The capital, George Town, can easily be explored in an afternoon; stop by for its restaurants and shops (and banks!)--not sights. The town does offer a clock monument to King George V and the oldest government building in use in the Caymans today, the post office on Edward Street. Stamps sold here are avidly sought by collectors.

The island's premier museum, the Cayman Islands National Museum, Harbor Drive, in George Town (tel. 345/949-8368), is in a much-restored clapboard-sided antique building directly on the water. (The veranda-fronted building served until recently as the island's courthouse.) The formal exhibits include a collection of Caymanian artifacts collected by Ira Thompson beginning in the 1930s. Today the museum incorporates a gift shop, theater, cafe, and more than 2,000 items portraying the natural, social, and cultural history of the Caymans. Admission is CI$4 (U.S.$5) for adults and CI$2 (U.S.$2.50) for children 7 to 12 and seniors, free for children 6 and under. It's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 10am to 2pm (last admission is half an hour prior to closing).

Elsewhere on the island, you might go to Hell! That's at the north end of West Bay Beach, a jagged piece of rock named Hell by a former commissioner. There the postmistress will stamp "Hell, Grand Cayman" on your postcard to send back to the States.

The * Cayman Turtle Farm, Northwest Point (tel. 345/949-3893), is the only green sea-turtle farm of its kind in the world. Once the islands had a multitude of turtles in the surrounding waters (which is why Columbus called the islands "Las Tortugas"), but today these creatures are sadly few in number, and the green sea turtle has been designated an endangered species (you cannot bring turtle products into the United States). The turtle farm exists to provide the local market with edible turtle meat (preventing the need to hunt them in the wild) and to replenish the waters with hatchling and yearling turtles. Visitors today can look at 100 circular concrete tanks in which these sea creatures can be observed in every stage of development; the hope is that one day their population in the sea will regain its former status. Turtles here range in size from 6 ounces to 600 pounds. At a snack bar and restaurant, you can sample turtle dishes. The turtle farm is open daily from 8:30am to 5pm. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12, free for children 5 and under.

At Batabano, on the North Sound, fishers tie up with their catch, much to the delight of photographers. You can buy lobster (in season), fresh fish, even conch. A large barrier reef protects the sound, which is surrounded on three sides by the island and is a mecca for diving and sports fishing.

If you're driving, you might want to go along South Sound Road, which is lined with pines and, in places, old wooden Caymanian houses. After leaving the houses behind, you'll find good spots for a picnic.

Pedro St. James National Historic Site, Savannah (tel. 345/947-3329), is a restored great house dating from 1780, when only 400 people lived on the island. It outlasted all the hurricanes until 1970 but was destroyed by fire that year. Now it's been rebuilt and is the centerpiece of a new heritage park with a visitor center and an audiovisual theater with a laser light show. Because of its size, the great house was called "the Castle" by generations of Caymanians. Its primary historic importance dates from December 5, 1831, when residents met here to elect Cayman's first legislative assembly. Therefore, Pedro St. James is the cradle of the island's democracy. The great house sits atop a limestone bluff with a panoramic view of the sea. Guests enter via a $1.5 million visitors center with a landscaped courtyard, a gift shop, and a cafe. Self-guided tours are possible. You can explore the house's wide verandas, rough-hewn timber beams, gabled framework, mahogany floors and staircases, and wide-beam wooden ceilings. Guides in 18th-century costumes are on hand to answer questions. Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for children (free for those 5 and under). Hours are daily from 9am to 5pm.

On the road again, you reach Bodden Town, once the largest settlement on the island. At Gun Square, two cannons commanded the channel through the reef. They are now stuck muzzle-first into the ground.

On the way to the East End, just before Old Isaac Village, you'll see the onshore sprays of water shooting up like geysers. These are called blowholes, and they sound like the roar of a lion.

Later, you'll spot the fluke of an anchor sticking up from the ocean floor. As the story goes, this is a relic of the famous "Wreck of the Ten Sails" in 1788. A more recent wreck can also be seen--the Ridgefield, a 7,500-ton Liberty ship from New England, which struck the reef in 1943.

Old Man Bay is reached by a road that opened in 1983. From here you can travel along the north shore of the island to Rum Point, which has a good beach and is a fine place to end your island tour. Rum Point got its name from barrels of rum that once washed ashore here after a shipwreck. Today, it is dreamy and quaint, surrounded by towering causarina trees blowing in the trade winds. Most of these trees have hammocks hanging from their trunks, inviting you to enjoy the leisurely life. With its cays, reefs, mangroves, and shallows, Rum Point is a refuge that extends west and south for 7 miles. It divides the two "arms" of Grand Cayman. The sound's many spits of land and its plentiful lagoons are ideal for snorkeling, swimming, wading, and birding. It you get hungry, drop in to the Wreck Bar for a juicy burger. After visiting Rum Point, you can head back toward Old Man Village, where you can go south along a cross-island road through savanna country that will eventually lead you west to George Town.

The Lone Star Bar & Grill, West Bay Road (tel. 345/945-5175), is a transplanted corner of the Texas Panhandle. You can enjoy juicy burgers in the dining room or head immediately for the bar in back. Here, beneath murals of Lone Star beauties, you can sip lime and strawberry margaritas and watch several sports events simultaneously on 15 different TV screens. Monday and Thursday are fajita nights, all-you-can-eat affairs at CI$12 (U.S.$15), and Tuesday is all-you-can-eat lobster at CI$35.95 (U.S.$45). There's also a new volleyball court.

Coconuts Comedy Club, Cayman Falls Plaza, across from the Westin (tel. 345/949-6887), is the chief comedy club in the island archipelago. There's a cover of $12; doors open Wednesday to Saturday at 9pm. Comedic talents are imported from all over the world. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.