With its mix of fragrant spice markets, lush plantations, nature reserves and deserted tropical beaches, Grenada is easily one of the Caribbeans most idyllic destinations.
There are picture-postcard beaches where you can spend hours swimming in the turquoise waters, relaxing with a book or just watching the world – and sailboats – go by. Inland, the island is mountainous, covered with verdant green forest dotted with waterfalls and grottoes. Nature-lovers can hike trails, mountains, and secret coves while taking in colourful plants, diverse fauna, and spice plantations that the island has become well-known for. As well as the natural wonders, Grenada has plenty of cultural heritage to explore; centuries-old colonial estates, historic rum distilleries, cocoa plantations, spice processing stations, and plenty of carnivals.
Grenada is one of the most southern Islands in the West Indies before hitting South America, so despite its undoubted beauty, manages to retain its identity as a hidden gem. This also means that it is criminally under-visited; of the millions of tourists that flock to the Caribbean each year, only around 300,000 find their way to Grenada. However, things are changing, and it is a destination on the rise, with Grenada even being named Expedia’s Caribbean destination of the year in 2017. I absolutely loved my 5-night stay on the island, and here are some of the reasons why:
The Best Things to do in Grenada
1. Wander Around the Country’s Colourful Capital, St. Georges
2. Try the Local Cuisine at BB’s Crabback
3. Learn about Chocolate Production at Belmont Estate
4. Visit Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station
5. Sample the Local Tipple at River Antoine Rum Distillery
6. Dive at the Underwater Sculpture Park
7. Take a Sunset Boat Ride on a Traditional Sloop
8. Take in the Island’s Best View at Welcome Stone
9. Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Islands Lush Interior
10. Sample the Caribbean’s Best Craft Beer at West Indie’s Beer Co.
11. Stuff Your Face at True Blue Bay’s Street Food Wednesday
12. Visit the Most Colourful Bar on the Island
13. Relax on Grenada’s Beaches
Wander Around the Country’s Colourful Capital, St. Georges
Founded by the French in 1650, Grenada’s capital is a charming, colourful jumble of buildings that climb from the beautiful inner harbour and rise along the steep hills that ring the city.
From the hilltop vantage point of Fort George, built by the French between in 1710, you can get a good lay of the land with 360-degree views over the whole city, including the imposing Catholic cathedral which dominates the skyline, the Carenage and its surrounding Georgian buildings, the red-tiled roofs of St. Georges’ streets and the beautiful, blue Caribbean sea.
For a deeper dive into local history, you can visit the Grenada National Museum, at the Corner of Young Street and Monckton Street, which displays an array of historical items, including Carib and Arawak artefacts. Nearby, the House of Chocolate is a must visit for cocoa lovers, with exhibits on the local cocoa industry and a shop where you can purchase locally produced delicacies.
However, the best thing to do in St. Georges is to just walk around and soak in the atmosphere. The city is one of the most beautiful ports in the Caribbean and the bustling morning market at St. George’s Market Square is the perfect place to soak up some local flavour while shopping for souvenirs, fresh tropical fruits, and spices.
Try the Local Cuisine at BB’s Crabback
Sometimes life throws weird coincidences at you. Just before heading to Grenada, the latest copy of National Geographic Traveller landed on my doormat. Flicking through the pages, I stumbled upon an article about BB’s Crabback in St Georges and its owner, celebrity chef Brian Benjamin. A few days later, I was eating at his famous restaurant.
I was told by our guide that Brian is ‘a larger-than-life character’, so I wasn’t too surprised when he welcomed us to BB’s with open arms and a wide grin. However, it’s not just his personality that has made him a local celebrity, his cooking is pretty spectacular too. He spent years crafting his skills and dishing out his own brand of Caribbean cuisine to diners in Ealing before setting up shop in Grenada. Nowadays people flock here for his famous curried goat, a dish that Marco Pierre White claims is the best in the Caribbean.
However, it’s not just Brian that’s serving up a storm. During my 5 days on the island, I didn’t eat a bad meal. Given Grenada’s strong fishing heritage, seafood features prominently in local cuisine. Lambie, the local term for queen conch, has been eaten in Grenada ever since it was first settled. It is a seasonal dish and is usually served stewed, curried, or in a Creole sauce and is a must-try. Another local speciality is mahi-mahi, also known as dolphin fish, and by locals simply as dolphin. A great place to sample delicious local fish dishes is at Gouyave’s Fish Friday which is held every Friday evening from around 7 pm in the heart of the town.
If you’re going to try any dish in Grenada though, it’s oil-down. The country’s national dish is a simple, one-pot affair that is often cooked over an open fire. Typically, its a combination of provisions such as breadfruit, yams, plantain and meat, cooked in coconut milk and spices until the liquid boils right down to leave only the oily residue. I highly recommend trying it at Patrick’s Homestyle Restaurant near Port Louis Marina. Owner Karen’s secret chicken dish recipe was featured by Jamie Oliver on ‘Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast’ and she was kind enough to provide us with a Caribbean tapas of all her favourite local dishes, topped off with lashings of her own rum-punch cocktail, ‘Ting with a Sting‘.
Learn about Chocolate Production at Belmont Estate
The cocoa plantation at Belmont Estate dates back over 300 years to the 17th century. Norbert & Lyris Nyack, who purchased the estate in 1944, became the first Grenadians of East Indian descent to own such an estate. Now run by their granddaughter, Shadel, Belmont is quickly becoming one of the leading agri-tourism experiences in the Caribbean, running a number of tours that explore the organic farm and its tropical fruits and spices, as well as the cultivation of cocoa, showing how the cocoa beans are harvested, fermented, and dried. Afterwards, you can head to the quaint, on-site chocolate factory and sample the estate’s own luxury chocolate brand.
If you want to learn more about the Island’s culture, history, and traditions, you can see demonstrations of traditional agricultural production and even a Goat Dairy tour in which you are shown The Grenada Goat Dairy Project, a non-profit organisation that produces goat cheese as a way of supporting and empowering local, low-income farmers.
If the chocolate tours have given you pangs of hunger, the estate’s 250-seat restaurant uses much of the farms produce to create a delicious buffet of Creole food.
Opening Hours: Sunday to Friday, 8 am to 4 pm; Closed Saturdays.
Chocolate tours cost $5 US per person.
You can book a 4-hour tour of Belmont Estate with Vision Tours Grenada here.
Visit Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station
Grenada is known as the Caribbean’s Spice Island for a reason. Nutmeg has thrived in Grenada’s tropical climate since it was imported by the British in the 19th century. The island now produces a third of the world’s supply, alongside masses of cinnamon, clove, mace, and ginger. If you spend any time in Grenada, you’ll likely find yourself eating huge volumes of nutmeg, not only in the national dish, oil down, but even in locally produced treats such as ice cream and chocolate.
To get a real look into the island’s nutmeg production, head to the Nutmeg Processing Station in the town of Gouyave. You can literally smell the spice before you walk through the doors of this drafty old facility. Tours take around half an hour and allow you to watch as women sort each and every fragrant pod by hand, ready to be packaged up and shipped around the world.
Tours available for just $1.
Sample the Local Tipple at River Antoine Rum Distillery
Dating from 1785, this distillery makes a fair claim to being the oldest continuously operational rum factory in the Western Hemisphere. I’m not sure how true that claim is, but it certainly looks like it. Very little has changed since the 1800s both in terms of the facility itself and the method of production. Mountains of spent sugar cane dot the grounds, chewed up and spat out from the oldest water-propelled crusher in the Caribbean, which is still fed cane by hand, the same way it has been for the last 232 years. A 30-minute tour guides you through the entire fascinating, traditional process, ending with a tasting session where you can sample both of River Antoine’s two white rums. Just be careful; Their most popular rum – the 150 over-proof variety – is so potent and combustible that it isn’t allowed on aeroplanes.
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm; Closed Sunday.
Tours cost $2 per person.
Dive at the Underwater Sculpture Park
Although underwater sculpture parks seem to be de rigueur for tourist destinations right now, Grenada set itself apart by creating the world’s first way back in 2006. Built by British sculptor Jason Decaires Taylor as part of Grenada’s protected Marine Park in Moliniere Bay, these works of art act as artificial reefs, offering an underwater habitat for coral to grow and for fish to thrive. There are now over sixty-five individual concrete sculptures in the park, covering an area of over 800 square meters. These include ‘The Lost Correspondent‘, a man working at his desk and typewriter, ‘The Un-Still Life‘, a classical still life composition of a vase and bowl of fruit on a table, and Jason’s most famous work in Grenada, ‘Vicissitudes’, a circle of life-size figures holding hands, cast from local children.
To get the best experience of the sculpture park, I would highly recommend scuba diving. ScubaTech offer single and 10-dive packages as well as trips to explore some of the shipwrecks dotted around Grenada’s coast.
If scuba isn’t your thing, or you haven’t passed your open water training, Savvy Sailing offer a half-day and full-day snorkelling cruises taking in Mollinaire Underwater Sculpture Park as well as Dragon Bay and Flamingo Bay. The full-day cruise includes lunch on board the sloop.
Take a Sunset Boat Ride on a Traditional Sloop
Sailing is a big deal in Grenada. Ever since the early 1800s, sloops have been plying the waters between the Grenadine islands, trading spices and rum. The building and launching of the renowned Carriacou sloops began when boat builders came over from Scotland in the 19th century, blending in with the native Creoles and Africans, with the islanders using the skills of these new arrivals to evolve their more traditional practices of boat building.
Sadly, sloop building gradually gave way to more modern methods, but companies like Savvy Sailing are helping it make a comeback. With Savvy, we left Port Louis Marina early evening, passing the rainbow of pastel-coloured buildings that ring the harbour, and out into the open sea. The crew provide a soundtrack of soca music, as well as beer, rum punch and some local snacks so that you can relax as the sun sets, bathing St. Georges in an orange-pink glow.
The sunset cruise costs $45 (US) per person. They also offer day-time trips, private group tours and even multi-day trips.
Take in the Island’s Best View at Welcome Stone
About an hour’s drive from Grenada on the Island’s northern coast stands Rose Hill, overlooking the Levera National Park. It’s a steep walk to the top up a near-vertical road, but once you make it, take a short hike through the forest and you will be met with the Welcome Stone, a spot where you can catch one of the islands most breathtaking views. Stretching out below you is the 450-acre Levera National Park, miles of mangrove swamp, the island’s spectacular coastline, and around 9 different isles, including the rugged peak of Sugar Loaf Island. It’s well worth the sweaty climb.
Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Islands Lush Interior
Winding down the rural roads into Grenada’s lush, forested interior will bring you to Grand Etang National Park and Forest Reserve. Home to a rich diversity of plants and animals, including beautiful mona monkeys, Grand Etang National Park offers some stunning rainforest scenery and rewarding hikes.
The focal point of the park is the incredible crater of Grand Etang Lake. From the Grand Etang visitor centre, several trails lead through the park, ranging from the 30-minute self-guided Morne LaBaye Trail, to full-day treks, and the slightly more challenging Seven sisters Waterfall Trail.
Most of the Island’s 15 cascading waterfalls require a short hike to reach. Concord Falls has three levels, the first of which is visible from the roadside. You can pay an EC $5 entrance fee and walk down to the plunge pool for a dip in the refreshing water. More intrepid explorers can then trek through the forest to the second and third tiers of the falls, although it’s recommended to take a guide if you plan to visit the upper level.
An even more accessible alternative is Annandale Falls, a picturesque grotto where 10 metres of water cascades down into a small pool. The falls are 20 minutes’ drive north-east of St George’s and you can park virtually beside it (entry is US$2). Remember to bring your swimming gear so that you can go for a cooling swim, or stand by and watch the Annandale Jumpers climb the falls and leap into the water below.
Sample the Caribbean’s Best Craft Beer at West Indie’s Beer Co.
With many of the locals settling for Carib, Guinness, and lashings of rum, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that good quality craft beer is yet to make it to the Windward Isles. Fear not, the West Indies Beer Company has brought good quality brews to the Caribbean.
Originally setting up shop as the house brewery of True Blue Bay Resort, it has since moved down the road and expanded to a cool, spacious new brewery and taproom just outside of Lance Aux Epines. They have 15 regular drinks on tap, ranging from IPAs, ESBs, traditional bitters, and amber ales to saisons, wheat beers, tripels and even a range of ciders.
The bar can be a peaceful place to while away an afternoon with a tasting tray but come evening time, the music blares out, bringing in students from the island’s university and tourists from the surrounding hotels.
Stuff Your Face at True Blue Bay’s Street Food Wednesday
Speaking of True Blue Bay Resort, this wonderful hotel offers a range of activities, such as cooking classes, rum tasting and chocolate tasting, but no event brings as much of a crowd as the hotel’s weekly Street Food Wednesday. Midweek, the grill is fired up at True Blue’s waterfront bar, the Dodgy Dock, ready for some of the islands best street food vendors to set up shop and dish out incredible food. I tucked into a huge plate of jerk chicken and the best ribs I’ve ever eaten, washing it all down with a huge helping of nutmeg ice cream, followed by plenty of rum and West Indie’s Beer Co beer. However, it’s also the perfect opportunity to try some of the island’s specialities such as fried breadfruit, oil down and stewed Lambie.
It can feel like half the island descends on the Dodgy Dock for the event, and as the night wears on, it becomes more fun and raucous. Local favourites The Trio Band (one of the best bar bands I have ever had the pleasure of watching – although that may be the rum talking) provide a soundtrack to the evening, starting out with soul classics, pop hits and even TV show theme tunes, before doing what they do best; smashing out a string of Soca bangers. Expect a lot of wining.
Visit the Most Colourful Bar on the Island
Roadside stands are dotted all along the winding highways of Grenada. Most of them are small rum shacks or bars painted in the bright blue and yellow of the island’s preferred beer, Carib. However, none of these shops or drinking spots are as colourful as Charlie’s Bar.
Martin Oswell Nicholas, the ‘Charlie’ behind Charlie’s bar, has been running the place for around 30 years, setting it up after a decade at sea tending bar on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Gradually, he’s painted every inch of the building, as well as his house and tyre wall across the street, in a riot of patriotic yellow, green and red. He’s one of the island’s friendliest residents, so stop by for a chat, or even taste of his potent home-brew spiced rum, that he seemingly keeps in a huge plastic jug beneath the counter.
Relax on Grenada’s Beaches
When you think of the Caribbean, the first thing that comes to mind are pristine, white sand beaches and Grenada is no different. Most people flock to Grand Anse, a 2-mile stretch of beautiful beach characterised by swaying palm trees, soft white sand and gentle, turquoise waves where many of the island’s luxury resorts are located. However, Grenada boasts 45 white sand and seven black sand beaches to explore and both Pink Gin Beach and Morne Rouge Beach are good, more secluded alternatives nearby.
While tourists flock to these hotspots South of St. George’s, it is well worth going off the beaten path to Grenada’s rugged windward coast on the Atlantic side of the Island. A stunning oceanside drive will take you past dozens of hidden coves and golden beaches completely devoid of people and bare of footprints. The water can be a little more choppy, but the offshore reefs provide plenty of snorkelling opportunities without the crowds of Flamingo Bay.
Where to Stay in Grenada
True Blue Bay Resort
Built near to a yacht-filled harbour in the island’s south-west corner on what was a former Indigo plantation, True Blue Bay Resort is certainly one of Grenada’s most fun and funky hotels. Colourful beach huts and luxurious apartments line their waterfront beach-style pool area. The hotel also offers two more swimming pools, a marina, dive centre, spa and a gym.
The laid-back Dodgy Dock, looking out over the marina, is one of the hotel’s main selling points and is a popular drinking and dining spot with local, and tourists alike. Their weekly Street Food event is something that everyone visiting Grenada should experience. Plus, the hotel’s staff are some of the friendliest and most helpful I have experienced in any hotel.
An added bonus is the hotel’s green credentials. Plastic use is kept to a minimum, solar water heaters are used in all rooms and restaurant kitchens, no chlorine is used on the property and all cleaning products used are eco-friendly.
Book it here.
Laluna Resort
Laluna, with its hip, pared-down Balinese design and laid-back character, is one of the best, luxury boutique hotels on the island. Set above a beautiful, 300-yard-long soft sandy beach lined with swaying palms, the property offers small and quirky bungalows as well as stunning, stylish apartments complete with their own infinity pools.
Book it here.
Petite Anse Hotel
While many of Grenada’s resorts are concentrated around St. Georges and the south side of the island, Petite Anse Hotel is one of the few situated in the north of Grenada, and as such, feels nice and isolated as well as being perfectly placed for exploring this little-visited part of the island. Run by Phillip and Annie Clift, the British owners who built Petite Anse from scratch, the property sits on a hillside above the wild and secluded Petite Anse Beach with the restaurant/bar giving enchanting views of the sea.
Book it here.
Information
Getting to Grenada
Virgin Atlantic offer flights to Grenada from London Gatwick via St. Lucia. Flight time is around 9 and a half hours.
Currency
The official currency on Grenada is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$) which is exchanges at around EC$2.70 to 1 US dollar at the time of writing. Shops, bars, and restaurants accept both US dollars as well as EC dollars, though you’ll be given change in EC dollars. Most places quote prices in both currencies, however, cash points only issue EC dollars.
Many people from around the world come to visit and explore this wonderful place. Some even decide to set up home here through the Citizenship by Investment Grenada program, as this enables them to enjoy a more laid back pace of life amid gorgeous surroundings.
