The next time someone tells you, ”Go to Hell,” take him up on it
–literally. And I don`t mean go to the little Michigan town, pretty as it is. Just be sure when you buy your airline ticket that you specify Grand Cayman Island in the sunny Caribbean.
It may seem strange that such a tropical paradise would have a patch of turf called Hell within its 76 square miles, but there is no cause for alarm. Hell, in this instance, is nothing more than a little bit of sand shaded by a few palm trees in West Bay.
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Dyson Airwrap Deals 2026
According to local lore, it got its name from a hellish-looking dry bed of jagged black coral behind the Club Inferno, a rundown dance bar. When you stop here during a tour of the island, you can make your way through the bar and take a quick look at the eerie formation just beyond the back door. If you have some spare change, you can pick up a bumper sticker reading, ”Don`t miss going to Hell in the Cayman Islands,” or a T-shirt announcing that you`ve been to ”Club Inferno–To Hell and Back.”
To its credit, Hell has a church and a service garage called Parson`s as well as a new post office and a gas station. But once you have written your cards with the greeting, ”Having a great time, wish you were here,” and have had them hand-canceled with the postmark, ”Hell, Grand Cayman,” there`s not much point in hanging around–especially since the island offers far greater temptations to sun and sand worshippers.
Grand Cayman is the largest of three islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are the others) that compose a British Crown colony still under Her Majesty`s rule. In 1503 Christopher Columbus left his footprint in the fine white sand that covers what still are some of the most pristine beaches in the Caribbean.
Grand Cayman is renowned for its clear diving and sports fishing waters, but it is equally famous as the third largest offshore banking center in the world, home to more than 400 banks and 16,000 real estate companies.
In fact, business is booming on the island, where no one pays any taxes and unemployment among its 18,000 residents is zero. (”There`s no welfare,” one Caymanian explained. ”Here, if you don`t work, you don`t eat.”)
Evidence of a progressive, well-managed, well-heeled society is everywhere. Swanky hotels, clubs and condos border the beach. A modern desalinization plant supplies drinking water. The Owen Roberts Airport handles a full schedule of daily international and interisland flights, including a half dozen to and from Miami, only an hour away.
American franchises also have staked their claims, supplying islanders with an array of fast-food delicacies, compliments of a Kentucky Fried Chicken takeout, a drive-through Burger King, a ”MacDonalds” (a takeoff on McDonald`s) and a 7-Eleven store.
But prosperity also has its price, and only millionaires such as Mitch Miller have been able to afford to build oceanfront homes on the beach where real estate goes for $12,000-$16,000 a foot. Since all the beaches on the island are public by law, however, you at least can stroll along with Mitch, even if you can`t buy into his square of sand.
Grand Cayman`s original attraction, however, was not its natural beauty but the homely, four-legged creatures swimming offshore. Turtles–thousands of green sea turtles–drew ships to the warm waters of the islands that were known first as the Tortugas and later as the Caymanas, from the Indian name of species of lizard. Turtles, however, continued to be the main attraction, stimulating a brisk trade that flourished through the mid-1960s.
The million-dollar export business halted abruptly in 1978, however, when the green sea turtle was declared an endangered species and the United States government banned the sale and even the transshipment of turtle products in America.)
Today you still can visit the Cayman Turtle Farm in West Bay, the only one of its kind in the world, and watch 450-pound mamas and papas glide gracefully around the breeding pools. Their frisky offspring flop around energetically in little tanks, but the population is much smaller now–several thousand compared to 120,000 in the days when the turtle business was going great guns. A small gift shop at the entrance displays amber-colored turtle bracelets, combs, earrings and serving dishes, but because of the ban, American tourists have to pass through without buying.)
Not far away, however, is a shop where it is legal to drop a few bucks. The Coral Art Collections in Bosun Bay is a wholesaler of the black and pink coral jewelry for which the Caymans are famous. In George Town, the capital of the colony, you`ll find even more rings, pendants and cuff links studded with glistening black coral and flamingo pink carved coral flowerettes.
After your land excursion, you can rent snorkeling or scuba equipment and explore the coral reefs and shipwrecks around the island. Crystalline blue waters that attract a menagerie of sea life (parrot fish, sea anemones, sponges, hermit crabs and angelfish), as well as movie producers (scenes from ”Blue Lagoon,” starring Brooke Shields, were filmed offshore), have given Grand Cayman a well-deserved reputation as the Super Bowl of Snorkeling. In fact, the beauty of its underseas world is surpassed only by Seven Mile Beach, a glorious ribbon of powdery sand.
Although George Town, with its boutiques and gift shops, has the look of a tropical island shopping district that caters to an endless stream of cruise ship passengers (”Go upstairs to our dress department, dearie, to find your lucky cabin number,” a female shopkeeper urged), it does hold some surprises. Brilliantly colored tropical fish, seahorses and flowers dance across the batik hangings, skirts, dresses and shirts that fill the walls and racks of the West Indian Sea Island Cotton Shop on Harbour Drive.
Ironically, the best bargains are not the native woodcarvings and handicrafts but the European imports. Because Grand Cayman is a duty-free port and imposes no taxes of its own, shoppers can save as much as 35 percent on Waterford crystal, Royal Worcester china, Letang and Remy silver trays, Scottish linen towels and French perfumes.
The island`s restaurants and hotels feature European and Caymanian cuisine, offering diners a choice of English-style fish and chips or fresh oysters and Jamaican Red Stripe beer at the Cayman Arms Lounge, grilled fish and imaginatively prepared conch dishes at the Cracked Conch or roast lamb at the Yorkshire Pudding. If you`re low on funds, wild breadfruit and bananas are free for the picking along the road.