If we could sum up Grand Cayman in one word: paradise. We know, so cliché, but it truly is the most beautiful place. If anyone is thinking about a place to vacation, we can guarantee this post will convince you that GC is the perfect place (not that you’ll need it–the pictures will speak for themselves)!
We have been coming here for the past 8 years, and every year, we somehow grow to love it even more. The people on the island are honestly the sweetest people ever! We have never had a bad meal (because who doesn’t love fresh seafood?!), and the surroundings, well they speak for themselves!
We have always stayed on the 7 mile beach, which is absolutely gorgeous. You know those post cards or generic screen savers you get with your computer–well, a place like that picture actually exists–it’s GC! We have met people here that have said they have been to a TON of beaches all over the world, and this is the best one they have been to. That’s all we needed to hear!
We look forward to this trip every year since it’s our big family vacation. As always, this year didn’t disappoint. We met our parents in the Houston airport and then flew with them to Grand Cayman. Well, about that…of course, nothing can EVER go smoothly. While in our UBER on the way to the airport, we got a text saying our flight from Dallas to Houston was delayed, which meant that we would now have less than 20 minutes to make our connection basically a disaster. Plus, since we are flying internationally, we would have to change terminals and we have bags checked, too.
Super pissed and stressed, we spoke to the ticket agent who told us that basically there were no other flights that day on our airline (which we already knew) and the other airlines were all booked. GREAT. Then, we went upstairs to our gate, and spoke to a super nice agent who told us that he could book us on a different airline in case we didn’t make it, but that we would basically be traveling all day. UGH. As we were arriving into Houston, we saw a ladybug on our window. Our grandma passed away 10 years ago from breast cancer and our mom and us always say that every time we see a ladybug, it’s our “Imi” (what we used to call her) watching over us. As dumb as it sounds, after we saw it, we kind of had a feeling we would make our connection!
So, to make a long story short, after literally running like mad women through the Houston airport, we made it (with SUPER full bladders!). After we caught our breath, we were able to relax on the plane a bit (and worked, too!).
(notice the creeper a few rows back 😉 )
We arrived in the Cayman Islands and immediately were relaxed! The airport is so cute and small and is just what you would expect an island airport to look like.
After we arrived at the hotel (Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman), we went straight to the club. Our hotel has a room that is fully stocked with alcohol and little meals and snacks throughout the day (like these super yummy beef skewers!), which means you know who is in here eating all day!
We seriously spend half our day in there! Then, we went to Camana Bay, which is the beautiful outdoor shopping mall that has cute stores and restaurants. They also have a gorgeous fountain and a park-like seating area!
We get super excited about the food here because all the seafood is so fresh! We went to a delicious restaurant called Michael’s Genuine, which is a farm-to-table restaurant at Camana Bay. They have this restaurant in Miami and Grand Cayman, so if you’re ever near one of them, we highly recommend eating there! We got the local fish which was a Triggerfish with sautéed bok choy and poached eggs (so incredible!)
We also got a chopped romaine salad to start and a side of roasted okra and cauliflower and they were both so yum!
After dinner, we got gelato. SO GOOD! This place is actually owned by Italians so you know it’s the real deal! We LOVE pistachio, but all of their flavors are AMAZING! This one below is Dulce de Leche and chocolate.
One of the (many) trips to Gelato! They have the cutest little shop!
The rest of our trip consists of a daily routine of pre-breakfast meal at the club, gym, breakfast (yes, another meal, haha), beach and more eating, and then dinner. So, yeah as you can tell, our vacation revolves around relaxation, and more importantly, FOOD (oh, and pre-gym selfies of course!)
This is the view from the gym. So beautiful, right?!
We call our first meal pre-breakfast because we have to eat something small before we workout. We go to the club and get some eggs, fruit, coffee, and hot water and lemon (which is what we typically have at home).
Look how pretty they arrange this spread! We may need this daily back in Dallas (we wish!).
We then have “breakfast” at the hotel’s restaurant where they have an awesome buffet. We usually get an egg white and veggie omelette and some fruit. They have the freshest fruit! We also usually take some protein that they have (sometimes they have chicken, fish, or steak) or some hard-boiled eggs for later!
They also have amazing pancakes and waffles every morning as part of the buffet. We didn’t get to try any since they were not gluten-free, but they looked amazing so we had to take a picture of them! They even have chocolate sauce, caramelized bananas, and other yummy toppings to top them with.
Finally, it’s time to head to the beach!
We brought plastic floats with us from Wal-Mart that we blew up here so that we would have something to float around in the ocean. We also packed aluminum water bottles to fill up for the beach to stay hydrated since it’s SO hot! They have water infused with fruit, which we love!
We usually last an hour or two until the hanger sets in! Then, we head up to club again for lunch. We swear the staff working there probably thinks we are insane or some kind of human garbage disposal with the amount of food we put down. You serve yourself on these very small plates, so we are making like 4-5 trips up to the buffet they have. They have yummy sandwiches, salads, and our favorite: roasted veggies. It changes daily but it’s always so good. The best part are the french macarons that are made at the hotel. We are sure to grab one every single day!
They also have a huge stash of all of the best candies to snack on! How cute is this candy setup?!
We usually head back to the beach now that our stomachs resemble turtle shells with all the vegetables we just consumed. You know what that means, time to swim or lay on our stomachs (haha)!
The first day we just relaxed in the chairs and read our books, etc. The next day we ventured out and went to an area where we snorkeled and saw some turtles! It was a lot of fun!
They also have a ton of water sports you can do at our hotel like paddle boarding, kayaking, jet skiing, and sailing. We have also gone parasailing and jet skiing, which are super fun, too! We did the kayaking with our parents and (ALMOST) lost our go-pro camera in the ocean (and, if you’re wondering, no, we did not have a lanyard or anything to hold the camera). Luckily, the awesome water sport guys at the hotel snorkeled out and found it in the ocean.
The next water sport activity we chose to do, we decided it was better to leave the camera in our big and not risk it! We did a double paddle board so that we could go together. This was way harder than we thought it would be, but was a great workout!
We also went sailing, which was a blast! So gorgeous to see the ocean from a different view than the shore.
Around 5, the club starts serving little appetizers, so we usually go up there before dinner to get some snacks (like crudites and dip, cheese boards, olives, etc).
How yummy do these crab claws and shrimp look?!
One of the days we decided to grab something at the pool restaurant called BarJack. One of us got the burger wrapped in lettuce. They also had mahi mahi burgers, which were great, too!
Then, we get ready, and head to dinner.
We will either walk somewhere or take a cab to a restaurant. One of the ones we drive to is Papagallo. They have live birds all around through glass. Okay, that sounds weird, but it’s not–we swear! One year, we took pictures with the bird on our arm! They have super delicious food, too! It is owned by Italians (as you can tell, there are a ton of genuine Italian restaurant not the island), so their dishes are so yummy! We are obsessed with their sides–we always get the roasted pumpkin with scallions and then the roasted cauliflower–AMAZING! Then, we both got the local red snapper with olives, capers, and tomatoes. You will see this dish a lot on the island and we usually get it. Such great flavors!
We also went to another restaurant called Catch, which also had a delicious fish- I think snapper?) with fresh veggies. We also got ceviche (amazing!)
We had been looking forward to going to All-You-Can-Eat Lobster at this local restaurant, but had horrible service so we ended up at another restaurant called Ragazzi. They have delicious fish (also snapper baked in tomatoes, capers, and olives) and their pizza is incredible! Our parents had the pizza, but the great thing is they offer gluten-free pizza, as well as whole-wheat.
Their salad was also delicious. Look how pretty the carrots are spiralized!
We don’t have to tell you how much we absolutely love seafood, but we especially love the mixed seafood platters that have all different types of seafood like scallops, calamari, shrimp, etc. We ordered this type of dish at two different places (Agua & La Dolce Dita) and they were both incredible!
Sometimes, we will get gelato after dinner, and other times, we will head back to the hotel and with call it a night, or go back to the club to get some coffee and dessert. The great thing about this hotel is that we almost always meet new people. People are so friendly here and we have met so many people from across the world!
Other nights, we are up late working on our laptops and chowing down on some quest bars or chocolate–we always have a sweet tooth!
We know this post was super long, but we hope you all liked getting a glimpse into our vacation.
Stay tuned for a post on all of our outfits from our trip!
Where is your favorite place to travel or visit?
