Grand Cayman is the Perfect Spring Break Getaway

Are you considering getting away this Spring Break? Grand Cayman is the perfect destination for you and your family!

Where are you going for Spring Break? It seems to be the question everyone asks as you near Easter. Some years we have gone away, other years we have stayed home and the kids have gone to camps. Grand Cayman is an amazing destination for Spring Break. Our family has been to Grand Cayman for Spring Break for a day as a stop on a Disney Cruise. It was the best day of the trip! Not one of us wanted to leave to get back to the ship (and that’s saying something given that is one of the most fun vacations we have ever taken). It was at that moment my husband and I decided this had to be a destination added to our list where we would come back and stay for a week! So we did!

Where to Stay

I researched all of the resorts along the seven mile stretch when considering where we would stay in Grand Cayman. My friend had recently stayed at The Beach House by Marriott on their Spring Break and after her rave reviews we decided to book this location. We booked five nights with our AAA discount and it was the most affordable rate on the strip. I worried this would be too short of a stay but in the end it was just right.

Reasons why we LOVED our stay at The Beach House and why we would stay here again:

It is a smaller property so it’s not overwhelming. Everything you need is a short distance from your room.
You really do feel like you are at a Beach House. There are so many spots for seating inside and outside in the public areas. We loved this! We are not ones to stay in our room much other than to shower and sleep. It was so nice to go to the lobby area and enjoy ice cream after dinner and play a game of cards. Outside there were lots of areas you could lounge and read a book. WiFi worked everywhere too! Even at the beach.
The service was top notch. You will want for nothing! Everyone is ready to answer your questions, make sure you are comfortable and enjoying your amazing vacation. These hard working employees made our trip! They are so good with the kids too!
Kids! This resort has SO many fun activities for families! Each day we enjoyed an activity. We made a sugar lip scrub, decorated journals, got glitter tattoos, participated in a scavenger hunt, played beach games and got braids! In the evenings there was always something fun to do. There was a movie on the beach which was so much fun. We all enjoyed s’mores on the beach. The s’mores bar looked like something Martha Stewart would host! It was so fun to enjoy this.
The rooms are very roomy and comfortable. We reserved the most affordable rate (aka room with no view). We were so surprised to be able to see the ocean from our balcony! The hotel although fully booked when we were there was not noisy and it never felt crowded.
The restaurants onsite were amazing! There is an outdoor restaurant, Veranda Restaurant , that was really good for both lunch and dinner! Talk about fresh fish! Amazing dinners. Anchor & Den was another superb restaurant. We attended a themed evening of Mexican street fare and it was by far some of the best food I have ever eaten! The kids loved it and went back to the buffet more than once! My daughter was in heaven with the dessert selections!
Crepes! The coffee bar had amazing crepes — sweet & savory! The kids looked forward to this each morning. I would get smoothies most mornings but on the last day I decided to get a crepe and I am so glad I did.
Beach Activities are part of your resort fee! You can paddle board, kayak and snorkel every day. We would check out fins each day. We all went paddle boarding and had quite the adventure! My husband and son rented a jet ski for an hour (not included in the resort fee) and had the time of their lives on the ocean! My son still talks about their fun riding the waves.
Snorkeling is so good at The Beach House. There are reef balls just off the shore where you have the opportunity to see so many different tropical fish and sea life! We were lucky enough to see a number of sting rays while snorkeling.
My favorite part of staying at The Beach House was the beach access. We always had four chairs on the beach with umbrellas. Steps away we were enjoying the amazing clear blue water. My family loved their time on the beach. We would sometimes stay from 7:30 in the morning until after 5 o’clock at night.

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Island Excursions

There were a few things we wanted to do while visiting Grand Cayman. I have listed our excursions below. Each one was a great experience.

TIP: Grand Cayman is a top cruise destination! Spring Break is an especially busy time as you know. Be sure to check the ship schedule to see when the busiest/least busy days will be during your stay. Book your excursions on the days when the least amount of ships will be in port. Plan to stay at your resort and enjoy the sun and sand when the busiest!

Swim with Dolphins! I really wanted this experience for my children and husband. I have been fortunate enough to do this twice! My son had no interest so I booked for two. Dolphin Discovery has two parks on Grand Cayman. I originally booked Dolphin Cove Cayman. While on vacation, we got an email and phone call that our reservation had been moved to the other park on Grand Cayman at Dolphin Cayman. A lot of seaweed had moved into the cove so we would be free of any seaweed at the new location as they are all swimming pools! Looking back I am so thankful for the move as I think my husband and daughter were much more comfortable being in the clear water than they would have been in the cove! I cannot say enough good things about Dolphin Cayman. We had read so many reviews of this company and people being upset about having to buy pictures and not using your cell phone for pictures etc. This was not our experience at all! I videoed my family with the dolphins. The package I had purchased did include all pictures. They are professional pictures and I love each and every one! We will treasure them forever.
Horseback Riding on the Beach with Spirit of the West! My daughter LOVES horses. I thought it would be so much fun to take a ride on the beach with her. Knowing how hot it can be on the island I thought an evening walk might be best for us. I could not have planned it better. We had the most amazing time together. Initially I was scared to death! Avery was as comfortable as could be. Paul was our guide and he was the nicest man we could have hoped to meet. He took us away from the sun (every tour we saw was facing the sun and it was blinding). When we did turn around the sun had set enough so that we could enjoy the ride and see the amazing views! We did not feel rushed and enjoyed our time on the horses on a different side of the island. I highly recommend this company and this experience.
Snorkling! We decided to go exploring one morning to see a beach we had heard so much about that was not only beautiful but was great for snorkeling. Smith’s Cove (S Church St, George Town, Cayman Islands) was worth it! There was parking just across the street (free) and we walked across and put on our fins and masks and off we went. There were so many fish and you did not have to go deep or far! I loved it. So many different kinds of fish from what we were seeing around the reef balls back at the hotel. The scenery at this beach was just breathtaking. Butterflies everywhere. It was just so beautiful. There are so many other beaches you could check out but we loved it here so much we stayed till lunch!
Turtles! The Cayman Turtle Center is a great destination if you like turtles. We had stopped here when we were on our cruise. The kids loved it. There are a few hands on opportunities and you can also snorkel in a man made lagoon. We really enjoyed this place! There is plenty to do and see here!
Feeding the stingrays! This is one excursion our family skipped but if you are interested there is plenty of information online about this activity!

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Where to Eat

This was the first trip I did not do a lot of research of where to eat. I also did not make ANY reservations before arriving! While this was so unlike me it was the best thing. We never felt rushed to get to dinner, we simply ate when we were ready! There was never a wait at any restaurant we visited and we had really good meals everywhere we went.

Note: Food on the island is expensive. Just plan for it when budgeting your trip. Lunches – basic lunches – for a family of four were nearly $100 US dollars!

As I mentioned earlier we had a number of meals at The Beach House which were wonderful. After swimming with the dolphins we walked over to Macabuca Bar & Grill. It was the perfect spot for lunch. We watched the iguanas as we ate. Great entertainment for the kids! After snorkeling all morning at Smith’s Cove we had lunch at Da Fish Shack on our way back to the hotel. Another good lunch with an amazing view of the ocean.

For dinner one evening we checked out Camana Bay which is a nice town center with movie theater, shopping and lots of restaurants! We tried the Waterfront Diner and had a great meal! Don’t forget to save room for ice cream afterwards! Another amazing meal we had was at The Wharf restaurant. They do a tarpon feeding each evening which is a lot of fun for the kids (and adults) to watch. If the timing is not right do not worry you can still see them swimming around waiting for their dinner! There are lot of magazines you can pick up at the grocery store and around Grand Cayman if out shopping with menus for many of the restaurants. I recommend just reviewing those, asking the locals where they like to eat and trying new places!

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Ready to book?

I hope you find this trip guide helpful when planning your Spring Break or other vacation to Grand Cayman Island. If you have any questions please just send me an email or leave them in the comments below! I will be happy to respond. Have you ever visited Grand Cayman? What are your favorite places to stay, to eat and things to do? I would love to know!