Three Islands, One Polished Caribbean Address
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean, made up of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, known for Seven Mile Beach, diving and a polished, easy-going island style. George Town on Grand Cayman is the capital, and the population is roughly 70,000, most of it on Grand Cayman. Christopher Columbus sighted the islands in 1503 and named them Las Tortugas for the turtles, and the modern name comes from the Carib word for crocodile. The islands have been British since the seventeenth century.
Grand Cayman is the largest and busiest of the three, with a long, white-sand western shore, a lively restaurant scene and the marina and town centre of Camana Bay. Cayman Brac has a dramatic limestone bluff rising about 43 metres above the sea, a rare high point in the region, and Little Cayman is small, quiet and wild. Beyond Cayman, Jamaica and the Bahamas are natural onward stops, and the three-island structure suits visitors who like to combine a lively base with a quiet retreat.
Seven Mile Beach, Stingray City and Bloody Bay Wall
Seven Mile Beach is the best-known stretch, a broad curve of soft, pale sand along Grand Cayman's west coast, with resorts, beach bars and water sports. Stingray City, a shallow sandbar in the North Sound, lets visitors stand among gentle southern stingrays, one of the Caribbean's best-loved wildlife encounters. The wider reef system includes wall dives and wrecks, and Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Wall Marine Park has a dramatic vertical drop that makes it a celebrated name among divers worldwide, with its own flavour of coral life.
On land, the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is home to the endangered blue iguana, and the Mastic Trail leads through old-growth woodland. Pedro St James, a restored 1780s great house, is known as the birthplace of democracy in the Cayman Islands. Cayman's food scene is among the Caribbean's best, with fresh local fish, conch and inventive modern menus. A hotel group can tell a story that mixes active wildlife days with polished dining and serene beach afternoons.
Read the full Cayman Islands guide on Visit Travel Group, or see TheCaymanIslands.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.