Advice for Customs in Grenadines/Grenada

[RIglehart]

I have bareboat chartered a few times, but have never had to deal with customs. I chartered twice at Key West, FL. Once in the USVI during covid, so BVI was off-limits. So, never have put up a quarantine flag on a boat I was on.



Next summer I am getting a Bareboat in St Georges Grenada. My current plan is to go north to St. Vincent during 1st week. Then offload/reload a few friends (Argyle Airport) there and sail back to Grenada during the 2nd week.


Since I have never been through the customs rig-amoral my questions are...


1) When heading North from Grenada. I plan to anchor one night in Carriacou. Do I need to check out of Grenada somewhere (Maybe Tyrell Bay Carriacou) before heading further north. Where EXACTLY would that be??


2) When arriving in Grenadines, where do I check in? Seems like Clifton, Union Island is the place? Where exactly?


I have looked on the web for locations of customs offices, but can't find them. I have seen folks saying "Clifton", but that doesn't narrow it down to where I am supposed to go, SPECIFICALLY.



3) Once in the Grenadines am I good all the way to St. Vincent? So, can I freely sail Tobago Cays, Canouan, Mustique, Bequia, St. Vincent, etc... without any more customs.


4) Heading back to Grenada I assume the process will be reversed in the same locations as going North.


I am a newbie to cruising. So, if there are resources out there that have this (which surprises me a google search of "Grenadines Customs Locations" does not give anything useful), point me to them.



My goal is to own a boat in retirement, and consider these bareboat charters as "practice" for that. This is one of those little details that are causing me anxiety about the trip right now. Thanks in advance. Be gentle :-) .

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by RIglehart

I have bareboat chartered a few times, but have never had to deal with customs. I chartered twice at Key West, FL. Once in the USVI during covid, so BVI was off-limits. So, never have put up a quarantine flag on a boat I was on.



Next summer I am getting a Bareboat in St Georges Grenada. My current plan is to go north to St. Vincent during 1st week. Then offload/reload a few friends (Argyle Airport) there and sail back to Grenada during the 2nd week.


Since I have never been through the customs rig-amoral my questions are...


1) When heading North from Grenada. I plan to anchor one night in Carriacou. Do I need to check out of Grenada somewhere (Maybe Tyrell Bay Carriacou) before heading further north. Where EXACTLY would that be??


2) When arriving in Grenadines, where do I check in? Seems like Clifton, Union Island is the place? Where exactly?


I have looked on the web for locations of customs offices, but can't find them. I have seen folks saying "Clifton", but that doesn't narrow it down to where I am supposed to go, SPECIFICALLY.



3) Once in the Grenadines am I good all the way to St. Vincent? So, can I freely sail Tobago Cays, Canouan, Mustique, Bequia, St. Vincent, etc... without any more customs.


4) Heading back to Grenada I assume the process will be reversed in the same locations as going North.


I am a newbie to cruising. So, if there are resources out there that have this (which surprises me a google search of "Grenadines Customs Locations" does not give anything useful), point me to them.



My goal is to own a boat in retirement, and consider these bareboat charters as "practice" for that. This is one of those little details that are causing me anxiety about the trip right now. Thanks in advance. Be gentle :-) .

First off, don't sweat it. The charter office will make SURE you have all the correct information, and make sure you know how to do it right.

1.) You check out of Grenada just before you leave. If you are sailing directly to SVG, you check out of Port Louis (the charter base). If you are sailing to Carriacou you check out at Carriacou Marine in Tryrell Bay.

2.) Your first stop in the Grenedines must be a port of entry. There are many. Pick one. Google maps will help you find the exact office location. Or you just ask. Everybody knows. Honestly, we have NEVER not been able to find one. They do not deliberately hide them from you.

3.) Once you check into SVG you can move about the country without issue. No additional paperwork is required.

4.) When you head back south, you have to check out of a port of entry in SVG, and then sail directly to a port of entry in Grenada. Either Tyrell Bay, or Port Louis.

Again, your charter company will tell you EXACTLY what to do.

[Tupaia]

Covers most of the islands.

https://sailclear.com/index

[admiralslater]

Sail clear can work but not always , there is an agent behind aquarium restaurant. It is not hard to do it on your own . Meet your friends in Bequia or at true blue in SVG. Have a good time

[Sailorlady2022]

Noonsite.com has some great information.

Grenada has this site: https://www.puregrenada.com/sailing/...ce-procedures/

Attached is a map with all the ports of entry from their website.

We are preparing for a visit there as well.

Fair winds!

[Klos2019]

at the moment, Port Louis in Grenada is the only location on the main island to check in by boat. The other offices have been closed since covid.

[gterrill]

We bareboated in Grenada/St Vincents last August.

Formalities were painful. The process was very slow, often taking the entire morning, since they typically opened an hour later than advertised and there was always a queue. Make sure you have all the paperwork including receipts and forms from the last place you checked out of, and make sure you carry a lot of cash since they don't take cards. The bareboat company will give you a folder with the boat's documentation that you must take with you to the office.

At Clifton harbour there is a restaurant with a dinghy dock accessible (look for the arch you go under). We were told by the locals to go to the airport (5 minute walk) for customs and immigration.

Canouan had the best office which is a little ways back from the main wharf, near the market. They actually opened on time and were relatively efficient.

Sailclear was hit or miss. Most of the time it was faster to fill in the forms by hand. The officials pretty much ignore all the boat details and just check your passport details.

I wrote up some notes on our trip: https://www.mvpikorua.com/bareboat-charter-in-grenada/

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by Sailorlady2022

Noonsite.com has some great information.

Grenada has this site: https://www.puregrenada.com/sailing/...ce-procedures/

Attached is a map with all the ports of entry from their website.

We are preparing for a visit there as well.

Fair winds!

As with most crowd sourced data, be careful of noonsite. This info is very out of date. I am in Grenada now, I know. Clearin/clear out at Port Louis or carriacou only.

Noonsite’s pr and reputation are frequently way better than their information.

[Sailorlady2022]

Good to know. I do not have a membership to Noonsite; however, the information provided was from Grenada government's own website regarding clearance procedures. One more place that is not up to date.

Thanks for sharing.

[Tupaia]

FWIW you don't need to be a member to access Noonsite

www.noonsite.com

[Sailorlady2022]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

FWIW you don't need to be a member to access Noonsite

www.noonsite.com

Right, but access is limited without membership.

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by ItDepends

As with most crowd sourced data, be careful of noonsite. This info is very out of date. I am in Grenada now, I know. Clearin/clear out at Port Louis or carriacou only.

Noonsite’s pr and reputation are frequently way better than their information.

Whenever I see outdated information on Noonsite I send them an e-mail and update it. I hope that's what you've done so that they have correct data. That's the concept behind free sites like this. I'm not a member.

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Whenever I see outdated information on Noonsite I send them an e-mail and update it. I hope that's what you've done so that they have correct data. That's the concept behind free sites like this. I'm not a member.

If they paid me to do their work for them, I’d be a lot more likely to take the time and effort to give them data they turn around and sell.

Giving my labor away for free isn’t a business model I’m going to sign up for.

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by ItDepends

If they paid me to do their work for them, I’d be a lot more likely to take the time and effort to give them data they turn around and sell.

Giving my labor away for free isn’t a business model I’m going to sign up for.

I see, on the one hand you complain that their free service is unreliable because of outdated data, but you want to get paid to give them current information. I can see that we have very different viewpoints. I'll make sure to update the data when I hit Grenada later this season. For free.

[AiniA]

Depending one the wind the short passage between Bequia and St Vincent can be miserable, hard on the wind with wind accelerated between the islands. We have had 30 knots. Might be better to have your friends take the ferry. You could take the ferry to meet them at the airport if you are in a hurry. Don't sweat the Customs procedures, almost always easy if sometimes slow.