Rum Point

Rum Point sits at the western end of Grand Cayman's North Side, where the land curls round to shelter the water and the sound stays flat almost all the time. The name comes from a wreck that spilled barrels of rum along the shore, and the story has stuck. What draws people is the combination: casuarina trees for shade, hammocks strung between them, sand that shelves so gently you walk a long way out, and a ferry that crosses the North Sound from Camana Bay so you can arrive by water rather than drive an hour round the island. The Kaibo area next door has the boat trips out to the sandbar.

What you actually see

• The sheltered shallows - flat water and a very gradual shelf.
• The casuarina shade - trees and hammocks along the sand.
• The ferry crossing - across the North Sound from Camana Bay.
• Kaibo - the neighbouring point where sandbar boats leave.

When to go

November to May is the driest and calmest. The ferry runs several times daily and takes half an hour, which beats the hour-long drive. Cruise days bring tours across in the middle of the day; mornings and late afternoons are quieter.

Honest expectations

It fills on cruise days when boat tours arrive in numbers. The water is very shallow and adults wanting a proper swim will find it limiting. Facilities are a restaurant and bar rather than a public beach set-up. The road route round the island is long and slow.

Nearby

Starfish Point is ten minutes east; the North Sound sandbar is offshore.