Cayman Turtle Centre
Things to do..
The Green's Breeding Pond - There are only a few species so ancient that they can say they watched dinosaurs evolve and then later become extinct. As you start your adventure, your first encounter will take you within feet of some of the most majestic and ancient animals in the world!
Turtle Touch Tanks - Here you will find yearling turtles swimming and playing. Reach in to touch or pick one up for a photo of a lifetime! Be sure to hold them firmly and stay near the tank. You can get in the Touch Tank Wading Pools for an even closer encounter with our yearlings! Professional photographers are nearby, ready to make sure you and your family have an extra-special photo to keep.
Smiley's Saltwater Lagoon - Our 11 foot and growing and over 300 pounds American saltwater crocodile resides here! In late 2006 Grand Cayman received an unexpected visitor, Smiley, the first crocodile seen in the Cayman Islands since the late-1950s! She and her crocodile ancestors were originally called “Caimanas” by the early Spanish explorers, from which the Cayman Islands derived its name. Smiley actually has two compartments – a freshwater one and a saltwater one, so that she can go in either one depending on how she feels. Crocodiles have a slow metabolism and so Smiley only gets fed a couple of times a week, but feeding times are spectacular and very popular with visitors.
Breakers Lagoon - Cool off and relax at Breaker’s Lagoon – the largest swimming pool on island - which boasts two fun waterfalls and its own underwater viewing panel for another opportunity to peer into the fascinating predator tank! Coming soon: Turtle Twister Water Slide! This pool is named after the breakers off the eastern districts; these are shallow areas such as reefs where you can see waves break.
Predator Reef - Peer through the underwater or dry viewing panels and come nose-to-nose with large nurse sharks! Other amazing predators include tarpon, barracuda, and even a hawksbill turtle live here. Ask our trainers about feeding times! You don’t want to miss this feeding frenzy of fun!
Caribbean Free Flight Aviary - Not all of our animal friends live in the water. Stroll around the Caribbean Aviary to meet local and exotic Caribbean birds; including the Cayman Parrot, our national bird, and the colourful Scarlet Ibis. Some birds are busy making nests or foraging for food but ask about close-up encounters – visitors are able to ask a staff member for bird food so that they can feed many of the birds in the aviary by hand. There are also peafowl on their very own two islands in the middle of the Saltwater Lagoon. There are beautiful white peacocks to see as well as the more ‘traditional’ blue peacocks. If visitors are lucky, they will display their tail feathers, and sometimes their chicks can be seen too!
Turtle Lagoon - You don’t just have to watch the turtles. Jump in and swim with yearling green sea turtles and other colorful marine life in Turtle Lagoon! This lagoon is also adorned with coral, and little islands where iguanas and peacocks live – you can’t experience a snorkeling trip like this anywhere else.
The Butterfly Garden - right next to the Aviary, is a great place to see a wide range of butterflies. A total of 18 different butterfly species have been seen there. Some are large and colorful, while others are tiny and may be plain white or black in color. The plants have been specially picked for the garden, to attract a wide range of butterflies. Look on the underside of the leaves, and you can often see their eggs, and the many different kinds of caterpillar that will one day become butterflies themselves!
Cayman Street - Take a walk through the ambience of days gone by on Cayman Street – a gravel path laced with old traditional homes, sand gardens, thatch relics and conch shells.
Blue Hole Nature Trail - The Blue Hole Nature Trail is named after the mysterious blue cave which is habitat to the only known species of an Amphipod – that is a tiny aquatic side swimming crustacean – in the world.