Grand Cayman Crystal Caves Review: What to Know Before you Go
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My Grand Cayman Crystal Caves review will get you set with how to book, what to expect, and whether I think this underground excursion is worth adding to your list of Grand Cayman activities away from the beach crowds!
Basic Things to Know
Cost: Currently, the price for child tickets is $35 USD and $45 USD for adults. Advance booking is required.
Hours of Operation: Grand Cayman Islands Crystal Caves tours run seven days a week (weather permitting), starting each hour from 9am to 5pm, local time, with the last one beginning at 4pm. During the low season, hours are reduced, so be sure to check the Crystal Caves website directly for the most up to date facts and information.
Duration: The tour I went on takes about 1 1/2 hours but I would budget at least three hours total to include getting there and back from Seven Mile Beach and a brief orientation before actually heading to the caves. Here’s my Seven Mile Beach luxury hotel review, in case you’re looking for lodging options.
I was staying in Bodden Town for the first leg of my Grand Cayman vacation, and the Crystal Cave experience was only about 15 minutes from there!
If you want to make a full day trip of it, check out this tour with Crystal Caves, Stingray City, and Starfish Point.
How to Get There
Whether you’re driving or taking a taxi, the address to Crystal Caves Tour Grand Cayman is 69 Northside Road, Old Man Bay, Northside, Grand Cayman Cayman Islands.
I booked directly and drove myself following GPS directions but here’s a Crystal Caves tour option with transportation from Georgetown if you aren’t renting a car on the island.
The Crystal Caves location is on the north side of Grand Cayman, about one hour from the Seven Mile Beach area and 45 minutes from the cruise port and terminal in Georgetown.
There’s free parking available on site and the size of each tour is limited so I don’t think the lot can get too full.
And here’s everything you need to know about car rental and driving on Grand Cayman!
What You’ll Need
You’ll want to wear cool and comfortable clothing. It can get HOT in some of the caves and everyone in my tour group wound up pretty sweaty!
This is a walking tour over ground that is sometimes slippery or uneven and there are opportunities to climb so wear comfortable athletic shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.
There is bug spray available at the visitor’s center in case you forget it, which I highly advise you to use. The mosquitoes were with us from the orientation through many of the caves and the DEET is the only thing that kept them at bay!
I also recommend bringing sunglasses, and/or a visor, as well as a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated and cool.
And a bum bag or backpack is great to hold your belongings so you can be hands free to snap pictures and videos along the way!
Review of Crystal Caves Tour in Grand Cayman Island
I thought the Grand Cayman cave tour was fun and a different way to commune with nature from beach bumming and other water focused activities in the Cayman Islands. It’s a short enough activity that you can bookend it with other sights on this end of this island.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and even funny. He led us through the caves, sharing lots of historical and geographical information about how the caves were formed, excavated, and then maintained. He even made a game of spotting some of the different formations!
Keep in mind that you will likely see some animals but they are mostly small. We encountered a cute little frog in one cave and several baby bats in the final one.
At the time of my visit, there were also peacocks nesting on the surrounding jungle and, though we didn’t see any of them, our guide told us stories about them being territorial and really pursuing visitors who had food. For that reason the onsite restaurant wasn’t open when I went.
I took this trip and tour solo–and even made friends with another solo traveler in my group! There were also couples and families with children present so I would say it’s a kid friendly activity. Just remember that it’s a physical activity and might not be suitable for really small kiddos.
Check out my advice for solo women travelers to help you plan your next solo adventure!
In my opinion, the best time to visit is as early as possible due to the heat. So if you can get on that 9:00am tour, do it!
I hope you can enjoy the Crystal Caves Exploration in Grand Cayman soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this post for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
