My husband and I never say no to a beach-focused vacation. Belize was actually the first trip we took together and since that adventure, which included some fantastic island hopping, we’ve explored a number of tropical spots. When it came time to deciding where we would take our summer vacation, we went back and forth between Europe or the Caribbean. While we love the delights that Europe has to offer, we ultimately landed on the beach life because an overly exploratory toddler with some serious foot speed is a bit easier to manage when the ocean and pool are in your backyard (the water slows him down). Our little man absolutely loves the swimming and Grand Cayman, an incredibly child-friendly and family-friendly island, proved to be a fantastic destination.

7 mile beach, where we stayed, is the main area for accommodations. There are quite a few hotels to choose from and we ended up staying at The Westin. There are also a number of condo and Airbnb options, but when we’re on vacation, we like to fully enjoy the amenities of a full-service hotel.

The Westin’s location is very central and the beach area is pristine. There are two pools on property and a hot tub, along with 4 restaurants, a coffee shop that also has food options and the lobby bar. In the evenings, the lobby bar has live entertainment with some great musical acts. There are also several stores and restaurants right across the street alongside of a very walkable Costco-like grocery store (Mamma’s Pointer: Don’t want to travel with all the “toy accoutrement”? Head over to the discount store and by your balls, floats, pales and shovels. When you head out, live them behind for the next family to enjoy).

The Westin just gained approval for a huge redevelopment project, which will be great to have more space as they were sold out the week we were visiting.

One of the reasons we loved Cayman was that there is so much to do whether you’re traveling with just adults or as a family. When you don’t rent a car there are two options for getting around (beyond walking) - taxi cabs or local buses. Both are actually the exact same cars - small vans that are hard to distinguish between taxis and buses. Initially, we took cabs everywhere until we realized how easy, cheap and friendly the drivers were in the buses.

Many places also have their own shuttles that will come and get you from your hotel and drop you back off. The Cayman Turtle Center is a place that had just that so we had our concierge arrange to have them pick us up early one morning so we could get there upon opening. The Cayman Turtle Center is a conservation facility that was established in 1968. If you’re into turtles - seeing them, petting them and counting them… this is your spot! As Samuel likes to say, “so many!”

If you find yourself in Grand Cayman you have to visit one of its main attractions - Sting Ray City. We signed up for the excursion through Red Sail Sports who had a service desk at our hotel. Initially, I was a little nervous to take a 4 hour boat ride with an almost two-year-old who constantly just wants to jump in the water, but this ended up being an absolute highlight of the trip. The boat ride was beautiful and most of the time you are close to shore.

We had three stops on our excursion - Sting Ray City Sandbar, Starfish Point and a shallow coral reef to snorkel. When you get to “Sting Ray City” you can actually walk right on the shallow sand bar in the middle of the ocean. While there were lots of other people there, it was totally worth it. We were able to hold and touch many large Sting Rays who feel a lot like a wet mushroom, and were able to get several fantastic photos. Samuel even gave one a big kiss!

Starfish Point is a remote beach with plenty of starfish in the shallow waters. You are able to pick up the starfish and explore the organisms as long as you don’t take them out of the water. At our last stop, the reef for snorkeling, I decided to sit it out and keep Samuel on the boat. While the water is more shallow, it’s probably not the best area for a little one who can’t yet swim. Dada checked out the fish and surrounding coral while we stayed on the boat with a few other families who did the same.

When you need to take a break from the sun and water, Camana Bay is a little area of town that has shopping, dining, splash pads, a movie theater and other family-friendly amenities. I didn’t hear about this area until someone at the Westin recommended it to us.

I had a little fun on my own, shopping at Flagship by Vertu while they boys found a kids splash area where there were also wild chickens for Samuel to run after (between chickens, lizards and crabs, Samuel was infatuated by the bunny/squirrel equivalents on the island).

There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, but Agua was one that was suggested to us by some locals (we try and take their word wherever we go). It’s on the higher end of price points, but probably the most kid friendly restaurant we dined at. Sitting outside, right on the canal, we had an amazing meal. The kids menu had a wide range of options and the waitress was gracious enough to keep coming back to give Samuel “more cheese please - over and over again. My kid has a serious love affair with Parmesan on his noodles! What can I say? He’s Italian!

I did some research prior to the trip on some of the best restaurants on the island that were also kid friendly and there were plenty of them. Our favorites were Macabuca, Ragazzi and Tukka. Macabuca is a tiki bar with a beautiful ocean front view. While we did enjoy our time with Samuel, I have to say that this would be a perfect spot for Happy Hour or dinner with adults. The whole restaurant is on a deck so you have to be careful with little ones.

We didn’t know before visiting, but you can go snorkeling or diving (day or night) right from the back of the the restaurant. if you’re an underwater explorer, it doesn’t get much better than throwing off your fins and transitioning right to a cold drink and delicious meal. While we were there we saw a big group go out for night snorkeling and David actually went back the next day to see what he could find.

Tukka, another terrific spot, has it’s own shuttle and will pick you up and drop you off. The staff was friendly and they have a tarpon feeding in the evenings which Samuel thought was very interesting. To the left of the restaurant they also have a swing set, which we spent a lot of time at, and a giant iguana named Bobo who was also a big hit. What’s not to like about fish feeding, swinging, and animals to engage with while you wait for your meal? Toddler heaven.