36 Hours
36 Hours on Grenada
Grenada
Celebration is in the air on Grenada (Gre-NAY-da), the lush Caribbean island nation between Trinidad, St. Vincent and Barbados, which in February marks its 50th year of independence after centuries of French and British rule. The small country, a paradise of volcanic hills and idyllic bays, is often overlooked by vacationers despite being home to Grand Anse, a perennial candidate for the best beach in the Caribbean. There’s more than just lying on the shore on Grenada, a 52 Places to Go pick for 2024. Scuba dive through a recently expanded underwater art gallery, and on land, explore St. George’s, a photogenic capital with a popular spice market. Later you can taste those flavors in the national dish: oil down, a hearty stew. Service can be teeth-gnashingly slow, but Grenadians are famously friendly, especially when you join them for “liming,” the unofficial, delightfully indescribable national pastime of chilling out and enjoying everything island life has to offer.
Recommendations
Key stops
- Grand Anse Beach, one of the best beaches in the Caribbean, is a two-mile stretch of buttery soft sand with calm, clear blue waters and universal appeal.
- The Carenage of St. George’s, the capital city’s waterfront promenade, is a scenic, historic place to stroll beside fishing boats and colonial architecture.
- The Sunday barbecue at Aquarium Restaurant on Magazine Beach promises lobster on the grill and toes in the sand.
Attractions and outdoor activities
- Savvy Sailing Adventures hosts private sunset sail trips on a traditional wooden sloop.
- First Impressions Ltd. runs a sunset cruise aboard a catamaran.
- Morne Rouge Beach, also known as BBC beach, is a calm cove that makes an ideal splash spot for kids.
- Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park is an artistic project that has become an artificial reef and hub of marine life.
- Flamingo Bay is a popular scuba diving destination within the Grenada Marine Park with a boisterous reef wall.
- Magazine Beach, just behind the airport, is the perfect last-chance ocean dip before departure.
Restaurants and bars
- Patrick’s Local Homestyle Cooking Restaurant is a great pick for Grenadian staples, including the elusive Friday afternoon oil down, the national dish.
- 61 West Restaurant and Beach Bar is one of the better bars to grab a bite on Grand Anse, with atmospheric lighting and live music many nights.
- West Indies Beer Company is a microbrewery and a popular gathering point on Friday nights.
- The Junction Bar & Grill is an open-air restaurant and bar that comes alive after dark with D.J.s and a steady student crowd.
- Sails Restaurant & Bar has a covered deck with a coveted view of the Carenage waterfront in St. George’s.
- La Plywood Beach Bar Cafe on Morne Rouge Beach is not much more than the colorful plywood it’s named for, but turns out tasty fish tacos and cold beer.
Shopping
- St. George’s Market is a block or so of vendor stalls selling produce and spices to both locals and visitors.
- Art Fabrik, near the center of St. George’s, sells hand-painted batik pareos, bags, jewelry and other Grenadian souvenirs.
- House of Chocolate is a shop, cafe and museum on Young Street that sells cocoa products and offers a demonstration of how they are made.
Where to stay
- Calabash Grenada, a 10-minute drive south of Grand Anse Beach in the Lance Aux Epines neighborhood, is a family-owned luxury hotel with an ocean-view breakfast service also open to non-guests. Rooms start at $621. (Note that while the official currency is Eastern Caribbean dollars, all prices in this guide are listed in U.S. dollars, which are also accepted everywhere.)
- Laluna Boutique Hotel and Villas offers 16 cottages and three villas tucked into the foliage of the cliffs above the secluded Portici Beach, near Morne Rouge Beach. Accommodations include private plunge pools and access to a beach yoga pavilion and a seaside pool. Rooms start at $485.
- Radisson Grenada Beach Resort, on Grand Anse Beach, is family-friendly and has expansive grounds, multiple pools and a big breakfast buffet of local dishes. Rooms start at $260.
- A variety of budget-friendly short-term rentals can be found in the island’s hills above St. George’s, some with ocean views. Or try the northern end of the island for more remote locations with rugged coastlines — and note it can take an hour or more to drive there from St. George’s and Grand Anse.
Getting around
- When renting a car, most drivers will need to obtain a government-issued temporary driver’s permit (about $22) by showing their driver’s license — the rental agency can help arrange. Grenadians drive on the left. Road conditions vary (think: goats, cliffs) and may be unlit at night, particularly through the mountainous rural areas.
- Taxis are available, especially from the airport and hotels. Public buses run to most locations ($1). Walking is advisable within St. George’s, which is often congested with cars. But most roads elsewhere do not have sidewalks, making travel on foot or by bike a potentially dangerous venture. Uber and Lyft do not operate on Grenada.
Itinerary
Friday
2 p.m.
Belly up for oil down
Lovingly referred to as Grenada’s national dish, oil down is a rich stew of interchangeable ingredients. Sturdy starches like dumplings or breadfruit, called “provisions,” form the base. Proteins like chicken quarters or pig tails, and produce like string beans or a local leafy green called callaloo may be added. Along with turmeric and coconut milk, it's simmered down for hours. Despite its popularity among Grenadians, finding oil down in a restaurant can be a quest — it’s more commonly served in homes. Try Patrick’s Local Homestyle Cooking Restaurant, a picnic-table spot on the main road between Grand Anse and St. George’s, where oil down is served on Fridays. Call the day before to reserve your portion ($9.25) — it goes fast.
3:30 p.m.
Walk it off on Grand Anse
Taking a dip in the warm, nearly waveless blue waters of Grand Anse Beach, with soft sand dotted by shady sea grape trees and backed by low-slung resorts, is a must-do for any visitor. While swimming, take in the view of the green terraced hills above St. George’s, which is about a 10-minute drive north. On quiet days, you may have company: sea turtles skimming through the seagrass just offshore. But even on busy days, the two-mile-long stretch is enough real estate for locals, cruise-ship day-trippers and all other visitors to find their spot.
61 West
5:30 p.m.
Sail into the sunset, then chill by the beach
Even if you’ve never had any interest in boating, it’s easy to understand why Grenada is one of the Caribbean’s most popular sailing destinations: It has a tropical climate, cooling tradewinds and is rarely hit by hurricanes. It also has endless anchorage points and secluded beaches best reached from the water. Savvy Sailing Adventures operates private sunset sails aboard a traditional, handbuilt wooden sloop ($450 for a private two-hour sail, up to six people). Or try a two-hour catamaran cruise with First Impressions Ltd. ($55 per person, minimum eight passengers). After your sail, enjoy dinner and live music on firm ground at 61 West, an open-air restaurant lit by string lights on Grand Anse that serves lobster mac and cheese ($21) along with lighter fare like tuna poke ($12) and watermelon salad ($13).
61 West
West Indies Beer Company
10 p.m.
Dance among the Friday night crowds
West Indies Beer Company is a microbrewery that opened a decade ago and has since become an essential evening feature for the well-off Lance Aux Epines neighborhood on the southern end of the island. A D.J. gets Friday nights going around 10 p.m., and a younger crowd of both tourists and locals downs pints of the popular Humdinger lager or crisp ginger beer made from Grenadian ginger (both $3.70). The party continues across the street at the Junction Bar & Grill (often a $9.25 cover), where a crowd grooves to Afro-Caribbean beats until 2 a.m., or later. Besides cocktails, it’s possible to sample local rums from the country’s big three rum brands: Clarke’s Court, River Antoine Estate and Westerhall Estate (rum drinks start around $5).
West Indies Beer Company
In 2024, Grenada marks its 50th year of independence after centuries of French and British rule.
Saturday
St. George’s Market
9 a.m.
Awaken your senses on the “Spice Isle”
In the center of the capital city, St. George’s Market is a compact block of busy produce and spice stalls. Nutmeg is a major export of Grenada, which is known as the “Spice Isle” of the Caribbean (the country’s flag even displays a little floating nutmeg). Discover what a nutmeg actually looks like, with a red web of mace around it, and shop for souvenirs like huge sticks of cinnamon, guava jam and nutmeg syrup. Then descend Young Street toward the harbor, stopping into Art Fabrik, a popular store for flowy, 100-percent-cotton batik pareos, Grenadian-made garments that people use as colorful beach cover-ups, or hang as art pieces (full-size pareos start around $90).
St. George’s Market
11 a.m.
Grind your own chocolate
Halfway down Young Street, the House of Chocolate is a small museum-cafe-shop dedicated to the cocoa bean, another Grenadian export. An engaging free demonstration describes the tree-to-bar process, with samples of cocoa butter and nibs along the way. Purchase treats at the cafe, like chocolate-coconut milkshakes ($6.60) and nutmeg truffles ($1.85), or organic chocolate bars, some with a touch of ginger or nutmeg, from the island’s producers ($6). Don’t miss sampling the hot cocoa tea ($2.20), a Grenadian specialty that blends cocoa powder with local spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and bay leaf. (More time on Grenada might merit a visit to Belmont Estate, a working cocoa farm an hour’s drive away that dates back to the 17th century. Tours start at $6, closed Saturdays.)
12 p.m.
Promenade on the Carenage
St. George’s is defined by a horseshoe-shaped waterfront called the Carenage. It’s postcard-pretty, ringed with pastel colonial buildings in various stages of dilapidation or renewal (Hurricane Ivan devastated the area in 2004). A stroll along the Carenage, framed by verdant hills above, provides a scenic immersion into Grenadian life past and present, where fishermen clean tuna on small wooden boats beside shiny, tourist-filled yachts. After taking in the sights and sounds, grab shade and refreshment at Sails Restaurant & Bar, at the western end of the curve. Request a table near the water and order local mango cider ($3.70) or fritters made with lambie, the word for conch ($11).
La Plywood Beach Bar Cafe
2 p.m.
Splash in a shallow cove, then eat fish tacos
The south of Grenada is filled with beachy bays, each with a different draw, be it wave-protected waters at Pink Gin or paradisiacal palms at La Sagesse. In general, the more remote, the more romantic, but Grenada’s hilly, hair-raising roads often turn the closer coves into the more attractive ones by default. Morne Rouge Beach, or, as locals call it, BBC Beach, hits the mark: a classic Grenadian beach cove close to Grand Anse. Take stunning photos from the clifftop before descending to the water. Grab lunch at La Plywood Beach Bar Cafe, a bare-bones beach shack with blue picnic tables in the sand, and fish tacos ($9.25) and potato saltfish balls ($5.55) on the chalkboard menu. Parents will appreciate the calm waters and inflatable bouncy castle floating in the shallows.
La Plywood Beach Bar Cafe
5 p.m.
Feel fancy with a boutique hotel sunset dinner
Because of its proximity to the Equator, the latest the sun ever sets on Grenada is about 6:30 p.m., so don’t dally to situate yourself for the show. For a chic, quiet spot to take in the glow, try Laluna, a boutique hotel at the end of the road above Morne Rouge. A day pass ($99) includes access to the pool, a day bed overlooking Portici Beach, lunch and a couple of drinks. But even without a pass you can enjoy an open-air bar with Balinese settees that provide canoodling corners. And the restaurant offers tables overlooking the pool and ocean, where you can dine on Grenadian pumpkin and ginger soup ($12), seafood spaghetti ($24) and herb-crusted barracuda ($29).
Morne Rouge Beach, or, as locals call it, BBC Beach, hits the mark: a classic Grenadian beach cove close to Grand Anse.
Sunday
Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park
9 a.m.
Swim through an art gallery
The British artist Jason deCaires Taylor created the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park just off the western coast in 2006 with an innovative concept: using sculptures as an artificial reef to attract sea life. In 2023, 25 new colorful artworks were added depicting the Spicemas celebration, Grenada’s Carnival festivities that occur each August. Snorkelers and divers can also explore nearby Flamingo Bay, with its lively reef wall buzzing with fish. Dive shops offer trips to both. The locally owned Native Spirit Scuba runs a 2.5-hour snorkel tour for $60, or $125 for a two-tank dive. Other reputable operators include Dive Grenada (two-site snorkeling trip $95; two-tank dive, $150) and Eco Dive ($70; $160). Most trips can accommodate a mix of snorkelers, divers and those who simply want to chill on the boat, but ask ahead.
Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park
12 p.m.
“Lime” at a Sunday beach barbecue
For many, Sunday afternoons on Grenada are reserved for beach barbecues. An ideal way to enjoy one is at Aquarium Restaurant, on Magazine Beach, just behind the airport and beneath the villas of Maca Bana Luxury Boutique Resort on the cliffs above. Sitting at tables on decks over the sand, near the end of the beach strewn with huge boulders from the cliff above, diners choose proteins, like fresh lobster ($41) or chicken thighs ($14), and add on sides like cheesy baked macaroni ($8) or corn on the cob ($4.80). Pair with a frozen lime squash topped with nutmeg syrup and bitters ($5.55) and debate whether to catch your flight, or lime away another Grenadian sunset.