Grand Cayman Travel Tips
Things You Need To Know When Traveling To Grand Cayman

Passports & immigration
We strongly recommend that all members of your party travel with a passport with a validity date of at least six months past the date of your departure from the island. For information on obtaining or renewing a passport you can visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/index.html. In our current times, passports are the most expeditious and reliable form of identification when traveling domestically or internationally.

Gratuities
Same as in the US; 10-15% depending on the service. We suggest 50 cents per bag for porters and bellhops, and taxi drivers 10-15% of the fare.

Telephones
Calling the US is easy from Grand Cayman. Our resorts offer US Direct calling service, or can connect you with a US operator for calling home.

Departure taxes & service charges
Grand Cayman has a US$25.00 airport departure tax, a room tax of 10% and a service charge of 10%.

Electricity
The resorts predominantly use 110V, the same as in the United States.

Appropriate attire
Neat, casual and comfortable tropical attire are appropriate throughout the Cayman Islands. Visitors will want to bring smart casual tropical resort wear for evenings out at our restaurants. When attending church services, "Sunday dress" is appropriate-- shorts and T-shirts are not considered acceptable, especially for ladies. Visitors should remember that the Cayman Islands remains a "proper" British Crown Colony and they should not wear bathing suits or beach wear beyond the beach or cruise ship--and should cover up when in public areas elsewhere. There are no nude beaches in the Cayman Islands. Public nudity and topless bathing are strictly prohibited by law.

Time zone
The Cayman Islands are - 5 hours GMT.

Currency
The basic unit is the dollar, issued in notes with denominations of CI$100, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 and coins valued at 25 cents, 10, 5 and 1 cent. CI$1.00 equals US$1.25 or, the US dollar equals CI $.80. This rate may also vary on the company / business doing the exchange. US currency, travelers checks and major credit cards are welcome everywhere.

Banking
Although Grand Cayman now has more than 259 licensed banks, only a handful are full-service retail banks providing customer banking services as visitors know it. These include Scotiabank & Trust (Cayman) Ltd., Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited, Royal Bank of Canada, Cayman National Bank Ltd., First Caribbean International Bank (Cayman) Limited. Regular banking hours are 9: 00 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Medical facilities
The Government of the Cayman Islands has recently completed the expansion of its main hospital into a large Health Services Complex located in George Town, Grand Cayman. It boasts modern equipment and facilities, in addition to an increased number of highly trained personnel. A 24 hour hyperbaric decompression chamber is available for divers and an air ambulance service for other emergencies. The telephone number is (345) 949-8600. There is also a private hospital currently under construction and a number of other private facilities that offer a variety of professional medical services.

In Cayman Brac, there is the government hospital, Faith Hospital. The number is (345) 948-2243/2245. There is a small clinic in Little Cayman that can be reached at (345) 948-1051

Personal safety
Grand Cayman  is relatively crime free, but exercise normal precautions; i.e. don’t leave valuables unattended in rental cars or on the beach.Place your valuables and travel documents in your room safe. Keep your guest room doors and windows locked, especially at night and when you are not in the room.

Shopping
Enjoy A World Of Shopping In An Elegant, Tropical Setting
What could be more exciting than spending a day shopping under a warm sun with a gentle breeze from the nearby ocean carrying you from shop to shop? Whether you are looking for dazzling jewellery, beautiful local arts and crafts or designer clothes, you will be pleased with the quality and selection our stores have to offer you.

In Grand Cayman you never have to go far to shop. In addition to the shops in town, there are many small malls which have restaurants, liquor and gift shops including the new Grand Harbour Center.

Duty-Free Shopping Means Fantastic Savings
 Cayman is a duty-free destination which means many exciting opportunities for you to save on such things as watches, china and crystal, perfumes and fine jewelry--including authentic treasure coin jewelry--on Grand Cayman and at a few stores on Cayman Brac. Prices on perfume, watches and select luxury items may be as much as 30% less expensive here.

In addition to traditional duty free selections, varied and interesting shopping--from chic European fashions to outstanding local art--delights visitors in speciality stores, hotel boutiques and shopping plazas.

Amazing Art & Crafts
A growing interest in developing local art and crafts has led to the opening of art and craft galleries featuring local and Caribbean art. Underwater photography services and an excellent selection of underwater photos and prints framed as art pieces are available as well.

You can also arrange for custom underwater videos and photographs of your own diving and snorkelling experiences--a unique souvenir of your Cayman vacation!

Our Shopping Surprises Will Delight You
You will be surprised by our selection of interesting and unusual shopping. The Tortuga Rum Company, for example, offers 10 blends of rums, Taste of the Caribbean sections featuring samples of the Tortuga Rum Cake, Tortuga label gourmet food products and a wide variety of Caribbean speciality foods, coffees, spices and sauces.