Grand Cayman

Our most recent Grand Cayman trip proved that sometimes the best trips are left to chance. When our trip to Mexico was canceled because of swine flu, we were left scrambling less than 3 weeks before our departure date to plan a new trip. (Read why we decided to go to Grand Cayman for our girls' getaway.) That's us above: Annie, Hope, Lauren and Meg.

Because we knew very little about the island, our expectations for the trip were very low. Going there, about the only thing we were expecting to see for sure is gorgeous beaches. And Grand Cayman delivered on that--we've never seen such crystal clear water.

Our expectations for the nightlife were tempered. We were warned each and every night was a bad night to go out, possibly the worst in the week ("Saturday? Saturday is a bad night to go out," said the club level concierge at the Ritz Carlton. "Sunday? Sunday is the worst night to go out," said our manicurist at the La Prairie Spa.) But there is an upside to having low expectations: Every night we ended up having way more fun than we expected!

Our worst night, in fact, was Friday night, which was rumored to be the best. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton bar that night, which was sort of like being on a cruise ship. We saw all the same people we saw at the beach and pool earlier that day, and we knew we would be seeing them again the next. We had a much better time when we went to the local bars, particularly Calico Jack's, which isn't more than a tiki hut on the beach. That's Meg helping Marty the bartender pour Jagermeister shots.

There was something so refreshing to the anti-scene trip. In South Beach or Vegas, there's always the worry "Are we at the IT club tonight?" In Grand Cayman, we knew wherever we were was a party, because we were there with our friends.



Watch our video for the highlights, then check back later for more specifics on our trip!






A special thanks to Lauren for being our honorary JSG photographer!