One of the favorite things to do in the Cayman Islands aside from diving and shopping is swimming with stingrays. Most of us have seen one or two at the beach or while snorkeling, and we generally keep a safe distance. Normally they are very cautious creatures and of course there is that barb on their tail. Not so in the Cayman Islands. There are hundreds of friendly stingrays waiting to make your acquaintance.
Just off the coast of Cayman Islands, there’s a sandbar where the fishermen dumped their chum from fishing. Stingrays would come for the free food and more or less became comfortable around humans. They’ve stuck around the area even after the the fishermen came and went. And now it is a popular tourist attraction.
Getting to Stingray City
Typically small boats will take you out to the sandbar. It is generally less than five feet of water but somewhat higher in other areas. Stingrays of all sizes are waiting there to be fed by you. The guides will give you squid to to feed the sting rays. It’s sort of like feeding a horse. They have a very soft mouth and they will not bite you if you hold your hands flat. They will take the squid right out of your hands and they are very soft, and you can hold them. Some of the largest that you will see have a wingspan of up to about five feet. There’s also plenty of smaller ones.
Cautions while Swimming With Stingrays
Now stingrays are also dangerous so you have to be careful of the barbs. But it’s rare that somebody actually gets stung swimming with stingrays if they’re safe and careful. You will also notice that Barracuda frequent the area which is a little unnerving. They tend to line up perpendicular to you so you really can’t see them. But we never had any problems. We were aware that they were there and we just were safe and the guides kept their eyes on the Barracuda. While it’s probably safe for almost anyone, I wouldn’t recommend small children. They might not react well with the stingrays and could produce a defensive reaction if they get scared.
