out what is going on in the local newspaper or by asking the concierge etc.

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:52 am Post subject:

I just uploaded the December issue to help people planning ahead for the holiday season. Besides our always current Nightly Events section, we include a special holiday events page listing all of the most popular venues for Christmas and New Year parties, entertainment, shows, events, specials, etc.

You can view it online here:

Have a wonderful vacation and happy holidays. Very Happy

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