Thank you for joining us in the Cayman Islands for our QP7!  We are just less than 3 weeks away from the weekend of the conference and we cannot wait to welcoming you in the Cayman Islands the weekend of the 11 and 12 June.

Please remember that the venue of the conference has changed, it is no longer the Marriott but the Auditorium of the Cayman Island Chamber of Commerce which is located in:

Unit 4-107, Governors Square

23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue,
West Bay, Grand Cayman,

Cayman Islands

The Auditorium is located at the Governor’s Square commercial centre where you will find places to eat, shop, etc.  It is an idyllic position as it is across seven mile beach, off West Bay Road and opposite to the Governor’s house.  Seven Mile Beach is served by two buses (line 1/yellow and 2/light green) that depart from George Town bus station – next to the Public Library opposite to the Courts of Law – and pass by Governor’s Square. Their fee is – CI$2.  They often have loads of change (be mindful they are not a bank cashier so change may be available to you out of a low denomination note) and they do take payment in U$S.  Buses do have specific stops, but if you flag them or look like a tourist they will peep their horn and invite you to jump in anywhere on their route.

From the airport, I would suggest that you take a taxi to your hotel.  As you clear customs and exit the terminal you’ll see immediately outside the terminal that there is a desk where you can book a taxi to anywhere on the island.  They will tell you the fare at the desk. If you require cash, there is an ATM inside the terminal building where the check-in desks are located (to the left of the arrival exit you will use to leave the customs’ area).

If you want to call a taxi from your hotel, I suggest that you ask your host/hostess or hotel for assistance. There is also a list of taxis in the following link <http://www.grandcaymanislandtaxi.com>

Please note that all prices (shops, taxis, buses, restaurants, etc) are in CI$ (Cayman Islands dollar). The exchange rate is peg to the U$S (CI$ 0.8 = U$S 1) Anywhere on island you can use either U$S or CI$, but please note that if you pay in U$S your change will be given to you in CI$. This is the law, there is no room for negotiation so please do not insist.

Hotels are expensive and there aren’t cheap accommodation (price wise) in the Cayman Islands.  The closer hotel which has a relatively low daily fee is Sunshine Suites <http://sunshinesuites.com>.  However, please note that May to July are the best time to find good offers in hotel accommodation as the high season is over and yet the weather is perfect with hardly any serious risk of hurricane hitting the Islands (more about hurricanes below).

Credit cards are accepted almost in any shop/restaurant/hotel. Please note that most restaurants’ bill will include tips! Be aware that if you pay with credit/debit card your slip to sign will have a place to add more tips.  This is not necessary as your bill would have included.

Make sure that you have a travel insurance in place that will cover air transportation to US in case of serious emergency.  The hospital in the Cayman Islands is good but may not be the right place for you in case of a major issue.  Please also note that the Hurricane season officially starts on 1 June.  I am not aware of any hurricane hitting the Cayman Islands during June ever; the earliest hurricane on records, of which I am aware, hit the Islands at the end July, In the unlike eventuality of hurricane during June, please note that there are refuges throughout the island.  You may also want to check whether your travel insurance would cover in such a situation. For more information I strongly recommend that you peruse the following official link so that you become familiar of what to do in case of a hurricane <http://www.caymanprepared.ky/portal/page/portal/hmchome/resources/brochures/HM_BROCH_RESIDENT%20KIT_2014_FINAL_WEB.pdf>

You will find very helpful as a visitor/tourist to peruse the pages in the following link <http://www.cita.ky> They contain essential information for visitors/tourist. If you still have any question, please let me know by email and I shall be happy to assist.

We shall be publishing the final programme for you to print closer to the weekend of the conference in which you will also be advised of other activities related to the conference that will take place pre and during the conference.