If you’re in the process of planning an escape to Grand Cayman, you’ve almost certainly heard of Seven Mile Beach already. Along with Stingray City, this gorgeous stretch of white sand and azure water is one of our island’s most famous destinations.
But where exactly is Seven Mile Beach? What are the best hotels in the area? What can you do there? In this Red Sail Sports Ultimate Guide to Seven Mile Beach, we answer all these questions and many more!
We provide a wide range of exciting beach activities, snorkelling excursions, and scuba diving at Seven Mile Beach, so we know this vibrant area inside out.
Scroll down to find everything you need to know about visiting Seven Mile Beach. And if any questions come to mind as you go, please get in touch for the answers you need.
Seven Mile Beach is located on the western end of Grand Cayman, running north to south. The beach’s southern end begins a little to the north of George Town. From here, it sweeps gloriously up the West Bay peninsula to its northern end at West Bay Dock.
The beach looks out over the vast expanse of the Caribbean Sea. In fact, the next stop to the west isn’t until Mexico.
To the east of Seven Mile Beach, you will find the calm waters of the North Sound.
Both Owen Roberts International Airport and George Town Cruise Port are conveniently located a short distance south of Seven Mile Beach, so it’s easily accessible for new arrivals by air and sea.
When you arrive in Grand Cayman, it will almost certainly be at Owen Roberts International Airport or the George Town Cruise Port.
The airport is only seven miles away from Seven Mile Beach to the southeast and taxis are readily available. It’s around a 10- to 15-minute drive depending on your exact location.
Taxis are also available at the cruise port, which is to the south of Seven Mile Beach. It’s slightly closer than the airport, so the drive from here is only around five to 10 minutes.
Several car rental agencies operate at the airport and cruise port, so if you’re looking to explore Grand Cayman with optimal freedom and flexibility, we recommend reserving a vehicle before arrival. Remember, we drive on the left side of the road!
Various hotels offer shuttle services from the airport, so be sure to check with yours in advance to see if they provide this service.
Last but not least, you can also use the local bus service that connects the airport and George Town with Seven Mile Beach. However, this isn’t convenient for many new arrivals as it’s less frequent and involves a transfer at the Central Bus Depot to Line 2.
It’s certainly a budget-friendly option, but with waiting times, transfers, the affordability of taxis, and the independence of rental cars, it’s one not frequently used.
Our blog How to Get Around in the Cayman Islands provides even more useful information on this topic, so we recommend reading it when you’re finished here.
Did you know that all three of the Cayman Islands are the peaks of coral mountains rising from the ocean floor? Because of this, Seven Mile Beach has soft, powdery coral sand. And because it’s well-kept and clean, it always looks pristine and inviting.
Grand Cayman doesn’t have any rivers, so our island essentially has no natural runoff into the sea. This lack of silty water flowing into the ocean helps our waters maintain their famous visibility. Whether you’re diving or snorkelling, you can expect startling visibility levels between 60 and 100ft.
And there’s even more good news! Grand Cayman’s waters have a year-round temperature that varies between 73 and 85°F!
But don’t just take our word for all of this! In the 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards, Seven Mile Beach was named the sixth best beach in the world. Condé Nast has also included it in a list of the 25 best beaches in the world, while National Geographic said that Seven Mile Beach there’s is the perfect introduction to the Grand Cayman experience.
Seven Mile Beach is the heart of the Grand Cayman experience, so there is plenty to keep you busy on land and in the water!
Our inviting, crystal-clear waters are home to a spectacular underwater world. From eerie shipwrecks and beautiful coral reefs to imposing walls and a kaleidoscope of exotic marine life, it’s easy to see why Grand Cayman welcomes divers of all abilities from around the world.
Our Seven Mile Beach scuba diving experiences visit the very best dive sites. Just some of the highlights include the 2-Tank Grand Cayman Kittiwake Wreck Dive, the 2-Tank West Wall Dive, and the 1-Tank Shallow Dive. If you want to see things from a different perspective, consider joining our 1-Tank Grand Cayman Night Dive and see what happens beneath the waves after sunset.
Seven Mile Beach is also a departure point for excursions to other famous dive and snorkel sites. Our 2-Tank North Wall Dive and Stingray City and Reef Excursion both depart from Safehaven Dock. But please note, Stingray City is only a snorkelling spot now. Since COVID-19, diving no longer takes place here.
Our Seven Mile Beach Snorkelling excursions are the perfect way to visit some of our island’s best snorkelling spots in style. But with our snorkel equipment rental, you also have the freedom to explore at your own pace. Looking for local recommendations? Check out our picks for the best places to snorkel in Grand Cayman.
Read our Ultimate Guide to Diving in the Cayman Islands for even more information. Our blog about the history of Grand Cayman’s Kittiwake shipwreck also offers fascinating context about our island’s most famous dive site, so it’s the deal read before your own adventure.
While the diving and snorkelling at Seven Mile Beach are world-class, there’s far more here to keep you entertained.
Just some of the ways you can have fun in the water include:
Seven Mile Beach is a true aquatic playground—browse our range of beach activities in Grand Cayman and find out how you can make the most of it! You can count on us for waverunner rentals, jetski and snorkelling tours, stand-up paddleboard rentals, sailboat rentals, waterskiing, wakeboarding, kayak rentals, and banana boat rides.
When you aren’t having fun in the sea or on the sand, the wider Seven Mile Beach area has a diverse range of activities for all interests.
You can find two incredible golf courses here—the North Sound Golf Club and the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Don’t let your game get rusty just because you’re on holiday!
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in some local culture, visit one of the area’s art galleries:
For retail therapy and souvenir shopping, there’s something for everyone! Camana Bay has pedestrian-friendly streets lined with all kinds of retailers, from jewellers to sports stores. There’s also a great farmer’s market here every Wednesday.
West Shore Center (known locally as Pink Plaza) and the Strand are both recommended shopping spots too as well as George Town for the duty-free shop.
With yoga studios, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds, and numerous stunning picnic spots, you’ll only have nothing to do in Seven Mile Beach if that’s what you choose!
The waters around Seven Mile Beach are teeming with vibrant marine life. For fish alone, there are a little under 500 recorded species! Just a handful of our favourites include the juvenile spotted drum, blue tang, puffer fish, jawfish, black durgon, and the shimmering schools of silversides.
But it’s not just the fish that catch your eye in this underwater world. Divers and snorkellers may also see reef squid, green moray eels, Caribbean spiny lobsters, eagle rays, sea turtles (typically green and hawksbill turtles, but sometimes loggerheads), and sharks (most likely nurse and Caribbean reef sharks).
Then, of course, there’s the captivating coral reefs. These remarkable environments include a diverse range of colourful corals and sponges, including:
Read our Guide to Diving in Grand Cayman to learn more about the mesmerising species waiting for you in the water off Seven Mile Beach.
Absolutely! Red Sail Sports offers comprehensive PADI courses catering to beginners, seasoned divers, and everyone in between. If you have no diving experience at all, our Grand Cayman Resort Scuba Course is the perfect introduction.
If you’re ready to take the next step after this, you can gain your certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course or the PADI Open Water Diver Referral course.
And with a full range of further dive training and PADI Specialties, you can continue your education to become the kind of diver you’ve always wanted to be!
If you want to continue researching this topic, we think you’ll appreciate our blog Becoming a Certified Scuba Diver in the Cayman Islands.
Grand Cayman’s best hotels and resorts are clustered around Seven Mile Beach, so you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to first-class accommodation. We have an entire blog dedicated to highly recommended hotels in Grand Cayman, most of which are in Seven Mile Beach, so be sure to read it for a closer look at our picks.
Some of the excellent hotels worth your consideration include:
Red Sail Sports has a dive shop at the Kimpton Seafire + Spa, at the north end of the property, beside the Coccoloba Bar & Grill. For Kittiwake, West Wall, and shallow 1-tank dives, our boats pull right up on the beach in front of the hotel. For North Wall and Stingray City excursions, we provide courtesy bus transfers outside the lobby
We are also the exclusive watersports provider for guests at the Westin Grand Cayman, Ritz-Carlton, Westin, and Marriott Resort, making it easy and convenient to have fun-filled days during your trip. Please note, at the Ritz-Carlton, we provide services as Sapphire Watersports, part of the Red Sail Sports family.
Take a look at our locations in Grand Cayman to find out more.
From upscale dining establishments to laid-back beachside eateries, Seven Mile Beach spoils visitors with diverse culinary experiences. There are plenty of outstanding venues to indulge in delicious delights, but some of our favourite picks are:
Hungry for more? We think you’ll love reading our blog The Best Local Caribbean Restaurants in Grand Cayman and our Grand Cayman Culinary Guide.
No, access to Seven Mile Beach is free and open to the public. Enjoy the sun, sand, and surf without any entry fees.
Yes and no. Seven Mile Beach is so long that it has several smaller beaches contained within it. Some of the most popular of these are Public Beach, Governor’s Beach, and Cemetery Beach. However, these smaller beaches still fall under the name of Seven Mile Beach.
Is time at the beach a priority on your trip? Check out our recommendations for the best beaches in Grand Cayman.
Contrary to its name, Seven Mile Beach isn’t precisely seven miles in length. It’s actually 6.3 miles long. But the powdery white sands, welcoming turquoise water, and swaying palm trees more than make up for this slight shortfall!
We hope you’ve found our Ultimate Guide to Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman equally inspiring and informative. We can’t wait to welcome you to our little part of paradise in the Caribbean Sea.
To start planning an unforgettable break, look through our many beach activities, snorkelling excursions, and scuba diving trips at Seven Mile Beach.
The Red Sail Sports team is here to help in any way we can, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
With over 50 dive sites along the west side! The perfect combo of deep drop-offs, wrecks, and amazing coral. All west dives leave from the Kimpton Seafire, the Westin, and the Ritz beach.
Find the perfect snorkelling experience in Seven Mile Beach.
