Snorkeling and beaches with young kids

We are returning to Cayman with our kids after a year off. We had hoped to have our oldest snorkeling last time but he was still a bit too cautious. This time the boys will be 5.5 and 4 years old. I bet the 4 year old will be off in a second, and the 5 year old will reluctantly follow.

Our first full day we will plan to head to Rum Point. I'm hoping the shallow water will help them gain confidence. We are staying at Treasure Island, but that won't be the place for them for this trip.

I would love some more suggestions for spots to try with the kids. Since the kids didn't snorkel last time, we really didn't seek out this type of spot. We will have a car and are really willing to try anything.

Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:09 am Post subject:

Haltom,

I've asked the same question before. I was given ideas to go to starfish beach and Jolly Roger. (daytime) Since my trip is still far away , I'll need to find out more where starfish beach is. I'll be looking for some answers too.

Tracy

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 2034 Location: Illinois

Tracy

Starfish beach might have starfish when you go there and then again it might not...... but there is really no other snorkeling there as far as I can tell. It gets kind of murky and green, not clear---at least that was our experience.

Shelly :-)

Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:27 pm Post subject:

shelly,

Is there a good chance that the kids might just see a starfish? They're really not into getting in the water much. They really just like to wade. My youngest is convinced that jaws is real and lives in every ocean. split

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 2034 Location: Illinois

Tracy

Yes, one day I saw a couple of starfish from the beach and another day I saw a clump of 5 or 6 starfish without going into the water. If you look at my Northside trip report for this year, there is a picture of one of the starfish that I saw very close to shore---I did go into the water to take the picture, but it was in very shallow water.

Shelly :-)

Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:52 pm Post subject:

Thanks shelly,
I'll do that.

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

Tracy.......don't miss Starfish beach....last year there were a lot of star fish as well as the year before......some were out deeper and Tom brought them over by me for a picture....it's the only place we've ever seen starfish. I'm still vacation shopping but I don't think it's going to be GC this year...... Crying or Very sad

I was looking forward to picking up a couple more Caymanite pieces that we found at a little shop. Sigh!

Newbie Joined: 27 Sep 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Michigan

where is starfish beach?

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 2034 Location: Illinois

Starfish beach is in Cayman Kai --at the end of the road going past Kaibo restaurant.

Shelly :-)

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:38 am Post subject:

Welcome to the forum, sybl Smile

,

Here are some directions to Starfish Beach that one of our members posted awhile back -

I agree with Shelly, this really isn't a beach worth snorkeling, but it might be fun for the kids if they're lucky enough to see a starfish. They are in very shallow water, if they are there.

Char

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:49 am Post subject:

Hello haltom wave

,

I know that you haven't been on the board for awhile, so you may have missed this announcement from Joe recently -

He now highly recommends the beach and restaurant up at Kaibo now instead of Rum Point for that nice relaxing laid back day......much less crowds, and it seems like easy shallow snorkeling, too. You might want to give it a try!

Also......if the seas are calm, Smith Cove might be just the ticket for some easy snorkeling for your little ones.....

Char

Status Member Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 765

Don't think I'd let my kids snorkel at the Kaibo beach, it's a marina, after all.

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:50 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Sue.....

I haven't stopped at Kaibo for about twenty years, but we thought we'd go up there one day this year for lunch.

I did know it was a marina.

The only reason that I suggested it as a snorkeling spot was because of this sentence in Joe's first post in the Kaibo thread.....

Quote:

The snorkeling at Kaibo is far more diverse, with starfish and other interesting creatures at the shallow 1-3 foot depths.

Is he referring to someplace else?

Char

Status Member Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 765

Char,
Have no idea.

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:39 pm Post subject:

scubachar wrote:

Hello haltom wave

,

I know that you haven't been on the board for awhile, so you may have missed this announcement from Joe recently -

He now highly recommends the beach and restaurant up at Kaibo now instead of Rum Point for that nice relaxing laid back day......much less crowds, and it seems like easy shallow snorkeling, too. You might want to give it a try!

Also......if the seas are calm, Smith Cove might be just the ticket for some easy snorkeling for your little ones.....

Char

Thanks once again, Char! I did miss it. I had to limit my Cayman obsession while I was trying to take care of the baby! I didn't know if we were going to be able to go this year.

I do like the food at Kaibo. We ate there after our kayak trip. We're usually pretty low maintenance. We like to leave early in the morning, so we may try RP first. We don't have a need for any services. We will definitely be heading for the starfish second. That way if our snorkeling doesn't go well, they can at least look for the starfish.

If things go well, Smith Cove will probably be our next spot to try with the kids. It gives the option of seeing things without a big swim. Plus it is easy to do a picnic meal there. The good stuff at Cemetery and Governor's will be way too far, but maybe they will like to check out things near the shore.

	Cayman Activity Guide Forum Index -> Snorkeling	Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4 Next
Page 1 of 4