Attractions

What attractions does Grand Cayman have other than Seven Mile Beach? Admittedly, this strip of sand is its most fabled lure, but if you can tear yourself from the surf and sand, you may be pleasantly surprised by all there is to see and do. As one villa owner, who had been living in Grand Cayman for 3 years, told us, "There is more to see and more diversity here than my wife and I ever realized."

The most interesting sections of George Town can be explored on foot in an hour or so, although you could easily spend hours shopping in town. Explore the island in greater depth with a guided tour, or rent a car or scooter and set out on your own.

Most visitors drive north of George Town along West Bay Road and Seven Mile Beach, which is the most heavily developed part of Grand Cayman. Those seeking a more in-depth look at the less-touristed areas can take our guided tour of the East End, going all the way from George Town to Rum Point in the north.

In the East End you find such attractions as blowholes (rock formations that produce huge spouts of water when waves hit) and botanical gardens, plus remains of Grand Cayman's earliest settlements. Of course, it's always fun to break up a drive across the island with a swim in the Caymans' warm waters or a picnic on a secluded beach.

Try to Avoid Going to Hell -- This is the most overblown and fundamentally most irritating attraction on Grand Cayman. "Hell" is a tiny village in a desolate area, lying just under a kilometer (about half a mile) from the sea. Covering about a quarter-hectare (half-acre) of jagged limestone in West Bay, near the island's most northwesterly point, Grand Cayman's earliest settlers (who wisely avoided this area) labeled this inhospitable location as "hellish" . . . ergo, Hell.

Don't even think of walking upon the terrain: First of all, it's restricted. If you defy the signs and take a walk, you have a good chance of spraining your ankles or gashing up your shins. A jagged lunar landscape of somber-toned gray rock, it evokes a treacherous coral formation -- the kind that could easily tear open the hull of the sturdiest watercraft -- that happens to be above the surface of the water. Except for birds, most animals tend to avoid the place.

The big "attraction" here is a little post office where you can get your cards and letters postmarked from Hell.

Caymanian Artist Miss Lassie -- No retrospective of Caymanian art would be complete without the artfully naive paintings of Gladwyn Bush, known to most of Grand Cayman by her affectionate nickname, Miss Lassie. Born on Grand Cayman in 1914, she left the Cayman Islands only once in her life: to attend an exhibition of her works in Curaçao. Displayed in galleries as far away as Baltimore and Paris, her paintings depict, among other subjects, God talking with Elijah and Nicodemus chatting with Jesus. She once described her paintings as visions that came to her "in the state between sleeping and awakening." She died in 2003, at age 89, and since then her works have become increasingly difficult to find in the public domain. Count yourself lucky if you see her work on display in a local gallery, but don't count on buying one. Miss Lassie's paintings would sell for upward of CI$8,000 (US$10,000/£4,800) -- when she was alive.