After finishing up our last SGU written test in February, a group of us (and many more groups) decided to head to Carriacou to stay the night. With the help of my friend Zena, we all bought our ferry tickets beforehand. I definitely recommend doing that, because the line on the morning we left (Saturday) was insanely long, and we were able to just hop on the boat. It seems almost criminal to me, that I live on a Caribbean island and have never ventured to the other islands (med school does keep you busy!). I was really looking forward to this trip and it’s something I have wanted to do since term one.
The ferry is small in comparison to the ones I have rode on in Seattle, by that I mean you aren’t going to be taking your car with you by using this ferry. Below this paragraph is a link to the information to catch a ferry ride to Carriacou from Grenada, as well as a picture of the ferry. It was $160 EC for a round trip (about $60 US). On the way there, it was a little bit bumpy, and a lot of people got sick. Don’t worry if you think that is going to be you, because they have an employee handing out vom bags lol. They sell hotdogs and beer on the ferry. Everyday at 9:00 am the ferry leaves from Grenada to head to Carriacou, and it returns at 3:30 pm. You can even take it further to the small island of Petite Martinique.
http://www.ospreylines.com/index.php/schedule-fares
When we arrived, we were not required to show our passports. We hopped off and took a taxi to our hotel, Carriacou Grand View (link and picture posted below). By this time, we were all starving. When we got to the hotel, we were informed that you have to make reservations for lunch, so we had to get food elsewhere. Our taxi driver took us to Off the Hook Bar & Grill, which is a part of Paradise Beach. I had lobster, that was really delicious, but it took them about 2-3 hours to prepare food for the 10 of us. I don’t know how many of you have heard of “island time” but it is a real thing. And I thought it was bad on Grenada, but then I went to Carriacou. Pretty much everywhere you go in Carriacou, will take about 30 min to an hour to get you a drink. If I went back, I would def bring my beverages and lots of snacks. Besides that, the island was beautiful. Very similar to Grenada, but less developed, less wi-fi, less people. For example, check out the “wash hands here” station pictured below, where you literally had to pour water with a pitcher to wash your hands. Nonetheless, we were grateful to eat our lobster with clean fingers!
https://www.booking.com/hotel/gd/carriacou-grand-view-villa.html
http://restaurantwebx.com/OffTheHook/
After eating our lunches, a group of us decided to take a small boat and go check out Sandy Island. I was most excited for this part of the trip. Sandy Island was the recommendation that other Caribbean students said was worth checking out. It did not disappoint. It’s close to paradise beach, and some of our group members even kayaked there (you can rent from Off the Hook). The island is less than a mile long, but it was beautiful and untouched. If you are going to stay out there for a while, bring plenty of water and snacks. There were two different places to buy food and drinks. We were still hungry, so we ordered some plantains and baked potatoes from the first shop we found. While we were waiting on our food, with a rum punch in hand, we explored the island. It was so peaceful and beautiful. There were also several ships that will set up for the night and hang out at Sandy island. This picture is from google, but this picture helps you get a feel for how tiny this island is.
If I were to go back to Carriacou, I would spend my time on this island, eating lobster, swimming and snorkeling.
That night, we went to the Lazy Turtle for dinner. They serve pizza and they had cocktails, so we were all sold on the idea. Below is a link to their website. This was probably the best customer service and quickest eating experience we had. The pizza was delicious and so were the drinks. If you eat here in a large group, tell them you are all paying separate, because they were unable to divide it up so we ended up putting it all on someone’s card and giving cash to them. I would definitely come back to the Lazy Turtle. http://www.lazyturtlewi.com/
The next day we left around 2:30 to head to the ferry. The journey back was much smoother and less people got sick. It was a fun weekend, and I definitely recommend checking it out while you are in Grenada, but have plenty of fluids and snacks! Don’t sleep on Sandy Island. Thanks for reading.
just meh 