Cayman Crystal Caves

These Stunning Caribbean Caves Were Just Named One of the World’s Top Attractions by Tripadvisor

"On Grand Cayman's Northside, I learned that the Cayman Crystal Caves opened to the public in March 2016 after Christian Sorensen spent years (1997–2011) acquiring land and building infrastructure and began exhibit work in 2012. The 1.5-hour guided tour leads through a tropical forest and three caves formed millions of years ago—once underwater, as evidenced by fossilized shells—where rainwater on limestone created stunning, crystal-like stalagmites and stalactites. The route includes an open-ceiling cave, a root cave, and a dramatic lake cave illuminated with lights, and the surrounding forest offers chances to spot balsam trees, air plants, parrots, and bats; there is also a Dusk to Dark Evening Bat Tour where bats fly directly over your head into the sunset. Highly popular with visitors, the attraction has amassed more than 2,700 five-star Tripadvisor reviews and was named No. 5 in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards—the only Caribbean site in the top 25—and guests frequently praise the guides’ knowledge and humor, calling the caves breathtaking and highly recommendable." - Rachel Chang Rachel Chang Rachel Chang is a travel and pop culture journalist who contributes to Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines

"Though a relatively new option for tourists, the Crystal Caves of Grand Cayman’s Old Man Bay have been hosting other sorts of visitors since time immemorial: Everyone from bats (who still hang out near the entrance) to farmers (in search of the attendant guano) to pirates (where better to dodge both hurricanes and the law?). Shrouded within a healthy radius of rain forest, these stalactite-and-stalagmite-studded caverns are well worth your visit, too; whether or not you locate the treasure that some of the previous occupants are rumored to have left behind, you’ll find a wealth of natural beauty—especially the reflection of all those formations in the gin-clear rainwater lake."