When visiting the Cayman Islands spending only a few hours on their beloved island you will be bound to fall in love with its natural beauty and the character of its enchanting people.

Grand Cayman's 7-Mile beach encompasses so many different activities a day at the beach has the ability to leave your head spinning. Whether or not you enjoy just relaxing and watching the waves roll in or taking your vacation up a notch and parasailing over the Caribbean sea 7-Mile Beach has what you’re looking for. With an abundance of watersports, operators hotels and beachside restaurants you will never be at a loss for what to do on 7-Mile Beach.

THREE ISLANDS:

Nestled in the calm, turquoise waters of the western Caribbean, lies the peaceful British Overseas Territory known as the Cayman Islands. Consisting of three islands just 480 miles south of Miami, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman remain our little piece of paradise.

GOVERNMENT:
The Cayman Islands highest official is the Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Stuart Jack, CVO, who is the appointed representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He presides over Cabinet, the ruling body of the country. Mr. Jack succeeded Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy, CMG. The Governor's term is four years. The existing constitution of the Cayman Islands, introduced on August 22, 1972, provides for the government of the Cayman Islands as a British Overseas Territory. It established a governing body called the Cabinet, which consists of three officials and five elected members, the latter being selected from the 15 elected representatives of the Legislative Assembly.

CURRENCY:
The Cayman Islands has its own currency, first issued in 1972, whose 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. The CI dollar has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar of CI$1.00 equals US$1.25. Or, the US dollar equals CI $.80. There is no need for visitors to exchange their US dollars into local currency. The US dollar is accepted throughout the islands at a rate of CI 80 cents. However, this can be confusing to visitors: for example, a US$20 note becomes CI$16. Banks do NOT give a better rate of exchange! Major credit cards (with the exception of the Discover Card) and traveller’s checks are widely accepted. Canadian dollars, Euro dollars and pounds sterling can be exchanged for CI dollars at local banks. In addition, Automatic Teller Machines accepting VISA and MasterCard with Cirrus affiliation are located at Cayman National Bank and other banks and at Owen Roberts International Airport as well as a few other locations such as the grocery stores.

GEOGRAPHY:
The total land mass of the three islands is 100 square miles. Grand Cayman occupies 76 square miles; Cayman Brac, 14 square miles and Little Cayman, 10 square miles. Grand Cayman is approximately 22 miles long and 8 miles at its widest point, reaching a maximum elevation of 79.77 feet in North Side.
Cayman Brac is 14 miles long and 2 miles wide and has the most dramatic topography of the trio. Its majestic Bluff rises west to east along the length of the island to 151.75 above Spot Bay. Many mysterious caves are carved throughout this awe-inspiring natural attraction.
Little Cayman, only 10 miles long and a mile wide, is flat, reaching a maximum elevation of 55.75 ft. Its famous Bloody Bay wall Marine Park has been called one of the world's best dive sites. Inland, the 203 - acre Booby Pond Nature Reserve is a RAMSAR site and nesting ground for the Caribbean's largest population of Red Footed Boobies.

US PASSPORTS:
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism wants to ensure that all its tourism partners and guests are aware of the new passport requirements for United States citizens travelling to the Caribbean. Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL U.S. citizens travelling by air between the United States and the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Bermuda, will be required to present a valid passport.

AIRPORT/GATEWAYS:

Canadian Gateways: TBA
US Gateways: TBA
Other Gateways:TBA

ATTRACTIONS/TOURS:
The Cayman Islands offers much more than the gentle splendours of sun, sand and sea. Enjoy our unique heritage attractions, Boatswain’s Beach, Pedro Saint James, Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and the National Museum. Rollick aboard a pirate cruise on the Jolly Roger or the Anne Bonnie. Revel in the festive atmosphere and delicious libations at Rum Point. Or take to the links on one of our three championship golf courses. Feeling adventurous?

Plunge the depths aboard the Atlantis Deep Dive Submarine, the only excursion of its kind anywhere on earth. Explore our natural treasures on a hike along the Mastic Trail on Grand Cayman, a stroll through Booby Pond Nature Reserve in Little Cayman, (home to the largest population of red-footed boobies in the Western Hemisphere), or a visit to the Brac Parrot Reserve, where you’ll glimpse the rare Cayman Brac parrot. Immerse yourself in Cayman’s rich culture firsthand at the Cayman Craft Market or any of our impressive galleries, all while enjoying our greatest attraction-the warm, welcoming Caymanian people.

Pedro St. James Historic Site

This is the restored centre-piece of a national historic site overlooking the Caribbean Sea with the best view in Grand Cayman. Visitors can stroll through the edifice built along the lines of the Caribbean plantation Great Houses containing antique furniture and interesting artifacts from that long-lost time. Visit the gift shop and don’t miss the site’s multimedia show (it runs every hour). Rated the best in the Caribbean, it’s an experience you will long remember!

Grand Cayman's Q. E. II Botanic Park - The Visitors Centre, Heritage Garden and Floral Garden are spectacular additions.

Cayman Islands National Museum - Make the Cayman Islands National Museum the first stop on your tour of Grand Cayman and begin to see the real Cayman.

Boatswain's Beach (Cayman Turtle Farm) - See 16,000 sea turtles, some as small as 6 ounces, some as big as 600 pounds!

Stingray City

The stingrays began gathering in the area decades ago when fisherman used to clean fish on the shallow sand bars. The stingrays would forget their normally shy dispositions and feast on the guts of the cleaned fish. Soon the stingrays began to associate the sound of a boat motor with food. In the late 1980s, divers started feeding squid to the stingrays, which is one of their favorite dishes. Imagine a completely unique once in a lifetime experience you can find nowhere else in the world. As you enter our crystal clear turquoise waters the graceful southern stingrays glide tranquilly past in there natural habitat. Enjoy this unique experience of touching and feeding a Stingray, together with snorkeling amongst magnificent coral reefs and colorful tropical fish. The Stingray City Sandbar in Grand Cayman is lots of fun and suitable for everyone. Standing in only three feet of water you will be surrounded by more than two dozen friendly Stingray's.

Blowholes - A blowhole is a cavity formed in the ground at the inland end of a sea cave.

Blowholes are created by the water moving through natural tunnels cut in the rock by the coast. As the tunnels get closer to the coast, they turn upwards, creating a fountain. This can create quite a spectacular show when the weather conditions are right. In Grand Cayman the Blow holes are located on Frank sound road on your way to the Eastern Districts. In Cayman Brac you can find them scattered Island wide. The best time to watch the show is during a nor’wester in the winter months.

Cayman Craft Market

Located in central George town this market place offers locally made wood & leathering products, Thatch and straw work and Local visual arts. Find yourself immersed in a unique Caymanian atmosphere where you can purchase a real part of Cayman whilst learning about our past and one of a kind culture.

The small Town of Hell

Would you like to say you’ve been to hell and back and really mean it? Well you can! Hell Grand Cayman, take pictures with the devil send postcards postmarked from hell and view the spectacular rock formations created by weathered ironshore. The Hell post office opened in 1962 to accommodate requests from tourists to send post cards home to their friends and families from “hell”. The iron shore formations have been estimated at 1.5 million years old.

Rum Point

On the north coast of Grand Cayman, lies the ever popular Rum Point. Here, flat white sands backed by shade trees lead down to the calm blue sea. Peace and quiet is just one offering you'll find at many of the Cayman Islands' beaches, and this sedate vacation style can be had at Rum Point without taking you too far away. Cities are close – without being too close – you'll have everything you need. Snorkeling in the crystalline waters is a popular activity at Rum Point, as well as, volleyball, windsurfing, and parasailing. A beach bar and grill, Wreck Bar, provides food and cold drinks, including beer.

Birding

The Cayman Islands are also home to 50 resident species of birds, including colonies of the native brown booby, red-footed booby, least tern, and white-tailed tropicbird The West Indian woodpecker and stripe-headed tanager can also be seen in Cayman.

Grand Cayman has seven protected bird sanctuaries, including the QE II Botanic Park, Colliers Pond, Salina Reserve, and the Majestic Reserve. Cayman Brac is home to a 180-acre parrot reserve, while Little Cayman's Booby Pond Reserve protects the habitat of the brown and red-footed boobies.

Hiking

In Cayman Brac well-marked trails lacing the island range from easy strolls to a series of caves on the southern shoreline to 2 miles of nature trails through a reserve set aside for the rare Cayman parrot on the island’s bluff. (The reserve is also home to some 150 other bird species.) Bring a pair of sturdy hiking boots, because the limestone on the bluff is rugged – and the panoramic views of the sea from the edge of the bluff, which reaches an elevation of 140 feet, is well worth a little exercise

Orchids and parrots burst with color, doves and woodpeckers hover overhead, snakes and lizards wander the footpaths. Grand Cayman's Mastic Trail serves up all this wildlife, plus a lush forest of cedar, mahogany, and palms, along with lowlands dense with mangrove. Of course, much of the Caribbean once looked like this, but colonization and the subsequent clearing wiped out much of the native habitat. Even on Grand Cayman, which is a low, coral-formed island, nature once displayed astounding diversity. Now, through the efforts of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the Mastic Reserve has been established in the steamy interior of the island, featuring trails through portions of the original dry, subtropical forests.

*** WEDDING REQUIREMENTS IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS ***

Legal Requirements:

Couples, including those arriving by cruise ship, can marry the same day they arrive in the Cayman Islands. Just be sure to have the following:

A non-residents marriage license, and…
a letter from the authorized Marriage Officer who is to officiate.
Applications for non-resident marriage licenses ($200 U.S.) and a list of licensed Marriage Officers can be obtained from the Deputy Chief Secretary’s Office. (On Cayman Brac this is provided by either the Deputy Chief Secretary or the District Commissioner's Office)

Office of the Deputy Chief Secretary
Government Administration Building, 3rd Floor
George Town, Grand Cayman, B.W.I.
Phone: 345.949.7900 or 345.914.2222

You will also need to provide:
Proof of citizenship and age – Passport or an original/certified copy of birth certificate with photo identification (18 is the minimum legal age without parental consent)
Proof of marital status (legal divorce decree or death certificate, if applicable)
Cayman Islands Immigration Department card, or Cayman Islands international embarkation/disembarkation card for cruise ship passengers.
Two witnesses at the ceremony

Please Note: Wedding requirements above are for information purposes only and may be out of date as of this print. Only use this information on this page as a guideline, and for more current and up to date information, please contact the countries Consular Affairs, Embassy, or the countries Tourism Bureau.