Grand Cayman Attractions

Venue: Stingray City    When: Daily

Stingray City is a natural wonder and the Cayman Islands' most popular tourist attraction. Out to sea in North Sound is a natural shallow channel of water where stingrays come to feed. Although they have a vicious sting in their tail (literally) the fish are non-aggressive and friendly to humans. Stingray City is the only place in the world where you can swim with them in a totally natural environment.

Tour operators and snorkelling and diving companies take visitors out to the city on a short boat ride from the shore. There you can dive or, at the particularly shallow sandbar, wade waist deep in company with the fish.

Stingrays are large flat fish, females growing as much as six feet across. Their eyes are on the tops of their heads, their mouths below, so they can't actually see what they're eating, only sense it, which can involve trying to eat you instead of their food. Luckily they don't have any teeth, they just suck, so you'll just get a small bruise if one tries to gobble you up. It's recommended you wear a light wetsuit to avoid any embarassing red spots.

Stingrays actually seem to quite like humans - they don't actually realise they are trying to eat you - and swimming with them means a marvellous introduction to a beautiful, graceful animal that normally lurks on the bottom of the sea, camouflaged safely out of the sight of humans.

Numerous tour companies organise visits to see the fish. The tourist office should be able to recommend a good one.