Smooching Stingrays at Stingray City in Grand Cayman

Stingray City is a collection of shallow sandbars found in the North Sound of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. Each year tourists flock to the area for the opportunity to swim with southern stingrays. The waters of Stingray City are shallow making it easy to wade and interact with the animals.

Where is Stingray City?

Stingray City is located just off the coast of the island of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. The sandbars are inside a narrow channel that pass through a barrier reef. The sandbars dot the coast of the North Sound from Morgan Harbour to Rum Point.

Wait… What Are All of These Stingrays Doing Here?

Local legend has it that decades ago fisherman would pull their boats into the shallow channel to clean their fish. The reef helped to block the waves and tradewinds allowing fishermen to have calm waters to clean their fish. The fishermen would toss the fish guts and squid overboard. Eventually, stingrays began congregating here to feast. I mean…who can blame them, it’s basically a free meal!

Over time, stingrays began associating the hum of the boats engine with mealtime. Pavlov would be very proud! Today, private watercrafts, and tours, gather at Stingray City to frolic with the gentle stingrays.

How do the Stingray City Tours Work?

There are a wide variety of companies that offer Stingray City excursions. Once you book your tour, you be transported out to the sandbars. As soon as the stingrays hear the boat engines, they’ll start heading towards your vessel. You’ll be handed some snorkel and safety gear before you disembark. The water here is shallow- we’re talking waist-to-chest high so it feels as though you’re in a pool with them rather than in the open waters.

The boat crew typically brings along chum or squid that they toss into the waters to encourage the animals to hang around longer.

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FUN FACT: A GROUP OF STINGRAYS IS CALLED A FEVER.

Wait…Aren’t Stingrays Dangerous?

Of course, we’ve all heard about the death of the legendary Steve Irwin. In 2006 Irwin lost his life after a stingray barb tragically pierced his heart. This was an absolute freak accident. I have had quite a bit of experience with stingrays and I have to tell you, they are easily some of the most gentle creatures I’ve ever encountered.

The interesting thing about these stingrays is that they are so incredibly used to being handled by humans that they pose little to no threat at all. For generations they have been fed by humans so now they willingly allow humans to handle them, pet them, and will pose like a popstar all day long.

Also, stingrays never attack humans, unless they have been provoked. Stingrays are gentle creatures and do not consider us as prey. Stingrays will only react if they feel threatened or if they are stepped on.

As a Floridian, I learned the “Stingray Shuffle” at a young age. The Stingray Shuffle is a way of walking in the water to avoid stepping on ocean life. Rather than picking up your feet, you drag them across the sandy bottom.

Our Experience

We had an absolute blast on our excursion to Stingray City. Admittedly, I was thinking about Steve Irwin the entire ride out to the sandbar. It totally psyched me out. By the time I got to the sandbar my stomach was in knots!

Before disembarking our boat, we were given a safety briefing. During the briefing, the crew demonstrated how to do the Stingray Shuffle. The Stingray Shuffle is a way of walking in the water to avoid stepping on ocean life. Rather than picking up your feet, you drag them across the sandy bottom. They also showed us how to properly hold squid when feeding the stingrays. When feeding the rays, make sure you tuck your thumb into your fist…unless you want your thumb to be inhaled by a stingray, that is.

Even though I’ve had plenty of experiences with stingrays at our local zoo, I was still really nervous when entering the water. Almost immediately the rays began surrounding me, ticketing me with their velvety wings. It took a few minutes to get acclimated to the feeling of the rays swimming up against me. Within minutes I was eagerly petting and feeding the stingrays. I even had a stingray climb on my back and give me a massage! By the end of our visit, I was kissing every stingray that came near me.

It was truly an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait to take my little ones to Stingray City! My experience at Stingray City inspired me to swim with nurse sharks and rays in Belize. I just can’t get enough of these gentle, graceful creatures!

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