5 things PAX learned in The Cayman Islands

Last week, PAX lubed up on SPF and took a four-hour flight to The Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea consisting of three islands – Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

The trip, hosted by The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, offered insight into the tropical destination’s latest developments (the Kimpton Seafire, which opened last November, for one), tours of Grand Cayman’s hotels and must-see attractions.

Raymond Mathias, business development manager, Canada, The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism

“We’re a worry-free destination,” Raymond Mathias, business development manager, Canada, of The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, told PAX. “We have the infrastructure of North America, from the quality of service to amenities.”

Over six days and five nights, PAX put that claim to the test, learning the following five things about vacation life in The Cayman Islands:

1. It’s called the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean for a reason.

Fresh local fare at Le Soleil d’Or restaurant in Cayman Brac

With more than 200 restaurants, The Cayman Islands is a foodie’s paradise. You can go high-end at Blue by Éric Ripert – Grand Cayman’s only AAA Five Diamond restaurant – or melt over veal scaloppini with mushroom marsala sauce at Luca at the posh Caribbean Club.

The farm-to-table scene is big: popular eatery The Brasserie deploys its own fishing boats, daily, to ensure the freshest seafood reaches your plate (and grows its own greens in a nursery beside the parking lot). In Cayman Brac, Le Soleil d’Or serves fresh fare directly from its own 20-acre organic farm.

Food tourism hits a high note, too, from the Flavour Tour offered at Camana Bay, which lets guests sample food and wine/cocktail pairings from five different venues to January’s Cayman Cookout, whereby foodies can talk shop alongside chef megastars such as Éric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain and José Andrés.

2. Villa and condo rentals are hot.

Sitting seaside at Luxury Cayman Villas's Point of View property

“One third of all Canadian stays are in condos or villas,” Mathias told PAX, noting Plantana, Cayman Villas and Luxury Cayman Villas as companies that pay agents commission for bookings. Popular with weddings and multi-generational travel, villas and condos let visitors “create their own vacation,” Trina Savage, marketing and PR at Luxury Cayman Rentals, told PAX. Unlike a resort, “You don’t have to share your pool…or worry about a housekeeper knocking on your door at 10 a.m.,” Savage said.

3) Stringrays love raw squid…and making out.

Up to 4,000 tourists can visit Stingray City Grand Cayman in a single day.

“Kissing a stingray will bring you seven years of good luck,” our guides told us before visiting Stingray City, a popular attraction in Grand Cayman. Located in the North Sound, the “city” is an area of shallow sandbars whereby tourists can feed and pet the sea animals in waist-high waters.

Stingrays first congregated here to feast on fish guts that fishermen were throwing overboard while cleaning their catch. They soon associated the sound of motorboats with food, and today, they’re used to tourists splashing by with pails of raw calamari in tow.

Various companies offer tours to Stingray City, which can see up to 4,000 tourists in a single day during peak season, Adam Loynton, boat captain and owner of Cayman Luxury Charters, told PAX. The best time to go? “During the week, after 2-3 p.m. because the cruise ship passengers need to get back to their ships,” Loynton said.

As for that good luck kiss, we did indeed lip-lock with one friendly ray, whose front fin proceeded to curl upwards, leading us to believe the fish was truly enjoying the smooch. “Just make sure to wash the smell of calamari off your body or else they’ll suck on [to you],” Loynton advised us. That, we learned, can lead to “the stingray hickey.”

4) From car museums to bat caves, life exists off the resort.

Deep inside The Cayman Crystal Caves, Grand Cayman's newest attraction

While resort life is grand, there’s a world to explore beyond the infinity pool. Get to the colourful capital of George Town, where you’ll find the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame and National Gallery, a must-see art hub. Love cars? Visit the Cayman Motor Museum, businessman Andreas Ugland’s private collection of Ferraris, hot red Mercedes and vintage vehicles. At the Pedro St. James National Historic Site, guests can learn about Cayman’s history in a full-sensory theatre. The Cayman Crystal Caves, Cayman’s newest attraction, felt like a scene from Journey to the Center of the Earth as guides led us past stalagmite crystal structures and frisky bats in flight.

A bucket list-worthy experience was taking a two-propeller plane via Cayman Airways to the island of Cayman Brac, where limestone cliff hiking and diving rules, and where we found ultraluxe hideaways, such as Le Soleil d'Or’s beautiful beach club and villas.

5) Deals are in the air and travel agents can benefit.

Le Soleil d'Or beach club in Cayman Brac

With direct flights from Toronto via WestJet and Air Canada, The Cayman Islands are currently offering discounts of up to 45 per cent on accommodations and excursions to Canadians travelling to Cayman this summer (another promo is planned for fall). Agents who complete Cayman’s specialist program through Travel Agent University can earn up to $500 in cash per booking through caymanrewards.com. “Sixty per cent of our visitors are repeats,” Mathias noted.