Stingray City Cayman Islands

ONE‑OF‑A‑KIND EXPERIENCE

We booked a Stingray City tour that included reef snorkeling, stingray interaction, and Starfish Point. Overall, it was a memorable day — especially the stingrays — but some parts were just okay.

SNORKEL STOP: • We had a good amount of time in the water, but the reef wasn’t at its best. Coral cover in Grand Cayman has declined over the years due to factors like coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures, disease, hurricanes, and human impacts such as sunscreen chemicals and boat activity. This means fewer vibrant corals and less marine life compared to what it once was. • Still, it was nice to swim in the clear water and see some fish, but if you’ve snorkeled in healthier reefs elsewhere, you might find this one less colorful.

STINGRAY CITY: • Absolutely fantastic — the highlight of the trip. Standing in waist‑deep, crystal‑clear water surrounded by friendly southern stingrays was unforgettable. • The stingrays here are wild but accustomed to people after decades of interaction (originally from fishermen cleaning their catch at the sandbar). They glide right past you, and you can gently touch them under the guidance of the crew. • Kids and adults alike loved it. The water was calm and safe for all swimming levels.

STARFISH POINT: • A calm, shallow beach where you can see red and orange starfish resting on the sandy bottom. • You can also drive here yourself if you have a car — it’s about 45 minutes from George Town and 5 minutes from Rum Point. We had actually visited the day before by car, so this stop felt less special the second time. • Remember: it’s illegal to take starfish out of the water, even for photos. Handle them gently and always keep them submerged.

TIPS & NOTES: • Bring reef‑safe sunscreen to help protect the coral. • If you want fewer crowds, book an early morning or late afternoon tour — midday can be packed with cruise ship groups. • The full tour took about 3.5 hours, which felt like the right amount of time for all three stops.

If you’re visiting Grand Cayman, Stingray City is a must‑do at least once. Even if the reef snorkel isn’t world‑class, the stingray encounter alone makes it worth it, and Starfish Point is a...

My sister, her fiance, and I took the Stingray City Tour for $65 each. The tour was supposed to include feeding the stingrays and about 45 min to one hour with the stingrays and 30 min of snorkel time.

We have done stingray feeding tours before and they have been excellent. The tour guides normally give you dead fish or squid and you hand feed the stingrays. The stingrays smell the food and come right up to you.

We were all very disappointed to discover that Captain Lee from Stingray City tours was not prepared and had no food for us to feed to the stingrays. He also had trouble parking the boat, so the entire stingray experience was only about 25 minutes. Captain Lee caught a stingray and let us kiss it, pet it, and hold it, but the stingrays would not approach us because we had no food to give them. All the other tours at the sandbar had food for their guests to give to the stingrays so this was very disappointing.

We then went to the snorkeling spot. It was a nice spot, but we were only given 15 minutes! We are experienced snorkelers but many on the boat were not. No explanation was given about how to put of finds, mark, and tube. All masks (child and adult) were mixed in one barrel and it was complete chaos on the boat as novice snorkelers put on their fins and masks still on the boat making it difficult to walk around them and for them to get in the water.

The tour was just very disorganized and both the stingray feeding aspect and the amount of time we would have were misrepresented.

We could not even ask the vendor for a refund, because by the time we got back, the vendor had already cleared the cruise ship terminal and was nowhere to be found.

EDIT: The woman selling tickets was representing "Stingray City Cayman Islands". The price fluctuated. As time drew closer to the actual tour, she dropped to price to $55 to get a few last minute clients. We were in the first 8 people to sign up so our price was...

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of taking a tour with Stingray City Cayman Islands, and we cannot recommend Captain Bradley and Co-Captain Jason highly enough! Our 3.5-hour adventure included visits to the Coral Gardens, the Stingray City, and the Starfish Point.

From the moment we set sail, it was clear that both captains were not only professionals but also passionate about creating an unforgettable experience for all of us. Their patience and extensive knowledge shone through as they took the time to explain how to get the most out of each stop. They made sure that everyone had the chance to interact with the amazing stingrays, ensuring that no one was left out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One of the highlights was their generosity in capturing our magical moments with the stingrays. They used their own special camera to take stunning pictures of us playing with the rays and seamlessly transferred them to our devices via AirDrop—at no additional cost! This thoughtful gesture truly elevated our experience from excellent to exceptional.

Thank you, Captain Bradley and Co-Captain Jason, for your outstanding service and for making our tour unforgettable. If you're looking for an incredible experience in the Cayman Islands, look no further. We highly recommend this company, which also offers free shuttle pick up and drop off at no extra cost. Online reservations and payment platform is very...