After a transatlantic move and a couple months of unpacking and settling into our new home in Atlanta, I was desperate for a little R&R before baby girl Scott made her appearance. Cole and I decided that Grand Cayman would make the perfect destination for our mini ‘babymoon’ for a few reasons: 1) it’s Zika free, 2) it’s a short flight from Atlanta so could travel there easily despite being 33 weeks pregnant and 3) my company has an incredible property, the Kimpton Seafire, in Grand Cayman that I’d been dying to check out since it opened a couple years ago.

We planned our trip for an extended long weekend, arriving Friday midday and flying back out on Monday midday. It was the perfect amount of time to relax, read by the pool, enjoy the gorgeous turquoise water at the beach and explore a bit of the island.

For most of our stay, we hung out around the hotel and nearby area. The Seafire is right on the famous Seven Mile Beach and close to many of the major resorts in Grand Cayman. The day we arrived, we made the most of our afternoon despite the clouds and sporadic rain, and hung out by the pool and enjoying our beautiful views off our balcony. That evening we ate at the hotel’s Mexican restaurant, Coccoloba, which had some absolutely delicious food and was located right on the beach. What made it even better was the live music playing some of our favorite music.

The next day, we attempted a morning run although the heat made it pretty tough. We spent the majority of the day at the pool and beach, reading our books and relaxing. That evening, we ventured out first to the Northern part of the island called West Bay. We followed a recommendation from one of the hotel staff to enjoy the sunset at her favorite local waterfront bar, Macabuca. We enjoyed some cocktails and an appetizer on their deck that literally sits on the water. The restaurant also serves as a launching pad for divers, so it was neat to see people gearing up for their night dive.

Afterwards, we headed back south to the capital of Grand Cayman, George Town. George Town serves as the main port for the cruises that visit Grand Cayman so during the day its full of tourists, but it’s actually quiet in the evening. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant which was pretty good but overlooked the water, but nothing to write home about. Although, if you’re looking for good Italian in George Town, another guest mentioned to us the other restaurant we were choosing between, Cassanova, was great. Our final stop of the night was Gelato & Co in Camana Bay, which offers the best authentic gelato in the city.

Our final full day, Cole and I biked the short ride over to Camana Bay to get breakfast at Jessie’s Juice Bar. I had read about this cute restaurant loved by locals in my research and it did not disappoint. We shared an acai bowl and yogurt bowl and got some locally roasted coffee. We biked around a bit before heading back to the hotel to spend a few hours by the pool. Later that afternoon, we decided to road trip around to explore the other parts of the island. Our first stop was to find the best jerk chicken on the island, which we found at Peppers – highly recommend!! We then stopped by to check out the blowholes on the southern part of the island, and then headed around the East End before our final stops near Rum Point. We quickly walked around Starfish Point before heading over to grab some drinks at Kaibo, this awesome beach bar which we had heard so many things about. Turns out, it was originally built for the Queen’s visit back in the 1980’s and then established a restaurant a decade later. It’s a favorite among tourists and locals and known to have the best mudslides on the island. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test this out for myself but did enjoy some of their mocktails. We had dinner that evening back in Camana Bay at the Asian restaurant, Mizu, which was really good.

Our final day, we feasted on the hotel breakfast and then spent the rest of the morning soaking up the last bit of sun before our midday flight. Cole and I loved Grand Cayman and look forward to coming back as a family of three in the future!