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Click the link to view the shore snorkel locations and other sites on Grand Cayman in a larger interactive map.  Versions of Firefox may not display POI icons on above map.

Available Guides

(Click Guide to View or follow to Download location)

• Anchor Point Underwater Sulfur Vents
• Barefoot Beach
• Bodden Town (Turtle Nest Inn)
• Cayman Kayaks Bio-luminescent Bay Tour
• Eden Rock Information 
• Queen’s Monument (Connolly’s Cove)
• Driving Tour
• Rum Point Barrier Reef
• Rum Point Boulder Coral Gardens
• Rum Point Shore “Drift” Route
• Starfish Beach at Ivory Kai
• Sting Ray City Dive Site
• Wonderland (North Side Cemetery)
• Wreck of the Geneva Kathleen
• Fish & Coral Identification Resources
• Tidal Forecasts
• Snorkeling Picture Taking Tips and Advice

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• Garmin POI Waypoints for Testudo’s Snorkel Guides
• Detailed Map of the Caribbean by Richard W. Smith

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Not many full day snorkel trips that wouldn’t be full day private charter$.  I have done the Ocean Frontiers 3 stop East End trip and would recommend you look at that.

Ocean Frontiers Snorkel Trip Info

Hi Yoyo,

I try to list the approximate distance from shore to most of the sites covered in the guides.  What an individual is comfortable with is impossible for me to advise.  

Very few snorkeling sites have boat traffic,  but I would advise using a dive flag or other visual device to alert any boaters or jet skis to your whereabouts when snorkeling.  RedSail has dive flags available at Rum Point and it is a good idea to use one there due to the occasional boat and jet skis.  

If I hear the whine of a propeller or the buzz of a jet ski, I usually surface and try to make sure I am making myself as visible as possible, waving if I have to. 

Unfortunately, there is not much in the way of diverse and healthy coral immediately off the shores of Seven Mile Beach.  Some nearby places to consider are Eden Rock and Devil’s Grotto in George Town which is an enormous mass of coral; Smith Cove in the George Town/South Sound area with it’s fairly healthy Elk Horn coral around the rock at the cove’s center; Cemetery Beach which has some examples of various species, most very young.

Best spots for coral lovers would be Rum Point, Wonderland, Barefoot Beach and Queen’s Monument/Connolly’s Cove, but a car would be needed.

Hey Tom,

Nearby suggestion would be just up the road off the Morritt’s and Reef Resorts beach.  The water is fairly shallow and usually only a slight current going from the Morrit’s pier towards the Reef Resort.  Plenty of fish under the dock and you can see almost anything on the route.

Another option is over at Rum Point.  The small cove to the right when facing the pier is usually very calm.  There are some boulders in the shallows that house a surprising number of fish species.  The soft corals and sea fans a bit further out are also good testing grounds for newbies, especially if the water is calm.  Rays can be see in the sandy areas and Barry the Barracuda is usually under the pier.

Here is some info on the Rum Point area I am referring to:

Rum Point Shallow Snorkel

The winter months tend to stir up the water on the north shore due to the prevailing winds.  I always visit in February and am able to snorkel at least a few days during the week.  The summer months are usually much more reliable for great snorkeling conditions though.

No, don’t know any story behind the staircase.  Just assumed it was a property owner making access to the beach and water from the bluff.

Interesting?  Were signs posted by the abandoned home abutting the park area or all around the cleared out area?  Have not seen any no trespassing or private property signs in 5+ years there.  If around the structure, that is indeed private property, as apparently is the lot in question.  Hopefully the public beach access sign will be better situated to reflect this. Regardless of the ownership of the beach area, the water and sand that make up the beach is open for use to any member of the public as recreation space. 

House in question is to the very right on the image below:

From Rum Point Public Beach

2011-12

TOURIST ACCOMMODATION INSPECTION GUIDELINES & REGULATIONS

Appendix D

GUIDELINES FOR OWNERS AND MANAGERS OF BEACHFRONT 

PROPERTIES

1. In order to dispel any confusion or misunderstanding which may have arisen in the past over the rights which members of the public enjoy over Cayman‟s beaches the following guidelines may be of assistance, especially to managers of beachfront hotels and other tourism related beachfront properties.

2. The public access to Cayman’s beaches is by the recognized public rights of way which are usually clearly marked on maps and physically on the ground. Landowners over whose land these public rights of way exist are under a legal duty to make sure that they are kept free and clear of any obstruction or debris.

3. Once members of the public arrive on the beach the following rules apply.

4. The seaward boundary of a landowner‟s or tenant‟s property is, in tidal waters, the mean high water mark. Between the mean high water mark and the low water mark, known as “foreshore”, the land belongs to the Crown as does anything below the sea up to the limit of territorial waters. 

5. Where, however, a landowner’s property consists of “beach” above the mean high water mark, then the usual rule, that a landowner can eject anyone he chooses from his land, is displaced. 

6. Members of the public have the right to use any part of Cayman’s beaches for recreation even though the part of the beach being used is on private property, i.e. is above the mean high water mark. Such a public right is one of a group of rights which members of the public enjoy, even over private land, in the Cayman Islands. It is a right which the law presumes to have existed for many years and which members of the public have acquired under the Prescription Law.

7. Whilst members of the public have no rights to use private property such as beach furniture which belongs to beachfront property owners, they may not be prevented from using the beach or passing to and fro along the beach even where the beach they use is on private land. Hotel managers should ensure that all staff working on the beach such a security personnel and food and beverage staff are aware of the law and that the public right to use any part of the beach is not restricted or limited in any way.