For decades the Lighthouse Restaurant at Breakers has been a local landmark,on the tranquil southern shore of Grand Cayman. Recently the original building has been carefully renovated and upgraded, preserving the unique oceanside ambience, but adding the comfort of interior air conditioned dinning. The restaurant is a leisurely 25 minutes drive from George Town. South Sound Road turns into Red Bay Road and eventually leads into Prospect, the site of Grand Cayman’s most thriving community in the late 18th century. A fort was built here in the 1780s to ward off pirate attacks, but all that remains is a small plaque that commemorates it. The town was completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1846.

Red Bay Road turns into Bodden Town Road and runs along an old waterfront cemetery where many of Cayman’s pioneers are buried. Beyond the cemetery lies Savannah, a small town with attractive island homes, one of which is the site of Otto Watler’s bee farm. Mr. Watler sells jars of his famous dark brown honey right on the farm. If you continue on the main road, you will come to Bodden Town, once the capital of the Cayman Islands. There are several small monuments here, including Gun Square, where an early British fort once stood; Queen Victoria’s Monument; and the famous Slave Wall, built by slaves to ward off foreign invaders.

A favorite among visitors and Islanders alike for over seven years, The Edge restaurant and lounge has won many awards since they opened in 1990. Located on the waters edge in Bodden Town, diners may chose to dine inside or on the back deck overlooking the beach and reef beyond.

A stop at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is an enlightening experience for nature lovers. This 65-acre showcase of indigenous flora and fauna features a dozen species of orchids and a variety of trees, from mahogany and ironwood to red birch and whitewood. You can view the Grand Cayman parrot, the bananaquit, the endangered Grand Cayman blue iguana, the tiny Cuban treefrog and various other species. Along its one-mile nature trail are more than 200 plants. Another nature attraction is the Mastic Trail. This 200-year-old footpath takes hikers through mangrove swamps, woodlands and farmlands, representing the Cayman Islands’ diverse ecosystems.

Bird-watchers will delight in seeing species such as the Caribbean dove, the West Indian woodpecker and the Cuban bullfinch. Guided tours are offered. Not far away are Grand Cayman’s famous Blow Holes. The waves come crashing to the shore, and a few seconds later, a tall geyser spouts skyward from the coral rock. The blow holes are caused by underwater caverns that riddle the rock. The incoming wave compresses the water, and pressure forces it straight up, providing an ideal subject for photographs. The shoreline near the blow holes is characterized by ironshore, spiky rock formed when sand, coral and lagoonal mud solidified into limestone. The strikingly rugged coast is a sight to behold.

Beaches:
Seven Mile Beach, on Grand Cayman, is world famous. It has the whitest and softest sand you can imagine--and lots of it. This west-coast expanse is lined with luxury accommodations from low-rise condominiums to hotels, as well as restaurants and small shopping centers. It is the most developed area in the Cayman Islands; here you can mingle or find your own patch of sand. You can engage in water sports or just relax.

Besides this popular strand, there are several smaller beaches, most of them actually coves, for visitors seeking more privacy. Smith Cove, on the southwest part of the island, is a good bathing spot. Old Man Bay, one of the more affluent neighborhoods on the north side of the island, has a less-crowded beach that some consider ideal. If you’re bent on seeking a secluded hideaway, consider the northern coast’s Rum Point, or perhaps Cayman Kai.

Whether you prefer to snorkel over a placid reef teeming with tropical fish or to dive 80 to 100 feet down along a wall of living coral, you’ll discover that the Cayman Islands offers the precise underwater adventure you want. Snorkelers will find shallow water coral heads at the north end of Seven Mile Beach and at Soto Reef north of George Town, while divers can swim through and around a complex system of cliffs, slopes, tunnels, canyons and valleys of submerged mountains. In the clear waters around Grand Cayman, divers enjoy visibility of up to 200 feet. With such fantastic opportunities, it is no wonder that the waters around these islands attract more than 40,000 divers every year.

Grand Cayman’s whole western shore, as well as Spanish Cove on the northwest coast and a small area east of Rum Point on the northeast coast, are marine parks--so while waters sports are permitted, the taking of marine life, alive or dead, is prohibited. Three of the best dive sites for novices are Devil’s Grotto, Eden Rock and the wreck of the Cali. The wrecks of the Balboa and the Oro Verde are popular with divers who like to wander in and out of ships.

Stingray City is by far the most unusual dive site. Located just inside the barrier reef in North Sound, the area is known for its population of rays. These strange fish have eyes on the top of their bodies, spiny tails and five-foot wingspans. Surprisingly friendly, hey skirt along the bottom of the sea, often allowing divers to feed, touch and photograph them. If you’re neither a snorkeler nor a diver, you can still experience the wonders found under the sea. Submersibles, designed as recreational submarines, float just under the surface of the water or plunge several hundred feet. These vessels offer an alternative for viewing marine life.

Activities:
Cayman is also known for superb game fishing. In fact, some consider it the islands’ unofficial sport. The abundance of species in these waters is amazing. Fishermen reel in bonefish, tarpon, marlin, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail, dolphin and wahoo.

Windsurfing puts the breeze at your back and the ocean under your feet. Seven Mile Beach, with its gentle waters, is the place to enjoy this sport if you’re a beginner. More advanced windsurfers may want to head to South Sound or Cayman Kai. Golfers and tennis players will find first-class facilities available at several resort communities, clubs and hotels.

Among the golf courses are the 18-hole championship Links at SafeHaven course and the 9-hole championship Britannia course at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman. The overlapping golf courses at the Britannia resort community offer a challenge for everyone. Because of space limitations, Jack Nicklaus was commissioned to design three golf courses in one: a 9-hole, par 35 championship layout; an 18-hole executive course with a par of 58; and an 18-hole, par 72 Cayman ball course. The latter requires the use of the revolutionary Cayman golf ball, also designed by Nicklaus, that goes only half the distance of a conventional golf ball.