7 Unique Things to experience in Grenada

As world tourism starts to open up, I have been inspired to add Grenada to my bucketlist and excited to share 7 unique things to experience in Grenada. I am sure most of us frequent travellers are eager to travel but are also conscious of the current state of affairs. But no one said in the interim as we weigh up our pros and cons we can not daydream about travelling to warmer destinations.

With the debate still ongoing as to whether countries should open their tourism gates, I have been secretly plotting a trip to the Caribbean island of Grenada. Grenada, a sovereign state in the west indies known as the spice of the Caribbean, not to be mistaken for the Spanish city, Granada. I am eager to visit this gorgeous island and I have compiled 7 unique things to experience in Grenada.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post with Black Travel Creators

7 Unique Things to Experience in Grenada

As a wanderlust at heart, there is nothing I love more than exploring new destinations and being inspired to explore places that are completely new to me. The Caribbean to have always been a destination of lovers, family vacations or group travel. As a solo traveller, I have found myself restricted by my own mind as to which far-flung destinations I can still explore as a solo traveller.

Thanks to Ade (mybreakingviews) and Debbie (Wanderlustcalls) who invited me to attend my first ever virtual press trip with Discover Grenada, I was inspired to include Grenada to my solo travel bucketlist for 2021. As I was participating in the press trip I was able to come up with 7 unique things to experience in Grenada. I am excited to start planning my trip and in this post, I am sharing all the experiences I want to enjoy during my future trip.

Experience the History of Grenada

Whenever I travel somewhere new, I always make a point of visiting their museum to learn about their history that which is not always available online. One of the many experiences I wish to enjoy on my visit to Grenada is visiting their national museum as well as the Belmont Estate – a 300-year-old working plantation.

From the little history I know about the island, it was colonised by the French as well as the British. The capital city of St. George’s has two forts: Old Fort Matthew built by the British and 500m away is the best-preserved Fort Frederick built by the French which offers impressive panoramic views of the city.

Attend a Cooking Class and Create the Grenada National dish

One thing travel has taught me is to always try the local cuisines and learn about each destinations national dish. If there is one thing I am excited about experiencing in Grenada its the food especially their national dish – oil down. Oil down is a one-pot traditional dish which is a stew cooked in coconut milk with breadfruit being the main star of the show, without it the national dish can not be made.

Of late I have taken to cooking favourite dishes from various destinations and I am still trying to perfect the Tagine we had in Essaouira, Morocco and I think it would be awesome to learn how to cook Grenada’s oil down with the breadfruit and various meats. Those who have had this national dish have been singing its praises and I am ready to try it for myself.

Relax on the Beach

The Caribbean is known for its incredible beaches and Grenada is no exception, with 2 miles of white sand beaches, Grenada was voted to have the best beaches in the world. Whenever I travel on a beach vacation, I always want it to be a mixture of lying on the beach all day and being able to explore the entire coastline. One of the most unique experiences in Grenada is that you can be relaxing on one beach and watch the rainfall happening on another beach.

Grenada is a group of islands and its made up of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and between them is a plethora of the most stunning beaches in the Caribbean and can be enjoyed all year round. On Petite Martinique, you can visit the highest point of the island and immerse yourself into the local traditions and cultures. The island can only be accessed via boat. Carriacou can be reached via flight or ferry from Grenada, the isle of reefs is home to some of the best coral reefs in the world.

Visit the Chocolate Factory

As a chocolate addict, I was happy to learn that Grenada is considered the ‘chocolate island of the world‘ and the island has a number of chocolate factories that you can visit. So I have received recommendations to visit the Trip-island chocolate factory, the Belmont Estate and the Grenada chocolate company. I am definitely thinking a day trip to each of these chocolate factories is in order for me to get the full taste of Grenada chocolate.

Did you know that Grenada is a world-renowned organic cocoa bean producer and has the best dark chocolate in the world? Those who know me know I love white chocolate over dark chocolate but in recent years, I have been working on being healthier and substituting certain products for healthier versions. As a chocolate addict, it only made sense to start slowly switching over from white chocolate to dark chocolate for addiction reasons.

Enjoy Boating Adventures

Being an island means Grenada is never short of boating adventures you can partake in. I can not swim to save my life so I know snorkelling or diving to see the ‘titanic of the Caribbean‘ won’t be on the cards. However, that doesn’t mean I can not go paddleboarding or kayaking (something I actually enjoy) in Grenada’s calm waters. Or better yet, if I am not feeling the water, I can always head over the Carriacou and learn about traditional boat making that has been passed down from generation to generation.

The beautiful islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, volcanic in nature but greener than most can imagine. There is always something to discover, fill your heart with and satisfy your adventurous heart. When it comes to water adventures, you can dig into diving, snorkelling, kayaking, sailing and much more. One of my dreams would be to visit the underwater work of art the ‘Underwater Sculpture Park‘ which is considered part of the Top 25 Wonders of the World.

Enjoy non-water Activities

For those like me who water sports are not your calling then I would recommend other activities and a little research shows many other activities that we can do. For hikers out there, Grenada offers some of the best hiking trails, many waterfalls to enjoy and rainforests as well as mountains to climb. Maybe hiking is not for you and would much rather go on a bicycle tour to explore the island a great way to exercise and tour the island.

There are many other non-water activities and adventures that we can enjoy from ziplining across the islands to relaxing at the beach. If I do make it to Grenada, I would like to do more than these 7 unique things to experience in Grenada. I am not a hiker but I would love to hike some of the many trails the island has to offer.

Learn how to Bélé Dance

Bélé dance is a traditional dance that is thought to be the oldest Creole dance with origins from the African fertility dance and its own Caribbean traits. This folk dance is popular in the West Indies and in Grenada has its own take. Recently having had an opportunity to watch and learn about this dance, I am eager to practice my new moves before I actually visit the islands.

We are living in such uncertain times and I for one am ready to learn something new and the bélé dance offers exactly that. I am not the best dance but would like to think I can follow the rhythm of any song and Caribbean songs like African songs have a bit of familiarity for me.

Things to research before visiting Grenada in Covid World!

• Before visiting, you need to have taken a covid-19 test 7 days before visiting the islands
• Grenada requires you to take another test on arrival
• Pre-boarding your flight you need to have booked 5 nights in the approved accommodation where you will quarantine until your Grenada covid test comes out negative

There is so much more than I want to experience in Grenada but for now, this post has a few ideas of things I could do. I found this useful post on 5 must-do chocolate experiences which I am absolutely loving. Grenada is a complete holiday destination that is suitable for every traveller.

Have you ever been to Grenada (Grey-nay-da)? What places would you recommend for first-time visitors? Haven’t been? Where would you go and what are some of the things you would want to try on the first visit?