greenie

Well, our long awaited trip to Grenada has come and gone...sigh. I hesitated to write this because I don't want people flocking. I wish GND would stay just as it is. We didnt do much of anything on this trip but a little snorkeling. The rest was just resting after the hell of a year we had.

I wanted to thank ejcrowe and mymoosie and all the folks at grenadaexplorer.com for the tips and recs.

We'll be back. Oh well here goes...

Flew Air Jamaica. Not bad. Hot meal, which is practically non-existent today. Flights never on time, but not too bad. I would fly AJ again, but they are having shake-ups at the CEO level and had a walkout at Mobay the week we were gone. I hope it doesnt change too much.

Archie's Car Rental. I would rent from them again if the price was right. Good service. Okay car. The lady wasnt there when we arrived, had an emergency. So we took a taxi to the hotel, she called later on, and delivered the car to the hotel next morning. No hassles.

Coyaba Resort. Can't say enough good things about Coyaba. Very well run place. Customer is first. Food was great. Room very nice. Bed bugs the size of VW's (hahaha...just kidding...must deter...dont want crowds here too).

Grand Anse. What a lovely beach. The water is so clean, that we had tons of star fish and some nice sea life out in front of the resort. Nice!

Aquarium. My favorite thing to do during the day (went 3 times). Loved the beach for snorkeling and the restaurant beach bar for limin. Anshon makes the best Pina Colada I ever had..ever!

We ate at the resort quite a bit. We never had a bad meal out. We tried:

The Grill at Spiceland Mall. Good Roti.

Red Crab. Good food. Loved the lambi cocktail.

The Beachhouse. Loved this place. The ambiance is fantastic. The mosquitos were bad when we first got there, but they provided Off and put coils all around the place. It was okay after that.

Aquarium. Fab. fab. fab. Can't say a bad word about this place. Well maybe that hill is a little hard to navigate after a couple of cocktails. =)

Well, that's it in a nutshell. Read three books, limed a lot, and just enjoyed the laid back, no hassle-ness of GND. We will def. be back.

Peace, Greenie

ejcrowe

Ahhhh, Grenada! Yes, I know just what you mean. I love, I mean, LOVE that island. It just seeps into your very being, doesn't it?

So glad you had a nice getaway after your rough year and false start.

Did you snorkel elsewhere on the island? I've only ever snorkeled at Magazine Beach (where Aquarium is) and a little bit at Morne Rouge. What kind of facilities does Coyaba provide on the beach? Umbrellas & chairs? Any kind of beach service?

mymoosie

OMG you are back already? I very much enjoyed your trip report. Just reading it brings back good memories of Grenada. I had to laugh about the VW sized bugs joke.

I am so glad you loved Grenada. Hope you get to go again soon.

What's the lambi cocktail like? Is it the same as a conch salad?

We need a grenadaholics support group. *sigh*

Maggi

Greenie, thanks for posting. Each time I read a trip report I change my mind about where I think we are going in the spring. Now, I'm back to thinking about Grenada. May I ask, where did you fly Air Jamaica from? Was it direct to Grenada?

greenie

Ahh...grenada...wish I was there now!

EJ. We snorkeled at the Aquarium also and saw lots of fish including squid and octupi. We went several times because it was so easy with the beach bar there. Very nice! We snorkeled in front of the Coyaba on Grand Anse and it was fun roaming the sea grass. We saw eels and some weird fish with wings and little hands. Someone on the beach said it was a sea fowl.

Coyaba provides everything but beach service. They have nice teak recliners with thick cushions. and unlimited towels! They will bring them on the beach or arrange them on the lawn for you. Excellent service. We sat on the lawn, just steps from the beach under a beautiful locust tree!

Mymoosie. The lambi cocktail was lambi with a thousand island type dressing on it in on a bed of lettuce. Ummmm....delish!

Maggi. We flew from Atlanta. No, not direct =( . But AJ was good. They fly ATL to MBJ, MJB to GND. We left @ 10:30 AM from ATL and arrived 6:30 PM in GND with a layover in MBJ.

Coming home we left at 2:00 PM and arrived ATL at about 9:00 PM with another layover in MBJ.

I'm already planning my next trip!

Peace, Greenie

caribtraveler

Enjoyed the read. Grenada has been on the list thanks to ejcrowe and mymoosie. lol on the bed bugs! Thanks for posting.

owa

greenie, I laughed at your description of the " fish with hands and wings". I knew exactly what you saw-- a flying gunard. Were the wings spread? Absoutely beautiful when they spread them wide. It does look like they have hands. They turn rocks over just like we do with our fingers. I love it watching them. owa

ejcrowe

so Greenie, when is your next trip? Will you be returning to COyaba or trying some place new?

greenie

Owa! thank you for the name of that fish! My husband and I were scouring the internet for the name but couldnt find anything on it. Ahh...what a cool fish. It swam very close to shore...never really spread its wings wide. It was oblivious to me, even when I hovered 2 ft over it. It was quite busy pushing the sand...fugly little guy but very interesting.

EJ. I think we are going to Virgin Gorda in May (Lord willing). And then Grenada again in the Fall; possibly late Oct early Nov. The weather was just perfect. You have another trip to GND planned for next year, dont you?

Peace, Greenie

ejcrowe

Wow, Virgin Gorda and Grenada in one year--definitely my current two favorite destinations.

I've got a trip to Grenada in the mill, but with my work schedule and family obligation travels (sibling weddings!) I don't know if I"ll get down there in 2008 or not, even if my accommodations are free!

And my husband got a wild idea last night of celebrating his 70th birthday at a huge villa with his 3 kids, their husbands, my mom and her partner--I think VG might be a great destination for that...

greenie

EJ, got any tips on VG? How are some of the cheaper resorts? Nail Bay, Mango Bay, and Leverick Bay?

ejcrowe

I would stay at Mango Bay or Guavaberry Spring Bay in a heartbeat--both have outstanding beaches right there, both are self-catering facilities, both are in good locations for accessing the rest of the island (Mango Bay is more central, though), and both have good snorkeling, with a definitive edge to the Spring Bay location.

I didn't want to stay in Leverick Bay because it was such a long way away from everything else on the island, relatively speaking. There's not much beach there and the emphasis seemed to be on sailing and other water sports but not snorkeling--since snorkeling is my favorite water sport, I opted not to look too closely at Leverick.

I made the drive to Nail Bay one day from Mango Bay to check it out. The beaches there are beautiful but did not look that easily acccessible unless you're staying in one of a select few villas. The views were stunning from the hillside and the pool looked nice. However, the road to Nail Bay was in pretty rough shape--dirt road from Mango to Nail, with real ruts and pits and narrow most of the way. Still, a pretty drive with more than one lookout point. I'd probably be more inclined to stay there than Leverick, but I'm not sure why, especially since the positive reviews of Leverick seem to outshine Nail Bay.

Do you ever post over on Travel Talk Online on the BVI forums? If so, it might be worth posting the same question over there. When I posted that I wanted a villa in the Mango Bay/Mahoe Bay area but that Mahoe was too expensive for my budget, one of the owners contacted me via PM and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He might do the same for you.

greenie

Thanks, EJ. I used Traveltalk for my Tortola trip ages ago. I will do that!

Thanks! Greenie

ejcrowe

let me know if it works, greenie. if he does approach you and you want an outside verification of who he is, by all means contact me and let me know.

starfish1

Hi Greenie, thank you for a great trip report. It's very timely as I'm trying to decide where to go in the spring and Grenada keeps popping up as a possibility. Just wondering how built up the area is around the Coyaba and if there's any construction going on. It looks absolutely beautiful and your report confirmed that. Also wondering if you would recommend doing an AI here? Like you we don't want to do an awful lot off site - maybe explore the island a bit and snorkel/sail - otherwise just chilling. Thanks so much for any feedback. Glad you enjoyed your trip so much.

greenie

Hi Starfish...The area around coyaba is established, but I wouldnt say "built up." No high rises. No construction that I saw.

Although the food is great at coyaba, I wouldnt do AI because there are so many great restaurants all over the place and within walking distance, as well. The food at the resort does get a little repetitious. There's also a grocery store right across the street to the right of the mall.

Ejcrowe, mymoosie, as well as many others on the board who love greneda could give you much more insight, as they have been way more than me (although I am going back)!!!

One thing I would do differently next time is buy more chocolate. I bought a box for my friends, and didnt keep enough for myself! Next time...2 or 3 boxes!!

Peace, Greenie

ejcrowe

Greenie, when you say box of chocolate do you mean boxes of the Grenadian made chocolate? I never knew it came in boxes--I'll definitely bring back more next time if that's the case!

I"ll echo greenie's comments about the Coyaba--her use of the word "established" is right on the mark. It's set between two other resorts that are NOT under construction, so you wouldn't have to worry about construction noise. So far there are no high rises on Grenada, thank goodness!

I'd also echo her suggestion of not eating at Coyaba for all of your meals. Now, some people can find rates for an AI plan that are so ridiculously low that it would actually cost more for them *not* to go the AI route. We got one such pacakge deal in St. Kitts once. So we ended up using the hotel as a B&B&B: a bed & breakfast & bar. The food was plentiful but somewhat bland at the resort, and we were so glad to sample the other places on St. Kitts. The same goes for Grenada--I've had fewer disappointing meals on Grenada for my overall travels there than anyplace else. So whether or not you go AI at Coyaba, you should strongly consider trying out the other wonderful dining establishments on the island.

mymoosie

Aaaah Grenada my love!

greenie - Where did you get a box of the Grenada chocolates? I only see bars, and the big ones too. Do you need some to tide you over until your next trip? I'd be more than happy to bring some back and mail them to you. I already told my husband that I might be buying the entire shelf they have on display at the Real Value grocery store. LOL.

No high rises here so far. Thank goodness. Our friends here told us there is still a law that you cannot build higher than the palm trees.

starfish1

greenie, ejcrowe and mymoosie - thanks so much for your comments. ejcrowe you are right about finding an AI package - it's not ridiculously cheap but is cheaper than booking everything separately. We would opt to try other places just for a change but it's good to know the food at Coyaba rates well. Appreciate your help everyone!

greenie

I got full boxes of the bars at the mall across the street from Coyaba. The store is called Pssst. They had full boxes of the grenada chocolate bars. I should have bought 5 instead of one!!!

Peace, Greenie