Forget the bling of Barbados, the Cayman Islands Offer Swimming With Stingrays, 6,000ft-deep Underwater Cliffs and Your Very Own Desert Island Getaway

Forget the bling of Barbados, the Cayman Islands offer swimming with stingrays, 6,000ft-deep underwater cliffs and your very own desert island getaway.

Caribbean island is known for having some of the world’s best dive sites, Stingrays, turtles and even sharks inhabit the crystal-clear waters, there’s also lots to see above sea level including iguanas which turn blue.

‘The thing about the Cayman Islands is that the best sights are underwater,’ said my taxi driver as he drove along the dusty road from the airport. ‘There’s just not a great deal above sea level.’

After a week exploring the trio of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman islands which make up the Cayman Islands, I had to disagree.

While the Cayman Islands (the name comes from the word for crocodile, although they were originally named Las Tortugas by Christopher Columbus due to all the turtles he saw swimming there) lack the ‘bling’ factor of their Caribbean neighbours such as Barbados and St Lucia or the flamboyant night-life of Jamaica or Cuba, it is certainly not just a diving-only destination.

By SARAH BRIDGE FOR MAILONLINE