See the general Cayman Islands Formalities page for full details.
Port security operate on VHF channels 16 & 14 and work efficiently 24 hours a day. Call them for clearance instructions when approaching George Town.
This port is very busy with cruise ship traffic and shuttle boats.
A Harbour Patrol boat will meet and escort you to the Customs dock to complete customs and immigration formalities. (see photo below courtesy of Brian Simm). It is possible to request permission to check in from a mooring, rather than go alongside the dock, due to a nearby coral head which is above water. Cruisers have reported being offered a lift to shore by the authorities.
Boats must arrive with an outbound clearance from their last port of call. Even if you have checked in at Cayman Brac you must do all the paperwork again for customs.
Cruisers report no charge for Visas (30 days).
Officials are reported to be very polite, helpful and friendly.
Clearing out can be done on shore and all the crew must attend.
Cruisers have reported being fined for failing to fly the "Q" flag upon arrival, dropping an anchor on coral (you must anchor in sandy spots only), or failing to report directly and immediately to George Town (unless advised otherwise by George Town Security).
If any cruise ships have recently arrived, yachts will need to wait until they have been cleared first.
If there is a strong northwesterly wind, then the Authorities may direct you to anchor at Spotts Bay on the southern side of the island (be sure to avoid anchoring in coral!)
Last updated: February 2023
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As reported by Brian Simm:
Grand Cayman checks in and out may only be made at Georgetown with the boat present for check-in. After that, the most sheltered anchorages in Grand Cayman are accessed from north sound and are in the residential canals and lagoons for boats of up to 2.5m or so draft. After entering north sound through the poorly marked main channel the main routes are accessible to 2.8 m.
Governor’s creek with the Cayman Islands marina is a large sheltered anchorage area at up to 4m. Entrance is buoyed at N19.21.45 W81.22.17. The marina has an outside dock for fuel and water.
Mitchell’s creek further in from Governor’s is accessible through the canals at 2.4m center channel and 2.2m in the anchorage. There is a mini marina with 3 or 4 catamarans, the owner, John’ has 4 moorings, white conical with a blue top band that he may allow cruisers to use free, otherwise free range anchoring area.
Further south from the main lagoon is the shopping center and marina of Camana bay; entrance from the sound at N19.19.48 W81.21.78 through a buoyed channel. This has been designed with dredged access of 1.7m. The channels are one way; with the north channel in and the south channel out. The very sheltered marina has a number of free slips on a first come first served basis and a moderate overnight charge-though they may not suit larger boats.
Further south still near the airport is a buoyed channel to Barcadere marina and at the very bottom of the sound is Harbour house marina which is a work yard with some mooring in a concrete channel. Both these latter have Marine chandleries.
Grand Cayman is a full duty-free stop for shipping in spare parts to boats in transit, 48 hr by air from UK or USA. Personal clearance for items can be made at the airport or more expensively via couriers. Also for booze, but the proviso for both is that customs officers must see goods onboard to boat.
Brian Simm
SV Scraatch, Sundeer 56
As reported by the CSSN – 12 May, 2017:
For three weeks a yacht’s dinghy/outboard was pulled ashore well above the tide line at 6PM and left unlocked in downtown George Town while the owners went to the weekly happy hour nearby. When they returned at 8PM the dinghy/outboard had been stolen. A police report was filed by phone. Owners advise locking to the Lobster Pot dive center dock instead.
When arriving in Georgetown hail “Georgetown Port Security,” not Port Authority – they tend to not respond to anything but Port Security.