Seven Mile Beach Snorkeling in Grand Cayman

Don’t come to Grand Cayman if you aren’t going to snorkel because you would be missing half your life. Of course I am exaggerating but… not really.

This post is going to focus on beach snorkeling. Not snorkeling on the reefs/iron shores. Sometimes you just want to go to the beach and snorkel too – like having your cake and eating it too. There are other snorkeling areas in Grand Cayman – most of them have iron shores. This blog is just going to talk about the beach snorkeling.

My favorite spot to snorkel is Cemetery beach and of course there is a reason for that. Aside from the beach which is lined with trees to provide shade for the weary swimmer – the water and abundance of fish make this place an ideal spot to hang out all day with friends and family.

Quick facts about Cemetery Beach

Location: Out on West Bay Road in front of the Fire station and right behind the Cemetery (thus its name)

Best Time to come out: ALL DAY

Worse Time to come out: Whenever it rains or is windy the water gets murky

Fish Attitude: The fish are not shy at all and will swim up to you – there is also so many of them in all different shapes and sizes

Length of Swim: To see the many fishes – just 30 seconds, to get out to the Reef – around 20 mins depending on your swimming skills

Favorite thing about this location: There are so many fishes so near the beach and when you feel like a drink or a snack you can always hang out and then go back to swimming afterwards – the trees on the beach also provide shade when the sun gets too hot

Least favorite thing about this location: Um. I usually hate it when the winds are strong (during winter season) and you can’t get in the water because its murky and the winds are super strong making the waves hit the beach hard. ?In other words, the only thing I don’t like about this place is when I can’t get to it because the weather is bad.

Other information: You don’t just come to this place to snorkel – you can also come here to just relax with a book and a few good friends

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbdqoljWR1c]

Cemetery Beach provides shade for the tired snorkelers

While snorkeling in Cemetery Beach, you will sometimes come across green turtles but you have to swim around 200 yards out

The next location that I am going to be writing about is Governor’s Beach

Quick Facts about Govenors Beach

Location: Right beside the Governor’s house on West Bay Road – on Seven Mile Beach

Best Time: Early morning or late afternoon unless you have beach umbrellas or don’t mind sharing the limited shade provided by a few trees

Worst Time: Same as Cemetery Beach

Fish Attitude: As friendly as the locals

Favorite thing about this location: I think this is one of the best spots to sunbathe as the beach part is very wide – it is also a great place to hang out with friends or family to grill. It is one of my favorite spots to watch the sun setting.

Least Favorite thing about this location: When there are more than three cruise ships visiting, this beach spot gets crowded.

Other Information: This beach is probably where locals come to in the weekends for beach grills – its a little more intimate than the Public Beach.

Very Important Note: When we first went out to snorkel in Governor’s Beach, we really weren’t able to see much. But when we came back and swam out to the second buoys, about 200 yards away, thats when we saw the fishes.

Snorkeling in Governor's Beach is like swimming in a giant swimming pool with a few fishes here and there - you have to swim 200 yards to get to the good snorkeling spot

Green Moral Eel free swimming on the reefs 200 yards off Governor's Beach

For newbie snorkelers this would be a great place to start because you will not get too scared of getting deep because there are usually a lot of people around. Once you reach the reef the fishes will just come up to you and greet you so its best if you had some treats like milk bones or bread. Except bread would be gone after swimming 200 feet.

Here is a photo of Governor’s Beach

Governor's Beach is a nice place to sunbathe

The next beach snorkeling place to mention is Public Beach.

Public Beach, Grand Cayman

It is worth mentioning that it is a public beach because this is where all the coach and bus tours take the tourists. As you can see its not exactly a snorkeling place but – it is a wide stretch of white beach great for parties and loud music on the weekends.

The Public Beach is located right beside Calico Jacks, a popular local restaurant and bar. Public Beach is where all the big beach events on the island happen like beach volleyball, jet skiing championships and the like.

There are also other beaches worth mentioning:

- Smith Cove in South Sound

-Rum Point in East End

But I will do those reviews in another blog as the beaches covered in this blog are the ones located on Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.

Hope the blog was helpful – please leave comments and suggestions to help me provide a more effective online guide. Thanks!