Grand Cayman is famous for Stingray City, but we were not interested in a (pricey) boat tour with a bunch of other tourists. Instead, we went snorkeling from the shore at two locations south of Seven Mile Beach.

Our first stop was Eden Rock Dive Center, which has a parking lot plus lockers and picnic tables too. After checking-in with the staff and getting some tips on where to go, we took the center’s ladder to get into the water and swam out to the well-marked buoys off the shore. On the way out we saw quite a few fan corals…

Further along the reef we saw a variety of fish and corals.

green moray eel

stoplight parrotfish

blue tang

Definitely recommended.

Our second stop was Smith Cove, a popular public beach with facilities including picnic tables, shower and toilets. The small sandy beach has a lot sea grapes for shade, and it was quite easy to swim out toward the reef.

The water wasn’t as clear here, perhaps due to the increasing wind and waves, and I didn’t see quite as much sea life. However, there were still some interesting nudibranchs, snails and a rather large barracuda.

All in all, a lovely morning of snorkeling.