Grand Cayman - Travel Planner

Week 1: July 9-16, 2011- Week 2: July 16-23, 2011 
 

Hello: 

I hope you are as excited as I am about Kid’s Sea Camp 2011. It is my pleasure to welcome you and your family to the beautiful Island of Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the Western Caribbean, 480 miles south of Miami, Florida, 150 miles south of Cuba and 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. By jet, the Cayman Islands is only a 70-minute direct flight from Miami. 

Cayman Islands offer much more than gentle splendors of sun, sand and sea. There are unique heritage attractions including the Cayman Turtle Farm, the world's only commercial Green Sea Turtle farm and Pedro St. James Historic Site with its restored 19th century plantation great house. Learn about Cayman's unique history at the National Museum. Marvel at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and Gardens. Visit the National Trust and learn about historic buildings, bird sanctuaries, wetlands reserves and nature trails on all three islands. And, of course, meet friendly Caymanian people, who will enrich your family’s every experience.

What else to do: Bicycling, horseback riding or enjoy a game of golf. Shop until you drop in chic shops, duty free emporiums and art galleries or just drop into a hammock and soak up the perpetual Caribbean sun. 

The main airport in the Cayman Islands, "Owen Roberts International Airport", is located on the largest of the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman. 

When you arrive on Grand Cayman, you will pass through Immigration where you will collect your Visa – put that into your passport and keep it safe. Then you’ll collect your luggage and the pass through Customs.

United States and Canadian citizens require passports as proof of Citizenship. Note: a Voter's Registration Card or a Social Security Card is not considered valid proof of US citizenship and is therefore not valid Identification for re-entry into the United States. Kids need passports, too. 

Kid’s Sea Camp is hosted by Cobalt Coast Dive Resort (www.cobaltcoast.com) where you and your family will be staying. Cobalt Coast Dive Resort is in Grand Cayman and is located on the Northwest shore, in a secluded tranquil setting with a spectacular view overlooking the inviting waters of the Caribbean Sea. Cobalt Coast is located in Boatswain’s Bay, near the Cayman Island Turtle Farm and Boatswain’s Beach, just a few miles north of bustling Seven Mile Beach. Come and experience the best scuba diving or snorkeling on Grand Cayman's North Wall. Dora is the front desk manager and will be waiting to greet you upon arrival at Cobalt Coast. She will provide you with information and check you into your accommodation. If you arrive on property prior to 5pm, please go check in at the dive shop located across from the pool. You’ll need your C-cards and a credit card. 

If you have reserved a rental car with us for the week, your rental car is just across the street at Coconuts Car Rental. I would recommend one family member walking over to pick up the car and then go back and pickup the rest of the family and luggage. If you did not rent a car and would like to, just contact us and we will be happy to arrange this for you. I would like to remind you that driving is on the left in Grand Cayman. For directions, maps are available at the rental

Directions to Cobalt Coast:

Make your way to the airport exit and follow that street to the end. You’ll enter the first round-about. Go across and then to the left. Then you’ll come to the next round-about, turn left, go straight through the next round-about (a very small one by the Mirco Center). When you come to the next round-about turn left and exit at the second left and stay on the by-pass until it ends. It will turn a bit to the left and will end on West Bay Road (you’ll see the beach and ocean directly in front of you). Turn right and follow West Bay Road all the way to the North of Seven Mile Beach until the 4-way stop in West Bay. From there you will see signs that direct you to Cobalt Coast Resort. You take a right onto West Church Street. You will see the West Bay Police Station on the right and you’ll take a left onto Reverend Blackman Road. At the second street to the right, turn right onto Stadium Road which merges with Birch Tree Hill Road - on the way to Papagallo's Restaurant. You follow Birch Tree Hill Road past the Soccer Stadium (1 mile), and then take a left on to Andresen Road, which runs parallel to the ocean and becomes Sea Fan Drive. Cobalt Coast Resort is at the end of this road, on the right.

If you are not renting a car, there will be a bus waiting for you at the airport. The bus driver will have your name on the list and on a piece of paper that he’ll be holding up for you to find him. Verify that you're coming to Cobalt Coast Resort and attending Kid’s Sea Camp. He will bring you to the Resort to start your fantastic family dive vacation! Your pick up time to return to the airport is 3 hours before your plane departs. Your pick up time has been set based on the flight details you have given us. Dora will go over that again with you when you check in just to make sure everything is correct.

All programs are fully supervised by Dive Instructors and are action packed including marine identification, conservation, photography, art, underwater scooters, turtles and tons more! As our ambassadors of the sea for future generations, the children are taught to love the water and respect the marine creatures. It's a jam packed week that is fun for the whole family. Please see the attached sheet for all that is included in your package. 
 

Shore diving is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week right off the ocean dock. Don’t forget your C- card.

• Nitrox readily available (please let us know if you want Nitrox tanks on the boat -- $5US per tank as used or take the 6 day boat Nitrox package at $85US for unlimited 63cuft or 80 cuft tanks of 32% Nitrox
• 5 days of 2 one-hour boat dives! All computer diving on your 5 day boat package! Dive your limits, longer bottom time, safer profile. Dive computer rental provided complimentary on all boat dive packages.
• Dive staff tips are not included in these packages

The morning starts with a great breakfast buffet at 6:45 am and is served until 8:30 am. At 7:45 a.m. you take a short shuttle ride to the boat (unless the boat is departing from the dock). The first dive is a guided wall dive. The warm water and great visibility we enjoy here in Grand Cayman makes this type of diving enjoyable and stress-free. The second dive is on a shallow reef and you can go off with your dive buddy and explore the site or you may chose to stay with the guide.

There will be an orientation Saturday evening, where you will be briefed on the diving, and the week’s activities and agenda. There is a sample schedule provided in your package, that can change, but it gives you a good idea of what we have planned for the week. 

Please remember to reconfirm your air schedules 24-72 hours prior to departure and do let us know of any schedule changes. 

Please make note most cell phones work in Grand Cayman if you have a global plan, if not, the Resort’s direct line is the best way to make long distance call. Just dial “9” to get an outside line, 1 + area code and phone number. There is wireless internet available at Cobalt Coast Resort at no charge and is available oceanside. 

The front desk is open 24 hours, 7 days a week – you may have to call after hours, but the manager is always on-site in case of any emergency. Please note - the currency used in Grand Cayman is the Cayman Island Dollar (“CI$”). One US Dollar is worth .80 cent CI / CI$1 = $1.25US. You do not need to exchange money as US currency is accepted at all locations and you’ll be given change back in CI Dollars. (example: $5US = CI$4) 

The Resort provides full bottles of shampoo, full bars of soap, hair dryers, in-room coffee, in-room safes, fresh towels, pool towels and boat towels. 

Here is a list of some of the things I bring for my kids. I hope you will find it useful.

I look forward to seeing you all soon. 

Passports or birth certificates, c- cards for divers, a camera, film or camera memory card

Batteries, music, drawing paper and crayons

Conditioner, skin lotion and sun block, toothpaste, bug spray, vitamins, band-aids, children’s Tylenol, ear drops, soft icepack.

Four or more bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts, 1 sweatshirt, sandals, sneakers, and emergency contact numbers.

Original copies of all your forms.

If you child is on medication and participating in a diving activity, you must have a note from a doctor stating it is ok for him or her to scuba dive. All forms and waivers must be filled out and sent in ASAP. These forms are located on the Kids Sea Camp website, www.kidsseacamp.com, under the reservations page on the left side on the dive waiver forms link. Please contact Kids Sea Camp if you need assistance with this. 

Please make sure you go through your package, fill out forms and read your information.

Make sure we have all names and ages correct. Please advise us of any medical issues, or Special days such as a birthday, anniversary, etc that may occur during your stay. Please contact us with any questions. 

Please reconfirm flights, look over documents, and make sure we have your flight information correct. I recommend you be at least 2 hours early at the airport and have everyone’s passports ready. Although we do our best to ensure everything runs smoothly, there sometimes may be circumstances beyond our control. Please have snacks packed for the flight and be prepared, should there be delays or a lost bag. 

Departure Tax: There is a CI $20.00 or US$25.00 departure tax for the Cayman Islands that should be included in the price of your airline ticket.

Names you should know:

Arie (Resort Manager)

Dora- Front Desk Manager

www.cobaltcoast.com

Nancy & Jay (Dive Tech- owner)

www.divetech.com

You may give your family and friends the Resort’s number (345 946 5656) as your contact number. This is a “US” style area code, so all your family has to do is dial “1” in front of it and then the number. The fax number is 345 946 5657 and if you are calling regarding your reservation, their reservation line is 888 946 5656 -- toll free. 

I am looking forward to meeting each of you at Kid’s Sea Camp. I know you and your family will have a great week of diving and we’ll all create great memories together. 

Kind Regards, 

Margo Peyton

www.kidsseacamp.com
803-419-2556

REMINDER: ALL US PASSPORTS MUST BE VALID FOR UP 6 SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO EXPIRATION DATE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. AIRLINES ARE ENFORCING THIS

All schedules, itineraries and package inclusions are subject to