Visit Stingray City, Grand Cayman, Caribbean
Feed and Swim with Wild Stingrays for the Experience of a Lifetime
Apr 9, 2009
Located in Grand Cayman’s North Sound, Stingray City is a naturally occurring string of sandbars stretching from Morgan Harbor to Rum Point. This natural attraction draws hundreds of tourists daily who come to frolic in the shallow waters with these friendly sea creatures, making it one of the Caribbean’s most popular shore excursions.
Learn About the Southern Stingray
The common ray in the Cayman waters is the Southern Stingray, a relatively harmless creature whose name derives from its barbed spine and whip-like tail. Rays have flat and smooth, pancake-shaped bodies, with eyes located on the upper side of their body. Their mouths are located on their white underbelly, perfectly positioned for skimming the sandy ocean floor for crustaceans and other mollusks which constitute the main part of the ray’s diet.
Stiongray City and Sandbar Located off the Coast of Grand Cayman
The stingrays of Stingray City and the second ray-populated location referred to as Sandbar, were first drawn to the area by local fishermen who anchored their boats to clean their catches before returning to shore. The free supply of food attracted the usually shy rays which soon began to associate the sounds of the boats’ motors with a free feeding frenzy. In the 1980s, divers to the area began feeding the stingrays with pieces of squid which further attracted dozens of rays daily, now lured by the smell of the squid and the sound of the motor boats. Thus, Stingray City was born.
The stingrays are wild. This is not a controlled area and the rays come to here of their own free will. Tourists who flock to the areas can take part in feeding the stingrays squid while the more daring visitors can plant a good luck kiss on the ray's smooth surface.
The mostly female stingrays are friendly and cat-like in nature as they are quite playful, alternating between gliding above the sand and sliding right up on a tourist’s shoulders when immersed in the water. The larger female rays have wingspans of almost 3 ft, allowing them to “hug” visitors. Velvety smooth to the touch on top, and rubbery on the underside, tourists are trained in the proper handling so there is no harm to either the stingrays or tourists.
Stingray City Chartered Boat Tours
All chartered tours are run with a knowledgeable guide who will instruct tour passengers the proper way of handling and feeding wild stingrays. Stingrays must only be petted from the head to the tail due to their barbed spines which can cut into skin when brushed the wrong way. Each handler will stand at the back of a ray in order to keep the safety risk to a minimum and ensure there are no accidents. These rays are not dangerous, and one should be worried or confuse them with the type of ray which killed Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin in 2006. The tour guide will steer one of the giant rays to each person to provide a chance for one-on-one interaction. Although the guide will offer up one ray for inspection, other wild rays continuously circle tour group passengers which individuals are free to pet or feed on their own.
Chartered tours are available from George Town and Rum Point on Grand Cayman from a variety of local operators. Charters cater to all group sizes and offer a variety of trip durations which often include stops at nearby snorkeling sites among the island’s many coral reefs. As well, several cruise ships dock in Georgetown for the day and offer their own excursions directly from the cruise line to either Stingray City or Sandbar.
Tours Depart Daily from Grand Cayman
When planning a trip to Grand Cayman, it is not necessary to make arrangements in advance for tours to Stingray City as there are frequent departures both in the morning and afternoon. An afternoon tour is preferable as there are less cruise line passengers on tours making the number of rays per tour group more abundant. Stingrays are always hungry, so there is no need to worry that these sociable creatures will not be eager to eat after their morning feeding.
For a unique and memorable trip, Stingray City is a must-see for any visitor to Grand Cayman.
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