Grand Cayman has no rivers. Not small ones, none at all — the island is a low limestone platform with no surface watercourses, which means nothing carries silt or runoff into the sea. That single geological fact is why the water here is clearer than almost anywhere in the Caribbean and why the diving has the reputation it does.
The other consequence is the wall. The island sits on a submerged mountain and the reef shelf drops away into the Cayman Trench a short swim from shore. Wall dives that would require a boat trip elsewhere start a few hundred metres out.
Seven Mile Beach and everywhere else
Seven Mile Beach on the western shore is the reason most people come. It is actually closer to five and a half miles, it is public along its entire length by law, and it is a continuous stretch of soft white sand facing west into the sunset. Almost every hotel on the island is on it.
George Town, at the southern end, is the capital and the cruise port. Ships tender passengers ashore and the town is busy on ship days and quiet otherwise.
The East End and North Side are the quiet half: reefs, blowholes, Rum Point and a fraction of the development.
Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, a short flight away, are almost empty. Little Cayman has around 200 residents and Bloody Bay Wall, which is among the best wall dives in the world.
The nine below are grouped that way.
Seven Mile Beach
The main event. Continuous soft sand, public access and sunsets.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman occupies a site spanning the road with a beach club on the sand and a golf course behind, a large spa and several restaurants. It is the most complete resort on the island.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Seven Mile Beach · 5★ · $$$$
Beach club, golf course and the largest spa on the island
Check availabilityKimpton Seafire Resort + Spa by IHG sits on the beach with two pools, a strong food programme, a good spa and a design that is lighter than its neighbours. It is the best-run hotel in Cayman.
Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa by IHG
Seven Mile Beach · 5★ · $$$$
Two pools and the strongest kitchen in Cayman
Check availabilityPalm Heights occupies a reworked property on the sand with a residential feel, a gym that is a genuine draw, and an interior that is the most fashionable in the Caribbean.
Palm Heights
Seven Mile Beach · 5★ · $$$$
The most fashionable interior in the Caribbean
Check availabilityThe Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa sits on a long stretch of the beach with a large pool, several restaurants and reliable rooms.
The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa
Seven Mile Beach · 4★ · $$$
Long beach frontage with a large pool
Check availabilityGrand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort occupies a position at the southern end of the beach with a pool deck, a dive operation and a shorter walk to George Town.
Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort
South Seven Mile Beach · 4★ · $$$
Dive operation and a shorter walk to George Town
Check availabilityMargaritaville Beach Resort Grand Cayman sits on the sand with a beach bar, a pool and a young, sociable tone at a lower rate than the resorts above.
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman by IHG occupies a position across the road from the beach with a rooftop pool and the best value on this coast.
Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman by IHG
Across from Seven Mile Beach · 4★ · $$
Rooftop pool and the best value on the west coast
Check availabilityThe East End
The quiet half, forty minutes from the airport.
Wyndham Reef Resort Grand Cayman occupies a beachfront site on the East End with a pool, a dive shop and reef directly offshore. It is the value pick on the island and it is a long way from Seven Mile Beach.
Little Cayman
A short flight. Two hundred residents and one of the best walls in diving.
Southern Cross Club sits on the south coast of Little Cayman as a dive-focused property with a pool, a dock and access to Bloody Bay Wall. It is a genuine diving pilgrimage.
What we have left off
The condominium blocks along Seven Mile Beach are excluded, and they occupy a great deal of the frontage. They are apartments with rental desks rather than hotels, and on Cayman they outnumber the hotel rooms.
What to do
Dive. Cayman is one of the great diving destinations and the wall is the reason. The Kittiwake wreck off Seven Mile Beach is accessible to snorkellers as well.
Go to Stingray City, a sandbar in the North Sound where southern stingrays gather in waist-deep water. It is busy and it is genuinely remarkable.
Swim at Rum Point and Starfish Point on the north side, both a forty-minute drive or a boat across the sound.
Eat well. Cayman has an unusually good restaurant scene for its size, driven by the financial sector, and the Cayman Cookout in January is a serious food event.
Walk the Mastic Trail through the old-growth interior, which almost nobody does.
Practical notes
Owen Roberts airport is ten minutes from Seven Mile Beach with direct connections from the US, Canada and the UK.
December to April is the dry season and peak. May, June and November are much better value. Hurricane season runs June to November with the peak from August to October.
Cayman is expensive. Almost everything is imported and restaurant prices reflect it.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Cayman Islands Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Why is the water so clear?
There are no rivers on the island, so nothing carries silt into the sea. It is the clearest water in the western Caribbean.
Is Seven Mile Beach really seven miles?
Closer to five and a half. It is continuous, soft and public along its whole length.
Is Cayman only for divers?
The diving is the best thing about it and the beach, the food and the calm water work without a tank.
How many nights?
Six. Five on Seven Mile Beach and a day out to Rum Point or the East End.