After you land on Grand Cayman, head to the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa, your base for the first part of your trip. The hotel regularly tops lists of Grand Cayman’s top properties, but perhaps the most important reviews for families are those from younger travelers. And they give it high marks. The Westin Kids Club for ages 4 to 12 offers full days of indoor and outdoor activities, from crafts to games on the beach and even cooking Cayman style. There is also a night camp, if parents want a quiet night out. Teens appreciate the many water sports and other activities offered by the resort, including wave runners, stand-up paddleboarding, Hobie Cats (including sailing lessons for new sailors).

For families who prefer the amenities of a home away from home—washers and dryers and full kitchens—and also don’t require the services of a kids’ club, the Caribbean Club is a popular option with one- to three-bedroom unit. Like the Westin, it sits right on Seven Mile Beach.

One of the must-see experiences for all travelers to Grand Cayman, but especially for the kids, is Stingray City. You’ll depart from Seven Mile Beach to join a boat tour in the North Sound where two sandbars are home to the surprisingly friendly and curious animals for which the area is named. You’ll have a chance to snorkel among them before continuing on to Starfish Point, where you’ll get to see another sea creature, the starfish which lie on the seabed. After a lunch at Rum Point and some time on the beach, head back to the resort in the afternoon for some time by the pool. This evening have dinner at one of the many restaurants on Seven Mile Beach, the pastas and pizzas cooked in a wood burning brick oven are always popular with kids, and adults too.

Today, you’ll head to the north shore of the island for an underground adventure. The Crystal Caves are a series of caverns—some estimate that there are hundreds in this part of Grand Cayman, with many still waiting to be uncovered. Your guide will point out the stalactites and stalagmite that create an otherworldly landscape buried deep in the ground. Afterwards stop at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park where you can pursue blue dragons. Well, not literally dragons, but that is a nickname for the park’s blue iguanas, which number around 100 and can be spotted freely roaming the grounds.

Later in the day, kids who are fascinated by the legends of pirates will enjoy a two-hour journey aboard a real pirate ship with Pirates of the Caymans exploring the reefs along the coast of Grand Cayman. Costumed crew will reenact scenes from pirate life and in addition to being regaled with pirate stories, kids will have opportunities to raise the sails on the vessel. It’s all in good fun, though, and no one will be forced to walk the plank.

This morning you’ll visit neighboring Little Cayman, a quick flight from Grand Cayman on Cayman Airways Express. There are only some 200 people on this fascinating corner of the Caribbean. For older kids, opportunities to dive will be appealing, but younger kids will enjoy iguana spotting—they have the right of way on the island’s one road—and the chance to snorkel with sea turtles. (They can also sample a typical Caymanian dish, turtle stew, though you’ll have to decide as a parent whether that is more likely to be intriguing or traumatizing for your child.)

You’ll spend the next two nights at the Little Cayman Beach Resort. The 40-room property is a favorite of divers, but it’s also perfect for families. For those who don’t dive, the resort offers kayak and paddleboard excursions in the water, and bike rentals on dry land. Or you can just spend some time in a hammock by the sea.

Today you’ll embark on an adventure to tiny Owen Island. There are no permanent structures or inhabitants on Owen Island, just a tiny pristine islet located a few hundred meters off the coast of Little Cayman. You’ll have to bring your own water and picnic lunch, but once you arrive, you’ll get to experience the fantasy of being a castaway. The island is close enough to the shore that it’s easy to reach by kayak for older kids, or local boat operators can drop you off and pick you up. If only returning to civilization had been so easy for Crusoe.

Afterwards return to the Little Cayman Beach Resort and spend your final afternoon relaxing at the property before dinner at the Bird of Paradise Dining Room.

It’s time to fly back to Grand Cayman, and then back home, but your kids will be able to say they swam with stingrays, paddled through a sea of stars, and visited an uninhabited island. Memories like those surely beat any T-shirt as a vacation souvenir.