Not to miss

George Town

Bursting with condos and bejewelled with satellite dishes, the capital could easily resemble a generic North American, mini-malled, urban area were it not for its undeniably Caribbean seaside setting.

Attractions include a modest historical walking tour which takes in the remains of the late-18th-century Fort George and the Cayman Islands National Museum, situated in the town's oldest building. The museum features changing exhibits on the islands' human and natural history.

Another attraction is the Cayman Maritime Treasure Museum, which has dioramas on the islands' seafaring days and a robotic Blackbeard that spins yarns about the Caymans' swashbuckling past. Otherwise, George Town functions mostly as a supply centre and shopping mall. Stretching north along West Bay is Seven Mile Beach, which, if you don't mind the daisy chain of hotels, offers pristine white sand and good diving.

Cayman Brac

Taking its name from the Gaelic word for 'bluff', Cayman Brac rises to 45m (140ft) at its eastern end. The island is mostly wilderness, home to a nearly equal number of settlements and resorts. It's covered in fruit trees, orchids and cacti, and surrounded by good beaches.

Spelunkers can go caving along the northern shore and under the bluff where, according to legend, pirates used to stow away their loot. The road to the top of the bluff passes through the National Trust Parrot Reserve, nesting ground for the islands' emerald green native species.

The reserve also features guided hikes along a nature trail although the parrot reserve is not exactly a parrot-spotting bonanza - most of the parrots seem to hang around in town where the pickings are richer.

You can browse shipbuilding tools and kitchen utensils at the wee Cayman Brac Museum in Stake Bay on the northern shore, or if you're into diving, the Brac's most famous dive site is a Russian destroyer, purpose-sunk in 1996 to give divers the opportunity to do their own post-Cold War reccy mission. The ship is also turning into a dandy artificial reef.

Boatswain's Beach (Cayman Turtle Farm)

The unique and fascinating Cayman Turtle Farm at Boatswain's Beach is a facility that raises green sea turtles from hatchlings to behemoths averaging more than 135kg (300lb). While protecting wild populations by meeting market demand for turtle products, the farm has, over the years, released thousands of hatchlings into the waters surrounding the Caymans.

Visitors can peer into tanks filled with specimens ranging from babies to massive adults moshing about in their breeding pond. You can also watch tanks full of marine predators and a gift shop sells souvenirs.

Wreck of the Ten Sails Park

Part of the craggy coastline at the eastern tip of Grand Cayman, this park commemorates the islands most legendary shipwreck. On a fateful night in February 1794, the Cordelia, leading a convoy of merchant ships bound from Jamaica to Britain, ran aground on the reef at East End.

In a tragic case of crossed signals, the warning issued from the Cordelia to the other ships was misinterpreted as a call to follow more closely, and one by one nine more ships crashed into the reef. Fortunately for the imperilled sailors, the able mariners living on the island's craggy East End sprang into action, showing great heroism in ensuring that no lives were lost. Popular legend states that as a reward for this, King George III granted the islands eternal freedom from taxation. Even though actual records do not entirely support this story, the tale seems permanently ingrained in Caymanian lore (and possibly served as an inspiration for the contemporary tax code).

Pedro St. James Castle

This imposing Caribbean great house dates from 1780, making it the oldest building in the Caymans, and it's been everything from a jail to a courthouse to parliament before recent refurbishments turned it into a museum. The Castle is touted as the islands' 'birthplace of democracy': in 1831 the decision was made here to vote for elected representatives.

Just as momentously, this is the place that the Slavery Abolition Act was read in 1835. It now houses a museum featuring a multimedia presentation evoking 18th century Cayman and the grounds showcase native flora.