Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman

Resorts on Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.

Seven Mile Beach (SMB) is a long crescent of coral-sand beach on the western end of Grand Cayman island. Seven Mile Beach is known for its beauty, recently receiving the honor of "The Caribbean's Best Beach" from Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine.[1] It is public property (as are all beaches in the Cayman Islands) and one is able to walk the full length of the beach, regardless of where you are staying.[1] The Seven Mile Beach is the most popular and most developed area of Grand Cayman.[2][3] It is home to the majority of the island's luxury resorts and hotels. Despite the name, a generous measurement puts the actual length at just a bit over 6.3 miles (10.1 km) long. A realistic length for the uninterrupted sandy beach is about 6 miles.[4] The beach falls victim to annual erosion, which has reduced its size in some areas, and may have reduced its length at the ends.[5] Like the rest of Grand Cayman, the development around the Seven Mile Beach was severely damaged in Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 but many condominiums & hotels are still running at full capacity.[6]

Restaurants open to the public can be found at most of the resorts, which includes several public beach bars.[1] Some small reefs are located just off shore which offer good snorkelling, most notably by the Marriott hotel (an artificial reef),[7] Government House (the Governor's residence), and just north of Seven Mile Public beach.[8] There are few restrictions on use of the beach. Open grilling is allowed, and pets are free to roam the beach off leash. Loud music and public nudity are, however, strictly prohibited.

Directly to the south of Seven Mile Beach is George Town, the capital city of the Cayman Islands, while to the north is the district of West Bay, which features a turtle farm and the limestone formations of Hell. Beautiful turtle shell-based items are sold in many locations, however they are illegal in the US and many other western countries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Seven Mile Beach | Grand Cayman, Caribbean Vacation | Cayman Islands". www.caymanislands.ky. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  2. ↑ "Beaches in Grand Cayman | Frommer's". www.frommers.com. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  3. ↑ "Beaches in Grand Cayman | Guide to Cayman's Best Beaches". www.explorecayman.com. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  4. ↑ "Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.". www.caymanactivityguide.com. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  5. ↑ "Status Report for the Submerged Reef Ball" (PDF). www.reefball.org. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  6. ↑ Higgins, Michelle (2005-11-25). "Welcome to Club Recovery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  7. ↑ "The Best Snorkeling in Cayman Islands | Frommer's". www.frommers.com. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  8. ↑ "Governor's Square, Grand Cayman Premier Shopping & Corporate Centre". governorssquarecayman.com. Retrieved 2015-10-12.

Coordinates: 19°20′34″N 81°23′30″W / 19.3428°N 81.3917°W / 19.3428; -81.3917

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