Blossom Village Travel Guide, Cayman Islands

Do you like diving? How about snorkeling? Fishing? Bird-watching? You may do all of these in the tiny Caribbean island named Little Cayman.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 and almost unknown until the beginning of the 90s, Little Cayman is a tiny paradise, a perfect destination for contemporary explorers, naturalists, fishermen and, of course, holiday-makers.

Little Cayman is small in size-about 10 miles long and 1 mile wide and it is surrounded by coral reefs and a wonderful sandy coastline. Being the smallest of the Cayman Islands archipelago, the island lies northeast of Grand Cayman and is inhabited by only about 120 permanent residents. The ‘capital’ is Blossom Village but the main attractions here are the Little Cayman Beach Resort and the Pirates Point Resort.

Little Cayman is one of the best spots in the world where you can dive and bonefish. It is said that Jacques Cousteau praised the island waters as being the best diving spots ever seen. Snorkeling and scuba diving are at home around Little Cayman and so are swimming and rowing. The dive sites are well marked with moorings. The best diving site is Bloody Bay Wall, which is a real underwater steep mountain. There are some companies from where you can rent gear, kayaks, pedal boats or surf bikes.

The other important attraction is fishing. Little Cayman waters are filled with over 500 species of fish and about 150 kinds of coral.

Beside diving and fishing spots, Little Cayman offers a lot to see both to amateur and to professional naturalists or explorers. The inner part of the island is the largest bird reservation in the Caribbean. There is even a free of charge visitor center called Booby Pond Visitor Center which exhibits on the island’s indigenous species such as the black-necked stilt, the heron, the West Indian whistling duck and the red-footed booby. You may also see the common crab and the seed shrimp.

Also, most of the rock iguanas in the Caribbean islands live here. A special species of reptiles-the tree-climbing lizard called Anulis mayanardi, whose color blends in the island’s vegetation (females are green and males are brown), may be spotted here if you are vigilent enough. There are some facilities to make bird and reptile watching easier such as telescopes or scenic view porches.

Another point of attraction, though minor, is Little Cayman Museum, a green-and-white building containing relics from the island’s past.

At the same time, there are a few possibilities of spending evenings and nights at social events. Two of such places, Southern Cross Club and Sam McCoy’s Diving & Fishing Lodge are open every day but the best time to hang out in these places is Friday evening and Saturday night since they stage barbecues and entertainment.

To make your holiday easier, you may contact the island’s resorts which in collaboration with the National Trust offer snorkeling and bus tours and nature hikes. You have to arrange an appointment to take such a tour.

As a conclusion, Little Cayman is the best place for those of you looking for diving spots, fishing or nature hikes but it also offers you luxury accommodation and modern facilities. Spend your holiday in the Caribbean.