Grenada trip
Jan 25th, 2004, 05:08 PM
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Grenada trip
We returned Wednesday from a very fun trip to Grenada. We stayed at the Flamboyant Hotel, on Grand Anse Beach. Nice place with absolutely wonderful views. I wrote a trip report for the Grenada board, but I can't manage to import it here without a bunch of weird punctuation. So, if anyone is interested, let me know and I'll send it along. Jean [email protected]
Jan 25th, 2004, 06:46 PM
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I'm very interesting in reading about your [email protected]
Jan 27th, 2004, 06:55 AM
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I also would be interested in your report - [email protected]. I was there for my honeymoon last year, and I agree with you that it is surprising it isn't mentioned more on this board. From the few islands I have been to, it is my favourite.
Thanks
Angela
Thanks
Angela
Jan 27th, 2004, 01:52 PM
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Will be going to Grenada at the end of February. Would also like a copy of your report.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Jan 27th, 2004, 03:13 PM
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Hey Jean if you're talking about the question marks, we're used to it here at Fodor's...go ahead and cut and paste anyway! Pleeez!
It has something to do with the translation of Microsoft Word I think...it mistakes the apostrophes, etc.
It has something to do with the translation of Microsoft Word I think...it mistakes the apostrophes, etc.
Jan 27th, 2004, 04:34 PM
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Yep, it's those darn question marks that make me nuts. So, I'll send it along. I'm certainly not a writer, but these are my thoughts.
This was our first trip to Grenada. We left from Cedar Rapids Iowa on January 14, bound for Dallas. Left on time from CR, but after about 90 minutes it dawns on me that we should be descending and we?re not. Sure enough, a few minutes later: The Announcement: fog in Dallas. Bummer. We circled for about 40 minutes or so, then ended up landing in Amarillo to get more fuel. Sat on the ground there for 20 minutes or so. Turns out that Amarillo is more than an hours flight from DFW. Ended up missing our connecting flight to San Juan. We were able to make the next flight to San Juan, but missed our connection to Grenada. So, we ended up spending a night in San Juan. A very nice employee of American Airlines helped us track down our luggage and even made some calls to close by hotels to find us a room. We ended up at a small B&B, I think called Casa Caribe. Very simple room, but clean. It was relatively cheap, $75.00 and half a block from the beach. Unfortunately, there are no morning flights to Grenada from San Juan, so we lost an entire day of vacation. We finally flew to Antigua about noon or so, sat there for a couple hours then on to Grenada via Air Jamaica. Slight delay on that flight so ended up arriving just at dusk.
Our hotel in Grenada was the Flamboyant. Absolutely wonderful views. Nice pool. The beach isn?t very wide here, but plenty of chairs. We only ate at the restaurant on site the first night. I ordered an appetizer portion of what I thought was going to be shrimp and lobster pasta. Turned out to have a lot of other fish in it too. I ate the shellfish, and the resident cats were thrilled that I didn?t care for the bites of fish. We stayed in a deluxe room, not very high up the hill, which sure made it a lot more accessible. We had a very good view of the beach and lovely views of St. George?s.
We did walk down the beach as far as we could, then on towards St. George?s. My poor husband was wearing sandals, which he?s never quite gotten used to. So, we never did make it to St. George?s on that trip. Made it all the way to the Tropicana though, where we had a pretty decent breakfast. Caught a bus back to Grand Anse, got some cash and bought some beer and sodas for the room.
As far as activities we took an all day island tour which included a stop at one of the forts, Concord Falls, Carib Leap, tour of the really old rum distillery, lunch at Belmont Plantation, and a drive through the rain forest. We booked with K&J Tours and I can?t say enough good things about Keith, our tour guide. We learned so much about the history of Grenada, as well as lots of information on the local plants and people.
We also enjoyed wandering the very hilly streets of St. George?s. The market was fun, bought lots of little boxes of spices to bring back to coworkers. We wandered by most of the old churches and old forts. The tunnel was interesting, if a bit intimidating. Those cars are pretty close. I kept waiting for some pedestrian to get clobbered by a mirror. The comings and goings of the various ships were of constant interest to us landlocked Midwesterners.
One day we got up fairly early and caught a bus downtown, then the bus to Grand Etang Park. We had decided to hike to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. It?s supposed to be about an hour and a half each way. Well, I?m a flatlander, and over 50, so I figured that was surely not enough time for me to do this hike. Anyway, the nice lady at the sign in desk gave me a walking stick for our journey. It was a beautiful hike. Muddy, but the weather was clear the entire way. I didn?t check my watch when we left, but I?m sure it was over two hours to the top. There were some spots that I ended up having to find handholds to keep from slipping in the mud, but overall, it was pretty fun. The way down was only slightly easier, but did go faster and probably did only take about 90 minutes.
On to my favorite part of any trip, the food. We never had a bad meal while on Grenada. I think my favorite was the grilled shrimp at Coconut Beach. Really, really good and we like the atmosphere. We probably would have gone back for our last night, but read they are closed on Tuesdays. We also ate at Patrick?s, a sampling of island cuisine, while sitting on the front porch of a small pink house. Loads of fun, and lots of food, things I would never order, but it was nice to get a taste of. Another spot we enjoyed was De Soleil at Allamanda Hotel. I had a shrimp dish there as well, it was good too,. Also had a great dinner at The Boatyard, Friday night, when they have live entertainment. I didn?t think to make reservations and the place was packed. We ended up eating at the bar, which actually was pretty nice, at least we could get drinks when we wanted. I could see a few frustrated people looking for drink refills at their tables. We did go for pizza one night at the small mall down the hill from the Flamboyant (sorry, can?t recall the name).
Lunches were had at Nutmeg, good roti, The Aquarium, more American food, but very good and a beautiful setting. Also had an excellent roti at Tout Bagay in downtown St. George?s.
Miscellaneous observations: We used the mini buses a lot. Most of the time we were the only tourists using them. I don?t know if most other people used cabs or stayed close to where they were staying, or rented a car. I?m glad we didn?t have a car, narrow roads, lots of traffic circles going the ?wrong? way. Not very many Americans around. This isn?t an editorial statement, just a comment. Grenada is a very beautiful island. Lots of variations in terrain and plant life in a very small area. Can?t wait to go back??
This was our first trip to Grenada. We left from Cedar Rapids Iowa on January 14, bound for Dallas. Left on time from CR, but after about 90 minutes it dawns on me that we should be descending and we?re not. Sure enough, a few minutes later: The Announcement: fog in Dallas. Bummer. We circled for about 40 minutes or so, then ended up landing in Amarillo to get more fuel. Sat on the ground there for 20 minutes or so. Turns out that Amarillo is more than an hours flight from DFW. Ended up missing our connecting flight to San Juan. We were able to make the next flight to San Juan, but missed our connection to Grenada. So, we ended up spending a night in San Juan. A very nice employee of American Airlines helped us track down our luggage and even made some calls to close by hotels to find us a room. We ended up at a small B&B, I think called Casa Caribe. Very simple room, but clean. It was relatively cheap, $75.00 and half a block from the beach. Unfortunately, there are no morning flights to Grenada from San Juan, so we lost an entire day of vacation. We finally flew to Antigua about noon or so, sat there for a couple hours then on to Grenada via Air Jamaica. Slight delay on that flight so ended up arriving just at dusk.
Our hotel in Grenada was the Flamboyant. Absolutely wonderful views. Nice pool. The beach isn?t very wide here, but plenty of chairs. We only ate at the restaurant on site the first night. I ordered an appetizer portion of what I thought was going to be shrimp and lobster pasta. Turned out to have a lot of other fish in it too. I ate the shellfish, and the resident cats were thrilled that I didn?t care for the bites of fish. We stayed in a deluxe room, not very high up the hill, which sure made it a lot more accessible. We had a very good view of the beach and lovely views of St. George?s.
We did walk down the beach as far as we could, then on towards St. George?s. My poor husband was wearing sandals, which he?s never quite gotten used to. So, we never did make it to St. George?s on that trip. Made it all the way to the Tropicana though, where we had a pretty decent breakfast. Caught a bus back to Grand Anse, got some cash and bought some beer and sodas for the room.
As far as activities we took an all day island tour which included a stop at one of the forts, Concord Falls, Carib Leap, tour of the really old rum distillery, lunch at Belmont Plantation, and a drive through the rain forest. We booked with K&J Tours and I can?t say enough good things about Keith, our tour guide. We learned so much about the history of Grenada, as well as lots of information on the local plants and people.
We also enjoyed wandering the very hilly streets of St. George?s. The market was fun, bought lots of little boxes of spices to bring back to coworkers. We wandered by most of the old churches and old forts. The tunnel was interesting, if a bit intimidating. Those cars are pretty close. I kept waiting for some pedestrian to get clobbered by a mirror. The comings and goings of the various ships were of constant interest to us landlocked Midwesterners.
One day we got up fairly early and caught a bus downtown, then the bus to Grand Etang Park. We had decided to hike to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. It?s supposed to be about an hour and a half each way. Well, I?m a flatlander, and over 50, so I figured that was surely not enough time for me to do this hike. Anyway, the nice lady at the sign in desk gave me a walking stick for our journey. It was a beautiful hike. Muddy, but the weather was clear the entire way. I didn?t check my watch when we left, but I?m sure it was over two hours to the top. There were some spots that I ended up having to find handholds to keep from slipping in the mud, but overall, it was pretty fun. The way down was only slightly easier, but did go faster and probably did only take about 90 minutes.
On to my favorite part of any trip, the food. We never had a bad meal while on Grenada. I think my favorite was the grilled shrimp at Coconut Beach. Really, really good and we like the atmosphere. We probably would have gone back for our last night, but read they are closed on Tuesdays. We also ate at Patrick?s, a sampling of island cuisine, while sitting on the front porch of a small pink house. Loads of fun, and lots of food, things I would never order, but it was nice to get a taste of. Another spot we enjoyed was De Soleil at Allamanda Hotel. I had a shrimp dish there as well, it was good too,. Also had a great dinner at The Boatyard, Friday night, when they have live entertainment. I didn?t think to make reservations and the place was packed. We ended up eating at the bar, which actually was pretty nice, at least we could get drinks when we wanted. I could see a few frustrated people looking for drink refills at their tables. We did go for pizza one night at the small mall down the hill from the Flamboyant (sorry, can?t recall the name).
Lunches were had at Nutmeg, good roti, The Aquarium, more American food, but very good and a beautiful setting. Also had an excellent roti at Tout Bagay in downtown St. George?s.
Miscellaneous observations: We used the mini buses a lot. Most of the time we were the only tourists using them. I don?t know if most other people used cabs or stayed close to where they were staying, or rented a car. I?m glad we didn?t have a car, narrow roads, lots of traffic circles going the ?wrong? way. Not very many Americans around. This isn?t an editorial statement, just a comment. Grenada is a very beautiful island. Lots of variations in terrain and plant life in a very small area. Can?t wait to go back??
Jan 27th, 2004, 05:17 PM
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Thanks for the trip report, JeanH!
Are there still lots of feral dogs on the beach at Grand Anse? Thought that was a little intimidating (we had our children with us). Glad you enjoyed the Flamboyant, a nieghbor of mine described it just as you said - simple but islandy! Sorry it took so long to get to Grenada - sounds like you handled that with class!
Are there still lots of feral dogs on the beach at Grand Anse? Thought that was a little intimidating (we had our children with us). Glad you enjoyed the Flamboyant, a nieghbor of mine described it just as you said - simple but islandy! Sorry it took so long to get to Grenada - sounds like you handled that with class!
Jan 28th, 2004, 07:06 AM
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Joan, I saw way more dogs at the end of Grand Anse opposite where the Flamboyant is. They didn't seem very interested in the tourists, although one did curl up at my husband's feet when we were eating at Coconut Beach. He didn't even beg for food, just laid down like he belonged there.
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