Get Vitalized On Your Vacay
Eco-wellness tourism is the fastest growing area in the travel industry. Worth a cool $500bn, luxury wellness retreats and eco-friendly hotel options are popping up across the globe to cater to this rising trend.
If an eco-wellness vacation is on your travel bucket list, look no further than the Cayman Islands. These small but mighty islands pack a big punch when it comes to sustainable and healthy options for visitors.
Before you even arrive, you can help neutralize your flight’s carbon dioxide through “carbon offsetting”, which involves paying someone to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from your flight. In the UK you can purchase your carbon offset from Climate Care, or from the US, try companies such as Carbon Fund or TerraPass.
All three islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are ideal for bicycles, so you may not need to rent a car at all and save on carbon emissions that way. The Marriott Grand Cayman Beach House even provides cute retro-style bikes for guests to explore the island. Inspired by the chic French designs of the late 1950’s, these iconic frames embody the simple elegance and form of the Beach Boy era - we wholly recommend you try one!
Another great way to get around the island is by boat or catamaran (if there’s a breeze, ask your captain to hoist the main sail). Grand Cayman has a number of luxurious, affordable and friendly charters to choose from for your day at sea. Make sure to include a stop at Stingray City. This is still hands down the best thing to do like a local in the Cayman Islands. Go on a Sunday for a truly non-touristy vibe.
Fun times with Mainstay Sailing
If you do decide to stay at The Marriott Beach House, book in at their stunning wellness spa, Botanika Union, which offers an ever-changing menu of holistic treatments and therapies as well as eco-conscious products including renowned brand Naturopathica. Try their life changing Alpine Arnica Deep Tissue Therapy treatment - experience Russian massage techniques and nature’s best pain relievers: arnica, sweet birch and magnesium. It’s a game-changer, you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy a locally-brewed Kombucha and check out the Apothecary Table before you leave - all sorts of tinctures, teas, and plant-based remedies are on show.
Insider tip: head to the Marriott Towel Hut for a hit of freshly-cut cucumber and aloe vera leaves to help soothe and revitalize the skin.
Botanika Union at The Marriott Beach House, Grand Cayman
When it comes to fitness and wellbeing activities, you’ll be spoilt for choice in the Cayman Islands. From early morning yoga paddle-boarding classes and the ultimate ‘green’ adventure, a Hobie Cat Safari (this is a must-do) to rock-climbing in Cayman Brac, finding secret islands and shady hammocks in Little Cayman, scuba diving Grand Cayman’s Wall, kite-surfing or night-time bio-bay kayaking. Cayman has everything you need whether you’re a water baby or adrenaline-junkie.
After all this fun and healthy activity, you’ll no doubt work up an appetite. Visit George Town’s fish market and farmers’ markets, or one of the many eco-friendly and sustainable island restaurants for local ingredients including spicy scotch bonnets, callaloo, sweet mangoes, and freshly caught wahoo.
And let’s be honest, nothing soothes the soul like sipping a drink, on the beach, watching the sunset. Make it a plastic-free sip at North Side beach bar Kaibo, with their paper straws and recycled bio-degradable to-go containers.
Insider tip: Tuesdays are Kaibo’s Barefoot Beach BBQ – a night of soul food, music, and some good old limbo on the beach. Good times!
Whether you’re a traveler looking for a wellness luxury getaway or an eco-adventurer seeking the ultimate local experience…there’s a vacation waiting for you in The Cayman Islands.
Get off the beaten track and try a local fish fry for your next meal. It’ll be some of the best fish you’ll ever taste and an experience to remember.