Grenada

Travelling to Grenada

We arrived in Grenada on the 13th January on our cruise ship. The port had its usual duty free shops and souvenir shops. Some of the ship had paid with Tui to visit Grand Anse Beach at a cost of $17 US dollars per person. This including transport and a sun lounger. We opted to use local transport to the beach. As we were walking we were approach by a driver who offered to take us to the beach for $5 dollars each one way which was Ok with us. On the mini bus there were other passengers from our ship. As the driver dropped us off he stated a time of 4pm to come back for us. We didnt want to be tied to this time therefore advised we would get our own way back to the ship.

Grand Anse Beach

The Journey from the ship to the beach is only around 15 minutes therefore it is quick and easy. When you arrive at the beach there are a lot of people trying to get you to hire sunbeds and umbrella’s. There are also a lot of people trying to sell you cold drinks. Many of which are served in ice buckets with around 4 bottles of beer in them at an alleged discount price.

Beach

The beach is beautiful with lovely soft white sand and turquoise sea. There are lots of sun beds and umbrellas’ should you wish to be in the shade. Due to people coming round and selling cold drinks you don’t even have to leave your sun lounger. The sea was lovely and warm. There was no hesitation getting in the sea.

Bars/shacks

There are a number of little shack type bars on the beach selling both food and drinks. The drinks are cheaper than what the guys on the beach are selling them for but they are only trying to earn a living.

Outside of the shacks there are a number of tables and umbrella’s where you can have something to eat, a beer or a cocktail. I (Debbie) loved the mud slides. The drinks were very reasonably priced at around $2 US Dollars a beer and cocktails $4 – $7. Some of the prices were in Caribbean dollars which was roughly 1 East Caribbean Dollar to 30p.

It was a beautiful day therefore there was a lot of people on the beach and drinking outside of the shacks/bars.

Umbrella Bar

We had read about the Umbrella bar and how nice the food and cocktails were. When we got to Grand Anse Beach The Umbrella Bar was nowhere to be seen we thought we must have come to the wrong place. We were disappointed as we were looking forward to a meal there. After a couple of cocktails and beers we decided to have a long walk along the beach. At the end of the main hotels there was the Umbrella Bar.

As it was just coming up to lunch time it wasn’t that busy but it soon filled up. Many people were pulling up in cars. It had its own car park which was practically full throughout the time we were there.

Food and Drink

We ordered the Blackened Chicken, fries and garlic sauce. Additionally we ordered some sides of Onion rings. Mains are around £10 – £15 and sides from £3 – £5. The food and the service was lovely.

At the bar there is happy hour Monday – Friday 4-6. There is also a different special drink each day which only costs £3. As it was a Friday we had the Woo Woo. Unfortunately they did not have the ingredients for the creamy cocktails which sounded divine. There were many other cocktails to taste which we enjoyed trying. The cocktails were from £4 – £5 which was actually cheaper than some of the shack bars.

After spending a few hours at the beach we decided to go back to the ship via the small boats which cost around $5 each. It is only a short journey so you are back in around 10-15 minutes.

Summary

Grenada is a beautiful place with wonderful friendly people. We would have liked more time to see more of the island. With a cruise you get to see a lot of places in a short space of time but the downside is you don’t get long enough in some of the places. We had heard of the BBQ at Rogers Barefoot Beach Bar which did not open until 3pm which would make the timing very tight to get back on the ship in time. We would have also loved to have done scuba diving at the underwater sculpture park. Definitely would love to come back to Grenada.

Things to do

• Go to Grand Anse Beach
• Visit Rogers Bare Foot Bar
• Visit Fort Frederick
• Suba dive at the underwater sculpture park
• Visit the Royal Mount Carmel Waterfalls
• Catch a boat over to Petit Martinique
• Visit the Umbrella bar for great cocktails and food.

Top tips

• If you are only Grenada for a short time plan your itinerary.
• If scuba diving take a good camera for example a go pro (we did not get the photo’s we wanted on a number of excursions due to poor underwater camera)
• Use the locals for excursions as they tend to be a lot cheaper and it gives back in to their economy (ensure it is a reliable company first)
• Take plenty of mosquito spray.
• Remember currency is in Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD) and not US dollars but they will except US dollars.
• Check out other destinations in the Caribbean we have visited click on the following links Mexico , Cuba , Jamaica , Barbados, Martinique , St Maarten , Antigua, Dominica
• Check out UK government advice when travelling to the Grenada https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/grenada
• Check out weather below for best time to visit Grenada. Official hurricane season runs June – November
• Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	29	29	30	31	31	30	30	31	31	31	30	30
Low Temp	21	21	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22
Rainfall	119	86	62	66	114	222	224	216	195	234	253	186
Number of days	14	9	10	7	13	17	20	18	17	17	20	18