Boating Neighbourhoods in Grand Cayman

There are a number of waterways that cut inland from the North Sound, creating canal subdivisions that are a very nice, more affordable alternative to buying or renting property directly on the oceanfront. If you are planning to buy a boat, you cannot beat the convenience of having a dock right in front of your home or apartment.

There are more than 20 canal subdivisions in Grand Cayman, half of which can be found along the Seven Mile Beach corridor and West Bay, and the other half run east from Prospect to North Sound Estates and the Cays in Rum Point. Canal subdivisions take time to mature and be built out and this will have a significant effect on the values that land and homes in these areas can command. Over time, this will change as various subdivisions develop and it is something to think about when buying.

The following is a straightforward and honest overview of the various canal subdivisions, which can be classed into five levels, one being the most expensive and five being the most affordable. Some subdivisions straddle two levels and this invariably depends on specific roads within the area and the quality of the homes and landscaping on those roads.

Level 1: Top-of-the-line estate homes, meticulously maintained with strong covenants and manned security gates. For example, Vista Del Mar, The Ritz-Carlton Deckhouses, Lalique Pointé, Diamond’s Edge and Salt Creek are first in class in these tier-one communities because of their covenants, exclusivity, attention to detail, well-maintained public open spaces, amenities offered, security and the quality of building. The most expensive, non-beachfront homes are found here. Additionally there is OLEA, which was designed for residents to walk to Camana Bay for work, education and entertainment. The development has beautifully landscaped common areas and access to the highest-quality amenities.

Level 1.5: The non-gated, yet very prestigious, Cayman Islands Yacht Club has benefitted the most from direct access via the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, and residents are taking advantage of its boating facilities and two very good restaurants, Morgan’s and Bàcaro. In due course, a pedestrian trail to Seven Mile Beach will be built. Inside the Yacht Club there is a gated community called Stone Island.

Level 2: Excellent maintenance and services, these are luxury homes with a manned security gate and strong covenants. Crystal Harbour leads this class of the field and has been one of the most actively developed canal subdivisions on Grand Cayman in recent years. Popular subdivisions within Crystal Harbour include Cypress Pointe, Cypress Pointe North and Solara. Britannia and Britannia Estates are well established and still very well-regarded and a convenient living location. One important consideration, if you are planning on buying land to build on, is that concrete pilings are required in the house foundations of properties in both the Yacht Club and Crystal Harbour. This raises the cost of construction considerably. Crystal Harbour also offers some amenities, including a children's park and tennis and pickleball courts.

Level 3: Good services, mid to luxury level homes, well maintained with good covenants. Canal Point is in this class, followed by The Shores and Mangrove Point, all gated neighbourhoods with evening manned security. Governors Harbour has lost its sheen due to the lack of a landscaping buffer from the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and haphazard road maintenance, but this could change. Other canal-front developments in the area include ONE Canal Point and Clipper Bay, which is located between Snug Harbour and Canal Point.

Grand Harbour is the most conveniently located of the Eastern subdivisions and many of the homes here are high-level properties. There are three distinct areas to Grand Harbour: the older and more developed side called South Reach, which is now a gated community, The Isles and The Estates, both of which have had a lot of recent building. Grand Harbour has been completely transformed by the addition of Harbour Walk, which has restaurants, a hairdresser, gym, offices and residences just like Camana Bay. In addition to the supermarket called Hurley's, which is at Grand Harbour shopping centre, there are liquor stores, a pharmacy, medical and dental offices, a yoga studio and a school. The very popular skate park behind the Shoppes at Grand Harbour has very sadly closed which is a huge loss to Cayman's children. There is also Arvia, which is a complex of townhouses and condos on the Grand Harbour canal. Aura and Indigo Bay which were new arrivals in 2023, and offer high-end oceanfront condominiums. A little further east, Patrick’s Island has some beautiful homes with mature landscaping and wide, open basins. It also backs onto a huge sway of undeveloped land with numerous dyke roads that lead to the North Sound via inland lakes and are lovely for walking dogs, running and getting away from it all. Patrick's Island has permission to become a gated community and the gates have been installed, but are not yet operational. Sunrise Landing rounds out this level. No houses are built in the Cays at Rum Point yet due to navigability issues in the canals.

Level 4: Decent services with mixed mid-level homes, older subdivisions like Red Bay, Omega and Prospect all have their 'good' and 'not as good' sections. Palm Heights in Snug Harbour has the benefit of looking across at Britannia, but this area contains mainly duplex properties. Canal subdivisions in this level include Palm Heights, Omega, Sunrise Landing and Newlands Sound. New canal-front developments include Paraiso in Grand Harbour and The Lagoons in Omega Bay. Finally, Ocean Crest and Allure, in Tropical Gardens, are two new oceanfront complexes.

Level 5: Minimal maintenance and either no covenants or these are not enforced. Mid-level to lower-value homes, but most still to a very reasonable standard. All these subdivisions are similar, mixed-quality developments. The developers are now deceased, so there is no consistent, ongoing maintenance undertaken. North Sound Estates is farther out but has been quite active due to pricing. Some homes are very nice, but there is too much debris around, which keeps prices down. Canal subdivisions in this level include Red Bay, Prospect and North Sound Estates, all of which straddle levels 4 and 5, depending on which street you are looking at.