First of all, bring a pen with you on the flight. You will need to fill out the immigration and customs forms while flying to Cayman. When you arrive at GCM airport you will notice the plane is pulling up to a fairly small building. That is the airport.You will also notice there is no air bridge to get you from the plane to the building. You will walk down the steps onto the tarmac.
At this point you will see a large pointed roof under which there are family and friends waving to their visitors who are deplaning.
There is usually a band outside playing Caribbean music to welcome you to your island vacation. Once inside the building the first stop is immigration. There are three lines, one for residents, Caymanians, and visitors. Obviously you will get in the visitors line until the residents and Caymanians are through and then they may usher you through those lines. (Don't worry, everyone here speaks English although is it heavily accented) Once you are through immigration you will walk past the portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and over to baggage claim. Once you have your luggage you will get into another line to go through customs. They may want to look inside your luggage (so, don't pack your underwear on top). They may ask to see receipts for anything you are bringing and plan to leave on the island (BBW soaps, new shoes or protein powder we've asked you to bring us). You are allowed to bring $300 worth of those goods without paying duty. Once they have cleared you, hand your form to the man guarding the exit door and you are officially on vacation!!
If you are renting a car there are signs to follow to your rental car company. They are just across the street. If you plan on taking a taxi there is a desk just outside the door where you will need to check in and give them the address of your destination or the name of the hotel/resort where you are staying. They will direct you to a taxi bus. Do not just walk up to a taxi and get in, they will tell you to go back to the desk. You can pay just about anywhere with US dollars. The taxis, buses, grocery stores, liquor stores and most restaurants accept US dollars. But, they will give you change in CI/KY dollars. If any place gives you a total in KY/CI dollars just ask them for the total in US dollars. If you'd like to do your own math, one USD equals $0.82 here. And one KYD/CID equals $1.22 in USD. If you go out to dinner pay attention to the bill. The restaurants here almost always add gratuity no matter how many are in your party. And, unfortunately, sometimes the service reflects that.
If you are renting a car there are a few tips I will give you. Test out the turn signal and windshield wipers. They are usually opposite of what they are in the states. It took me a while to get used to that. Obviously, as I've shown before, we drive on the left side here. It really isn't as hard as you would think because you are pretty much just following everyone else. It only gets a bit confusing if you come to a roundabout by yourself. Just like at home, if you are taking the first or second exit stay in the outside lane. If you are taking the second or subsequent exits stay in the inside lane and use your turn signal to indicate when you are exiting the roundabout. Be warned that people here use their horns for everything. Instead of flashing their lights to let you go, they honk. Instead of waving a thanks, they honk. Don't let all the horn blowing rattle you. They will see your white license plates and know you are a visitor (The yellow license plates are for residents).
Once you get to where you are staying you will have all the amenities that you do in the states. US cable television, air-conditioning, WiFi, running and drinkable water, grocery stores with brands you know, etc. But, it's better than home because there are so many new things to do and see. If you want relaxation and a tan you can go anywhere on Seven Mile Beach to park it in the sand for the day. Take a picnic lunch and a book and you are experiencing my days off work. If you want something a little more secluded you can drive to Rum Point or Starfish Point and play music from your iPod and drink a few adult beverages without a slew of other vacationers. Or you can stay on SMB and go to a beach bar and float in the ocean with your tropical cocktail.
If you want something more adventurous you can take a boat ride out to Stingray City. It is a sand bar in the middle the ocean where you can feed, pet, hold, and kiss stingrays. They will take you to two snorkel spots to let you see the local fish and coral. Or you could go jet skiing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, para-sailing, kite-boarding, scuba diving or wind-surfing. There is a botanical garden, turtle farm, and dolphin cove. There is plenty to do at night, too. There are live bands, themed parties, free salsa dancing instruction, wing night, trivia night and even places to play dominoes and dice. There are wonderful restaurants and bars to watch the sunset and have a tasty refreshment.
http://www.dolphincove.ky/
http://www.turtle.ky/
http://www.botanic-park.ky/
https://www.captainmarvins.com/
http://www.redsailcayman.com/
http://www.caymankayaks.com/bio/biobay.html
http://www.caymangoodtaste.com/
