Grenada is covered by car from a single base, because nearly all the hotel stock sits on three kilometres of southwest coast. The rest of the island, mountainous and forested, is visited by day. Here is how a stay here actually works.
The essentials in four lines
- Fly into Maurice Bishop (GND) with a connection from Montreal, usually via Toronto or a US airport.
- The airport is ten minutes from Grand Anse and fifteen from St George’s. Driving is on the left, with a temporary local permit required.
- East Caribbean dollar, US dollars accepted. One hour ahead of Montreal in winter.
- Grenada sits at the southern edge of the hurricane belt: statistically less exposed than its northern neighbours.
Where to stay
Grand Anse
Three kilometres of pale sand on the southwest coast, looking at the red roofs of St George’s at the head of the bay. This is where most hotels are, along with an open-air craft market and water that stays calm nearly all year. The obvious choice for a first visit.
Morne Rouge
A shorter cove just to the south, separated by a hill, with very calm water and fewer people. The best choice with young children.
The southern tip
Around Lance aux Épines and Prickly Bay, deep bays filled with sailboats, with mid-size hotels, marina restaurants and a more residential feel.
The northeast
Toward Levera and Bathway the coast turns wild and nearly uninhabited. You go for the day, not to sleep.
St George’s, in practice
The capital occupies a collapsed volcanic crater open to the sea, which gives it its horseshoe harbour and its houses stacked up the hillside. The Saturday morning spice market on Market Square is the gathering not to miss: nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cocoa, and a local crowd.
Fort George, above the harbour, is worth it for the view. The town is compact but steep: bring shoes and water.
The outings, in order of interest
The underwater sculpture park
In Molinere Bay, ten minutes by boat. Dozens of concrete figures rest between three and eight metres, colonised by coral over twenty years. Visited by snorkel from a boat, on scuba for the deeper pieces, or by glass-bottom boat.
Grand Etang
The central national park, forty minutes away: a crater lake at five hundred and thirty metres, rainforest home to mona monkeys, and a trail to Seven Sisters Falls in an hour of slippery walking.
Nutmeg and rum
The nutmeg processing station at Gouyave, on the west coast, operates as it did in the 1950s: hand sorting, drying on racks. Further northeast, a distillery has run since 1785 on a river-fed waterwheel; its rum is 75 per cent alcohol and cannot travel in the cabin.
Friday night at Gouyave
The village closes a street and lights the grills: tuna, conch and crab served on cardboard plates while the music plays. Visitors are firmly in the minority, which has become rare in the Caribbean.
Accommodation
The all-inclusive offering is narrow and deliberately so: two large resorts in the southwest, one couples-only and one open to families, plus a mid-size property owned by the same family for three generations. Several Grand Anse hotels sell an optional all-inclusive plan.
The maths is worth doing: Grenada has good, affordable restaurants, and much of what makes the island interesting sits outside the resort gate. Our criteria for choosing an all-inclusive hotel help decide.
When to go
The dry season runs January to May, with air around 29 °C and little rain. From June to December, showers turn daily but short and the vegetation takes on an intensity you never see in winter.
Two dates are worth building a holiday around: the chocolate festival in May and carnival in mid-August. Sargassum concerns the Atlantic side; Grand Anse and the southwest generally stay clear. Our guide on when to travel south from Montreal sets out the pricing calendar.
To plan this trip, see also our Grenade page and resorts that suit families.
