GLORIOUS Grenada

Words Joanna Booth

Even in a region as lush as the Caribbean, Grenada is extraordinarily fertile. Drop any seed on its rich, volcanic soil and it’ll burst forth with a vengeance – even the notoriously finicky cacao tree thrives here. Surrounded by such natural abundance, it’s easy to look beyond its admittedly beautiful beaches and find diverse ecosystems to enjoy, with hiking in its rainforests, diving in its waters and tasting its flourishing culinary scene of home-grown flavours. Situated outside the hurricane belt, Grenada is a great choice for off-season travel – and avoiding the busiest months is both a sustainable choice, and a pocket-friendly one.

Development has been sensitive here; hotels are in the main relatively small scale and lowrise, and all-inclusive is a less common board basis than in some other Caribbean destinations. The island’s small size means it’s simple to explore beyond the southwest where you’ll find most of the accommodation, spreading

Immersive Adventures

Whether you choose to hike in the island’s wild spaces – such as Grand Etang National Park, where you’ll find the water-filled crater of an extinct volcano and colony of Mona Monkeys – or wander its more cultivated corners, at the burgeoning gardens and plantations that earned it the nickname the Spice Island, you shouldn’t leave Grenada without experiencing its lush, green interior.

Come in the summer months, and the north coast’s Levera National Park hosts nesting leatherback turtles, which you can watch if you book a tour through conservation community tourism group SPECTO.

The waters offshore also teem with life, and with more than 50 dive sites including reefs, wrecks, drifts and the world’s first underwater sculpture park, there’s as much to see beneath the waves as above. The annual Dive and Conservation Festival, taking place in October in 2024, includes

Gouvaye for the Fish Friday street party. Time your visit for one of the two annual carnivals – Spicemas in August on Grenada, or Kayak Mas in February on Carriacou –and you’ll see traditions stretching back centuries.

Smarter Places To Stay

your tourist spend more evenly. In addition to the island of Grenada, the country also includes the even smaller and more slow-paced Carriacou and Petite Martinique, easily accessible by ferry for day trips or overnight stays.

sustainable activities such as beach clean-ups, coral restoration and hunting invasive lionfish.

You can brush up on the island’s history at the Grenada National Museum and experience local culture by heading to the town of

True Blue Bay is a brightlycoloured, family-run boutique hotel on the south coast with an on-site dive centre, organic spa and yoga studio, plus strong sustainability credentials. From solar energy and extensive recycling to a bio-gas digester fuelling the bakery, the hotel takes its commitment to the environment seriously, plus it encourages guests to connect with the wider community via events like its Wednesday street food night, where it hosts local vendors on the property.

It’s a Gold Member of Green Globe, a sustainable hotel certification organisation, as are three other properties on the island. Blue Horizons Garden Resort is charming and

Good news from Grenada

Four of the world’s seven species of turtle nest on Grenada’s beaches during the summer months; hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead and green.

With seven beanto-bar producers in a nation of 110,000 people, Grenada has the highest number of chocolate factories per capita of any country.

Grenada’s National Energy Policy aims to transition from fossil fuels to renewables and has a target to reduce emissions by 40% from 2010 levels by 2030.

affordable, with apartment style rooms set a short walk from the beach; Mount Cinnamon Resort is a stylish hillside hotel

Certified divers can help out with the Grand Anse Artificial Reef Project, counting species and cleaning up rubbish

Grenada was the first Caribbean country to participate in the global National Ecosystem Assessment initiative, a project with the aim of linking science and policy around the world.

with stellar views, and Spice Island Beach Resort is a luxurious all-inclusive with an on-the-sand spot right in the centre of the famous Grand Anse Beach. Read more about the eco-responsible places to stay on Grenada on the following pages.

Giving Back

Grenada Tourism Authority launched a voluntourism programme in 2022 that seeks to allow visitors to make a tangible and positive impact on local communities. Whatever your area of interest, from conservation and agriculture to sports and animal rescue, there are options to get involved with.

At Myristic Mountain eco farm you can immerse yourself in the Spice Island’s fecundity, picking fruit, harvesting spices and planting trees, while also spending time with local team members and making genuine connections. If animals are more your thing, the GSPCA clinic and shelter takes in injured or starving strays, cares for them and attempts to rehome them where possible. Volunteers are needed to walk and bath dogs and socialise puppies and kittens.

Certified divers can help out with the Grand Anse Artificial Reef Project, transplanting coral, counting species and cleaning up underwater rubbish, but you don’t need to be Adam Peaty to get involved with the Get Grenada Swimming initiative, which aims to teach 2,000 children and adults to swim each year by offering free lessons. If you’re comfortable in the water you can be trained up in 30 minutes to teach basic skills. Whichever you opt for, you’ll get a deeper connection with this special island.

Grenada

Kayak Through The Mangroves

Discover the magic of the Woburn Bay mangroves on a guided paddle with sustainability-focused operator Conservation Kayak. Able to absorb more than six times the amount of carbon dioxide of a regular forest, as well as acting as a fish nursery and preventing coastal erosion, these ecosystems are environmentally key. Local guides will point out wildlife including ospreys, iguanas, turtles and water snakes, and longer adventures include a picnic on a secluded beach. Trips cater for novices up to experts. conservationkayak.com