JetSet to Grenada
We caught up with the inimitable Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon (aka JetSetSarah) after her recent trip to Grenada. Sarah knows our islands almost better than we do. She’s a travel writer, on screen host, and a self described “Carivangelist”. We’ve hung out with her in the Virgin Islands and appreciated her quick take on the Spice Island of Grenada. Follow her adventures on Instagram and on Facebook and at JetSetSarah.com
- How often do you travel to Grenada and what makes it such a special island?This was my fifth visit to the “Spice Island” and even though I’ve only been home a few days I’m already looking forward to my sixth! Grenada is at the sweet spot of being an island that’s relatively undiscovered by crowds and still genuinely welcoming and also having a diverse and developed (but not too developed!) tourism product in terms of hotels, restaurants and activities. You can have a high-end and vacation in a luxury resort or a homey, intimate stay at a bed-and-breakfast. Either way, you’re guaranteed a good time.
- What’s your favourite thing to do in Grenada?Most people don’t know that Grenada is a three-island nation with two sister islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. I’ve done day trips (it takes two hours on the ferry) from St. George’s to Carriacou, which has just 7,000 people, a single gas station and, they say, 100 rum shops. I’d love to go back and stay over for a couple of nights to really get the feel of the place without rushing to make the afternoon ferry.
- Can you give us an “insider” tip to the most unique attraction on the island? On this last trip I visited Grand Etang National Reserve for the first time. It’s a 3,000-acre protected rainforest in the center of the island that’s really popular with hikers and birdwatchers. I went with local guide Simon Green, whose company, Hidden Treasures Hikes, offers custom tours. We hiked to Grand Etang, the crater lake at the center of the forest, and saw Mona monkeys swinging in the trees. Visitors make the mistake of thinking that beaches are the Caribbean’s best or only asset. But there’s so much more magic to be found when you leave the coast and go deeper. Grenada is proof.
- Give us a rundown of your favourite places to stay/eat/drink on the island? Stay: I was a guest at a couple of places, at opposite ends of Grenada’s best-known beach, Grand Anse. Silversands is a two-year-old luxury resort with a fabulous spa and the Caribbean’s longest infinity pool. Mount Cinnamon has a clutch of villas and suites on the hillside above the southern end of the beach and is a great pick for families. On my next trip I have my eye on a stay at Calabash Hotel, a family-run boutique beachfront resort on the south coast. Eat: No one leaves Grenada without eating at BB’s Crabback in St. George’s. It’s a family run join on the water that’s famous for its - you guessed it - crab backs. Drink: I don’t have a favorite bar but I do recommend that wherever you choose you order a traditional rum punch. Everyone has a slightly different recipe but they’re all so good, and ALWAYS topped with a generous dusting of nutmeg. Grenada is the world’s second-largest exporter of the aromatic spice, so not to try it would be rude!
