Grenada:
Has nice beaches, rain forest
and in addition the spices, mainly nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and pimento. This
aspect offers a lot of potential for an interesting holiday experience. Grenada
is also known among divers for the large number of wrecks, specially the Bianca
C called "the Titanic of the Caribbean". Grenada also has an
underwater sculpture park, the first ever created in the world.
Beaches: Grand Anse Beach in
the South West of the island is 3 miles long with white sand and turquoise
water. It is listed among the world's most beautiful beaches. This is also the
main tourism area. Next to it there is another very nice beach, the Morne
Rouge. Grenada's South coast consists of many fjord-like deep and narrow bays
also hiding many beautiful beaches and there is more beaches on the north coast
facing the Grenadines.
Accommodation: The best hotel
is the Calabash . The Sandals La Source is 4 stars but also very nice and there
is also La Luna, the Coyaba and the fine boutique hotel Petite Anse
in the Deluxe category. The Kalinago Beach Resort is also 4 stars
but it is quite new and I have little feedback on the service. For clients who
look fro something special off the beaten track I recommend La Sagesse
and - a very attractively priced - Cabier Lodge . Middle class travellers
get the best value for money at The Flamboyant.
Transportation: Transfers and guided tours
through our reps, rental cars, mini-bus taxis, local buses on main roads.
Food: There are two gourmet restaurants, one of them at the Calabash,
and another 3 - 4 very good restaurants like the Aquarium and the Beach House.
Otherwise many local style small restaurants, pizzerias etc.
Entertainment: definitely not a destination for people
who want to hang out in night clubs and casinos. There are a few bars, but not
really more.
Extra excursions: spice plantations, spice
manufacturing, whale watching (sperm whales and dolphins all year).
Fishing: very good and professional game fishing boats.
Diving: Excellent, see above.
International air links: British Airways, Virgin
Atlantic and Monarch Air from London, Lufthansa/Condor via Frankfurt, Delta via
New York and American Airlines via Miami or Puerto Rico.
Boat links: Express ferry to the sister island of
Carriacou in the Grenadines (45 minutes).
St. Vincent and the Grenadines:
Mainland St. Vincent is very different
to the Grenadines islands. It is mostly covered with rain forest, has
waterfalls and a high volcano but very few beaches, most of them with black
sand. The best one is Villa Beach in the south of the island, where most
tourist hotels are located. But you mainly go to mainland St. Vincent for
sight-seeing, not for a beach holiday. It is quite comparable with Dominica,
except that here you have Black Caribs, descendents of a slave ship which thank
near the coast and the original Carib Indians on the island.
The Grenadines have no rain
forest, waterfalls and volcanoes. But they have the most beautiful white palm
fringed beaches. Some islands of this archipelago stretching some 50
Kilometres between Grenada and St. Vincent are not much larger than a football
field and are uninhabited , others cover a few square miles and have some
small villages. The water around the islands is of a unbelievable turquoise
colour and the underwater world with its colourful reefs amazing. The standard
of accommodation is different from island to island:
· Carriacou (belonging to
Grenada): budget - 3-stars guesthouses and self catering accommodations. The
best is Bogles Round
House (3 stars), which also features the best restaurant on the island.
· Palm Island: The whole island
is one 5-star all-inclusive resort, Palm Island Resort.
· Union Island: 1 budget
hotel, Kings Landing, and one boutique all-inclusive 4-star hotel, The
Amerindi – soon to be reopened.
· Canouan: 5-star+ Canouan
Resort with villas and 4-star Tamarind Beach Hotel.
· Bequia: 4-star+ Bequia
Beach Hotel and 3-star self catering cottages.
· St. Vincent: 4-star Young
Island Resort on its own island some 150 yards from the south coast, 3-star+Beachcombers
Hotel on Villa Beach and 4-star+ Grenadine House in the Capital.
· The best accommodation for the
Grenadines is a yacht to take you from island to island.
Transportation: Transfers and guided tours
through our rep, rental cars, mini-bus taxis, local buses on main roads in St.
Vincent. In Bequia, Union Island and Carriacou taxis and local buses
on main roads. I Carriacou we also have rental cars. On the other islands no
public transportation, transfers arranged by hotels. Otherwise boat taxis for
the smaller distances between the islands.
Food: There is a choice of
restaurants along Villa Beach in St. Vincent, the best is the French Terrace.
Grenadine House in the capital Kingstown also has an excellent restaurant. On
the islands there are very nice restaurants in Bequia, on the other islands it
is mainly the hotel restaurants which are in accordance with the hotel
standard.
Entertainment: Best entertainment island style in Bequia:
life music in the beach bars of Admiralty Bay and people dancing barefoot
in the sand. All other islands very romantic, entertainment only in the hotels.
Extra excursions: boat excursions to the
national park of the Tobago Cays, a group of uninhabited islands surrounded by
a coral reef. Very nice for snorkelling and diving..
Fishing: Of course.
Diving: Excellent, many untouched reefs. Bequia and the Tobago Cays in
particular offer some of the best dive spots in the Caribbean.
International air links:
American Eagle / American Airways flies from Puerto Rico to St.
Vincent and Canouan.
Air links to other islands: Regular flights from St.
Vincent and Canouan to and all other Caribbean islands. Best connections
to Barbados and Grenada. The other Grenadine islands are accessible by
scheduled flights from Barbados (Bequia, Canouan, Union Island) or Grenada
(Carriacou, Union Island).
Boat Links: Regular express ferry between Grenada and
Union Island.
