Trip Report: Grenada
Visited in March 2025
The Lesser Antilles are a chain of islands in the East Caribbean, consisting of eight countries and some territories of France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. In May 2022, I visited four of the eight countries: St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. The remaining four were scheduled for March 2025.
Grenada was the starting point of a trip that also took me to St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Dominica. After that I was going to visit Cuba, my last country of the North American continent.
Grenada is the second smallest country in the Lesser Antilles after St. Kitts & Nevis. The country consists of three main islands, Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, as well as several smaller islands. I spent all of my time on the largest island, Grenada.
My American Airlines flight landed in my 182nd country on a Saturday afternoon. Compared to many other Caribbean islands, Grenada is a country where the airport is quite close to the capital and the main beach where most tourists stay. So the drive to my hotel on Grand Anse Beach was only 10 minutes.
My plan in Grenada can be described relatively quickly: the beach and the capital. Other than that, I found it difficult to find any really exciting activities on the island. But that was okay, because I didn’t mind a slow start to my trip.
My hotel had direct access to the Grand Anse beach, which people say is the most beautiful on the island. It is about three kilometers long, has white sand and turquoise water. Definitely a beautiful beach where you can easily spend a few days if you are a beach bum.
I’m not, but I still enjoyed this beach. As I was traveling alone, it wasn’t very tempting to lie around and swim for several hours. My beach activity was therefore limited to about two hours on the first day.
But it was still fun to watch the hustle and bustle. The crowd was a mix of locals and tourists. There was also a lot of activity on the beach, loud music, beer drinking competitions and boat races. In short, it was busy and not very idyllic. If you were looking for a quiet beach, you were probably disappointed this weekend.
The next day was a Sunday, and Grenada is one of those countries that comes to a virtual standstill on Sundays. The receptionist at my hotel told me that everything in the capital St. George’s would not open unless a cruise ship was docking. And according to a quick internet search, that was indeed the case today.
I took a bus to St. George’s. Some people say that a rental car is essential in the Caribbean. In Grenada, depending on what you do, you don’t really need it. The 15-minute bus ride cost 2 East Caribbean dollars, which is about 0.75 USD. Buses leave every ten minutes.
When I arrived in St. George’s, I basically only had one destination in mind, Fort George, which offers an excellent view over the capital. On the way there, however, I saw the pretty, colorful harbor – it didn’t get much more Caribbean than that.
A few minutes later I arrived at Fort George and saw the mass invasion from the cruise ship taking place. Hundreds of people were disembarking, ready to explore the island.
You can definitely visit the Caribbean this way, it is also cheaper and more time efficient. I already visited the first countries of the Eastern Caribbean by plane and this time I did it again. As I watched the cruise ship tourists walking on the dock to the island, I felt I made the right choice. It just wouldn’t be for me. However, the guests on this cruise were probably not country counters but rather retired Americans and Europeans.
One thing to say about Fort George: absolutely worth it. Or rather the viewpoint in front of it. The fort has been under renovation for some time and is still closed. But you can still enjoy the view over the city.
In 2004, Hurricane Ivan devastated Grenada, destroying 90% of homes and infrastructure. Fortunately, none of this is visible today. All of the countries in the Eastern Caribbean are prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes or volcanic eruptions.
Grenada is also known as the Isle of Spice because the island’s volcanic origins have gifted it with fertile soil. In addition to various spices, Grenada is particularly famous for nutmeg. Today, the country is the main producer of nutmeg in the world.
Grenada is also famous for chocolate. That’s why I visited the chocolate museum (as I had just walked past it on the way back from Fort George). The chocolate there is world class. And when I say that as a Swiss, it means something.
There’s really nothing more to tell. I spent a few more hours at the beach in the afternoon and flew to St. Vincent & the Grenadines the next morning. In the end, it was a pretty unspectacular stay, but that was fine. Not every country can be as exciting as Spain, for example.
In summary, Grenada is not a bad country, but I can’t really recommend it. Out of the eight countries of the Lesser Antilles, it ranks 7th in my ranking – one place ahead of St. Kitts & Nevis. However, if you want to see a relaxed country with friendly people, you can’t go wrong with Grenada. Just don’t expect it to offer you days of action and new things.
If you’ve made it this far, I’m sorry that I’ve stolen five minutes of your life. I’ve experienced a little more in the other Caribbean countries. 🙂
Click here to find the trip reports of the 180+ other countries I have visited so far!
