Grenada is a place of stunning beauty and fascinating history, full of natural wonders and cultural attractions. From its beautiful beaches and lush rainforests to its vibrant culture and friendly locals, there is no shortage of things to explore on this Caribbean island. Whether relaxing on the beach, exploring the rainforest, learning about the island’s history, or even catching a glimpse of the native monkeys, Grenada is the perfect destination for a Caribbean vacation.
Travelling to Grenada: Our worse travel story so far.
Our journey to Grenada wasn’t as straightforward as we had hoped. We were in Bequia and were flying out of St Vincent airport into Grenada on an early evening flight. We checked out of our Hotel on Bequia at midday, caught the ferry into St Vincent and grabbed a taxi to the airport, knowing that we were arriving very early for the flight.
We arrived at 1.30 pm, and our flight was scheduled for 6:45 pm, so we had to hang around until 4 pm for check-in. The airport is tiny, with a few shops at departures and a closed food counter. Luckily the gift shop was selling sandwiches, and we watched other passengers arrive and go through check-in while we sat in the closed food section.
As the check-in time approached, we noticed that all Inter-Caribbean flights were now being displayed on the board as being delayed. Questioning staff members resulted in “I don’t know” responses.
We get through check-in and security and are met with a packed room of passengers. Not only were the two long-haul flights passengers waiting to board, but also the three delayed Inter-Caribbean flight passengers. This made for a bustling departure area.
We watched our flight departure time move forward another hour to 7.45 pm, then 8.45 pm, but no staff members were around to ask any questions.
We were tired and uncomfortable by this point, especially as we had been in the airport since 1:30 pm. We weren’t prepared for the check-in staff member to appear and start walking around the passengers sitting around us at the gate. People started huffing and puffing and turning their backs to the staff member. We couldn’t work out what was going on at this point. However, as she approached us, she explained the scenario.
The incoming flight from Barbados was overbooked, they had put too many people on the plane, and now there were three fewer seats, and she was asking three people to volunteer to stay over in a paid-for hotel until the next day where they would put us on the next flight. We were too tired for this and expressed our less-than-happy attitude about being taken off the flight. A supervisor appeared and said as we were the last to check in, we couldn’t board the plane and would have to stay back. Our bags were already being returned to us as this conversation was still ongoing.
We watched the remaining passengers get on the plane and take off into the dark sky while we waited at the gate, unsure of the next steps. The check-in lady had disappeared, and the supervisor had made a quick getaway out of doors and was never seen again.
Another 30 minutes had passed, and another passenger had been asked to wait back, sitting around while cleaners were leaning around us, probably wondering why people were still at the gate as all the flights had left. I managed to find a staff member eating a sandwich. I approached, apologising for disturbing her break but asked if she could contact the supervisor as we were left at the gate, not knowing what to do.
She returned a few minutes later and told us that a Hotel had been booked and they were trying to find a taxi to take us there.A few minutes pass, and she appeared and told us that we should go outside and she would try to get us a taxi from outside.
After exiting through an unhappy passport control supervisor, that was not pleased that our fellow volunteer, a transit passenger from Barbados (who was not meant to be taken off the flight), was now being allowed out of the airport, we managed to find a friendly taxi driver to take us to the hotel.
The hotel was kind enough to arrange a pizza for us; we even got a bottle of wine. The weather was hammering down with rain, and all we wanted to do was eat, drink and go to bed.
In the morning, we were picked up by the same taxi driver, taken to the airport and finally got onto the mid-morning flight to Grenada.
Grenada & the Blue Horizons Garden Resort
Grenada is another small airport, passport control was the longest part to get through, and our bags were waiting as we entered baggage. After a quick 15-minute journey to our hotel, we were finally ready to enjoy our remaining days.
We chose to stay at the Blue Horizons Garden Resort, close to the Grand Anse beach. We couldn’t see it from our accommodation, but we could hear the waves crashing nearby. The Blue Horizons Garden resort was dubbed an eco-resort, but we never did figure out why it was called that. There were no signs to help with water usage or recycling, and towels and sheets were changed daily. It just appeared to be any other type of hotel stay.
It was fine for us, and the location was ideal. After the second day, we decided to get a rental to explore more of the island. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.
Rain, rain and more rain.
Nearly every day, there was a downpour. Sometimes you woke up to it. Other times, it started in the afternoon. It was frequent but only lasted a few moments—the amount of rain that fell caused localised flooding in some areas of the road. A small shopping centre a few minutes away was flooded by one of these downpours, but as with most tropical destinations, with enough time between downpours, the roads dried up enough not to be too much of a problem.
Getting out and about in Nature
We managed to get out and about occasionally when it didn’t rain. Driving around was simple enough. The roads are not too busy, and they are courteous drivers. The roads are in good health and pretty easy to navigate around the island. One of the places we went to was the Grand Etang National Park/Lake.
While the weather stayed nice, the trails around the park were muddy. We hoped to get out and cover a few miles of walking but were sadly hampered by thick boggy mud that made walking difficult in certain areas. We tried to piece together some of the trails using the roads, but it didn’t turn out for as long as we had hoped.
The Grand Etang National park has resident Mona monkeys, a western African monkey that was thought to have been brought over on a ship in the 18th Century. Now they live happily in the national park, being fed fruit by the locals and having pictures taken by tourists.
Our interaction with a Mona monkey was on the road leading back to the central car park. We were returning from the lake along the road. Kelly was finishing an apple we had brought for snacks. A loud rustling from above, and then a monkey jumps in front of us on the road running towards Kelly with its arms wide open. It quickly grabs the apple out of Kelly’s hand and runs back into a tree, where it happily finishes the apple off, I’m sure, with a slight smirk.
It happened so fast I could take a picture of the crime being committed, but I did manage to take a snap of it in the tree.
Is Grenada safe?
Although I have made fun of our encounter with Monkeys, Grenada is safe to explore. The locals are friendly and, much like most places. The locals are much more friendly than the tourists. We had no problem walking around in either populated areas or even in the mountains. Shops, tourist attractions and most buildings had security walking around to make people feel even safer.
Quarantine Point Christmas Concert – Carols By Candlelight
This was our first taste that Christmas was nearing. The Caribbean doesn’t have the cold winter months leading into Christmas that we are used to in the UK. For us, this was the first Caribbean Christmas concert. The Rotary Club of Grenada organises a yearly concert at Quarantine Point in the southwest of the Island in Morne Rouge.
It’s a well-organised festival of light, food and music. The whole park is transformed into a Winter wonderland of lights. Kids of all ages run around while the adults chat or watch the performances on a large stage. There were seats in front of the stage, but many people brought their picnic blankets and sat on the floor.
A brief spell of rain hit midway through the show, which caused some people to seek shelter while the prepared just got out their umbrellas. A big fireworks show ended the evening, and a 15-minute walk back to our apartment finished our night off.
Annandale Waterfall
Annandale Waterfall is located in the mountains of St George, about 30 minutes from where we were staying. The drive there was straightforward: through small villages on well-maintained mountain roads.
A small parking area outside the entrance, where you pay a small entrance fee and walk through a room with vendors selling jewellery and spices. Walking down a small path, you can hear the roar of the water as you are near, and you can peek through the trees to see the waterfall.
A bar/restaurant on site serves a great selection of drinks and delicious food, and it offers a great place to sit for a while and watch either the cliff diver jumping in the water for visitors or listen to the water and take a break from the heat.
Other places we saw while it wasn’t raining.
The rain stopped us from venturing out as much as we wanted to. Most areas we wanted to visit suffered from muddy tracks and trails. We visited a few beaches, but the wind was still up, and the water was cloudy.
One of the quieter beaches not too far away from the famous Grand Anse beach was Morne Rouge Beach.
Calm water, plenty of beach space, a few bars and restaurants at one end,
Sendall Tunnel
A narrow 340 ft tunnel built in 1894 joins the two sides of St Georges. Pedestrians and cars use it today. You will go through this tunnel if you drive from Grand Anse into the port/ferry terminal.
Conclusion
While we had a rough start, and the weather wasn’t on our side, it was still a perfect trip. We explored the island as much as possible, and conversations with the locals centred around the amount of rain the island was getting. However, we enjoyed the ability to walk around, and sit in beach bars watching the weather and people roll past.
We didn’t get to visit some of the other islands you get to by water taxi due to the rough water, but by the end, we were waiting for our next adventure and, hopefully, better weather in Curacao.