Grenada

[JESSWILLMS]

We are headed to Grenada for a weeklong charter aboard a 40’ Lagoon cat with Sunsail from 3/21-28. First night will be at Sunsail's base in St. George. For the other nights, Sunsail’s recommended itinerary has us overnighting (in this order) at Dragon Bay, Tyrell Bay, Salt Whistle, Tobago Cays, Sandy Island then back to St George’s Bay in Grenada. We’ve looked at charts, read the Cruising Guide for the area and have previously chartered in the BVI, Bahamas and French Polynesia. Our group loves to snorkel, enjoy quiet beaches, see local wildlife, and eat/drink at little family-owned places. Five guests have never chartered. Two guests are divers. Two are vegans. Any and all guidance from you is appreciated, especially if you have recommendations for alternative anchorages to those listed above that might have fewer boats, tips for easiest clearance in/out of of ports or ideas for restaurants that might help us keep our vegans happy. I'm a little nervous that the seas may be bigger than we are used to...what's your experience with that down there the third week in March? Overall, sounds like the cruising grounds are just fabulous and we CANNOT wait! Thanks in advance...

[Flagman101]

You will have a blast!
You will need to do customs.
Salt Whistle bay, you do need to get thee early. Small.
If no room saline bay or straight to Tobago Cays
Dive te reef in tobago cays.
Beach BBQ is great . I ask for Romeo
Seas can be bigger between islands but i would not expect anything much bigger then 2 mt
Winds usually are force 5

[TriggerHappy]

Hi Have done this trip a couple of times. Latest was last year on a FP Saona 47 (DYC)
- See if you can get off early the first day, and push to make it to Carriacou. You will want to spend as much time in the Grenadines as possible. I am posting our itinerary for consideration.

- Day 1 - arrive, provision
- Day 2 - boat brief, depart - motor sail up the cost of Grenada, Paradise Beach, Carriacou
- Day 3 - check out of at tyrell bay, sail to Chatham bay, Union Island
- Day 4 - Salt whistle Bay
- Day 5 - Tobago Cays
- Day 6 - Happy island, Union - check out, provision
- Day 7 - Palm island - day pass with lunch and all you can drink included (subject to availability so call ahead) - upgraded to a spa and dinner package
- Day 8 - Return sail to St. George
- Day 9 - Check in at St George

We has a sat- sun charter so had an extra day. As the previous poster said you have to consider check in and check out. What makes this a little easier is the fact you can check-out 24 hours before you leave. Union island is a little lax and we actually ended up checking in the next morning after staying in Chatham bay and eating at Tenuta Chatham Bay. Very good food but only had one cook so if it is a large party it might take a while. call ahead. Had a great time in Chatham bay.

I would skip Tyrell bay. Cruisers love it cause it has all the amenities they are looking for but from a charterer's perspective you want beautiful beaches and nice beach bars. I suggest Paradise beach, they have mooring balls, it is right across from Sandy island so you can dingie over and close to shore to take a taxi to a restaurant or enjoy off d' hook. you can walk or take a cab/bus to Tyrell bay the next morning to check-out. If you are looking for snorkeling Tobago Cays is the place to go so you may want to stay their two nights. The Beach BBQ is the thing to do everyone has their favorite: we used Taffa (aka Desporado) and it was delicious. make sure you take the dingie out to the outer reef for snorkling, there are little red mooring balls that you can tie your dingie to while you snorkel.

If you head into Union stay away from Tiger (boat boy). He conned us into staying at his mooring for 60EC and charged us 3 times the price for ice.... not cool man! Check in/out at the airport instead of in town much quicker!

Good luck with the Vegan crew! That will be hard to accommodate in d'islands. We had two vegans on our boat but at least they ate egg's and fish....so not really vegans I guess. The novices will not like that passage from Grenada to Carriacou. This would be the only caution about making it to Carriacou the first day. You may want a shake-down sail and get crew accustomed to the boat/sailing. It is a long first day sail...

Good luck! was hoping to head back to the upper Grenadines out of St Vincent this year, but had a crew mutiny and am heading back to BVIs in May. First time since Irma.

[skalashn]

We just came back from 11 night one-way charter St. Lucia -> Grenada on 45ft monohull. Overnighted in Dragon Bay - very rolly and hot with no wind. Snorkeled the statues but visibility was poor due to swell. I would skip and anchor in St. Georges the first night.
Also suggest skipping Tyrell bay except for customs and go straight to Sandy island. Plenty of good moorings and nobody came to collect the fees.
Salt Whistle is overrated - crowded and murky water. Saline bay is nice. On Mayreau we went to check out the much touted Robert's rasta restaurant - what a disappointment. I suspect the place has gone downhill recently otherwise I cannot explain the glowing reviews and recommendations by some forum members. The food is pathetic as is service, questionable hygiene, and very very expensive (in fact the prices are on par with BB's Crabback in St George's which is a gourmet restaurant I highly recommend). The rasta place does have some character but please do not eat there.
Overall, not impressed with the restaurants in the Grenadines - wish we cooked more aboard. Fresh veggies are available at markets in main ports at tourist prices. We also bought fish from the boat boys - not cheap but very convenient. Sadly did not catch any.
Tobago Cays is great - try to spend two nights. Loved the beach BBQ. We used Willy but I think everyone does a great job there.
Chatham bay on Union is amazing, in fact I would prefer that to Mayreau if I had to choose. One of our favourite spots. Great snorkeling. Don't bother with taxi to customs, just drop anchor in Clifton for a few hours and go to the airport. No need to pay for moorings there or anywhere in the Grenadines - in fact our charter company advised against it.
We also spent one night in Anse la Roche on Carriacou and absolutely loved it. Small bay but we were one of only two boats there. Might be a bit rolly in swell but with a cat you can tie stern line to shore - it is quite deep all the way to the beach. There are some nice hiking trails.
We has 25kt wind and 2-2.5m seas between St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and 10-15kt and pretty much calm seas from Carriacou to Grenada a week later.

[TriggerHappy]

Originally Posted by skalashn

We just came back from 11 night one-way charter St. Lucia ->
Salt Whistle is overrated - crowded and murky water.

To each their own I guess, but I totally disagree. Salt Whistle Bay is one of my favorite beaches/bays/stops of all time. Yes I agree is can be crowded but the only crowd you will have on the beach are generally from the other boats. The bay was perfect when we were there. the softest sand, clear water. We hung out at the salt whistle bay resort and was served one of the best waters I have had in a long time, be careful of the rum punch! Ate at the resort and had a great meal. The only other guests at the restaurant were 2 girls from Montreal and a catamaran of 4 guys from Toronto and our Party who were all from Ottawa... go figure. Anyway the next morning hiked up to the church and enjoyed the views of Tobago Cays.

In terms of restaurant I think everywhere we ate was expensive but we had great meals. Can never tell if the meals are that great or good company and great atmosphere and a lot of alcohol makes it fell and taster better than it actually is. Agree BB's Crab shake was one of the best meals we had in the island, Palm island the lunch was very good if you get the day pass. The restaurant on Chatham was also excellent although service was slower than expected. If you are on Carriacou try the Slipway restaurant in Tyrell. Didn't go their last year but ate there two years ago and it was excellent. One of the best meals we had was buying fresh fish from the boat boys in Clifton and bbq'n on the boat though...

[SundayMorning]

On Union Island for your vegans, as you walk from customs at the airport toward town, there is a great tiny roti place on your right about half way to town. They often have excellent veggie rotis there for about 10 EC. We always either eat there or bring them back to the boat to heat up later, if we don't feel like cooking.



In St Georges, try the Creole Shack upstairs from a supermarket on the waterfront. It's a cafeteria style where you can see and ask for what you want from the server behind the serving area. There are many vegetable items (though no real vegetarian meals) that usually satisfy my vegetarian wife. Also plenty of local meat and fish items for the others.



Other than that, it's pretty slim most places. There is occasional pasta or sandwiches available. Try to keep enough fresh food on board for cooking or sandwiches. The beach barbecues that are recommended so highly above are somewhat pricey and not discounted for vegetarians, but your vegans might enjoy the atmosphere anyway.

[merrydolphin]

I know it’s after the fact now. But for vegetarians and vegans. There is a wonderful food available throughout these islands. It is Rastafarian based. It is called “Ital”. It’s vegetarian, based on LOCAL and natural foods. Primarily what locals call “grounprovisions” out of the ground. It is Vegan. It’s health and REALY tasty. Not too spicy and oh so good. Best way to find it is ask a local where to get an Itol meal. Usually a bit inland and not a tourist location. Good people, don’t worry. When ever we went to Ital food shacks. They were always VERY welcoming. And happy to share their eating style with you. As a bonus. It was usually quite affordable too. We lived/sailed the E Caribbean including T and T for over 10 yrs. Loved it. Why not experience the real island culture ! Get your cake and eat it too!

[Zanshin]

I would clear out in Tyrell Bay, but spend the night just upwind and around the corner at Sandy Island and perhaps take the free water shuttle into the Paradise Beach Club - 1000x better than Tyrell Bay. Then depart Grenada from there.