Carriacou, Grenada: The Isle of Reefs

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The largest island in the Grenadines at just seven miles long, Carriacou (pronounced “carry-a-coo” or “carry-coo”) is one of three islands comprising the state of Grenada, also known as The Spice Island. Located 23 miles north-east from its big sister, Carriacou (or ‘Isle of Reefs’) is perhaps best known for its traditional boat-building and fishing community, its annual Regatta Festival and, of course, its unspoilt coral reefs.

If you think the whole of the Caribbean runs on ‘island time’, just wait until you’ve been to Carriacou – it takes the concept of laid-back Caribbean living to a whole new level!

Growing numbers of tourists flock to Grenada every year, but only a handful make it over to Carriacou. By the time you’ve finished reading this blog post, I hope you’ll want to be among the minority if you ever make it to Grenada.

Read on to discover how just a couple of days on the sleepy little island of Carriacou could make for one of the best travel experiences you’ll ever have.

10 Reasons to Visit Carriacou, Grenada

It’s an ideal post-pandemic destination

Grenada fared particularly well throughout the pandemic, with just over 160 cases and only one death attributed to COVID-19 at the time of writing. Currently, there are no reported active cases in the country and a national vaccination programme is under way.

While Grenada is currently on the UK Government’s ‘green’ list’ for travel, I’m hopeful it’ll progress to green later this year.

If you really want to get away from it all, the small, relatively unknown island of Carriacou could be the ideal destination for your first post-pandemic trip abroad. Before the pandemic, the population was estimated to be around 8,000-10,000, but as many islanders have since migrated to the UK, the US and elsewhere, locals believe the figure is now closer to 5,000 to 7,000. Come around 4pm each afternoon, most of the island shuts down for the day.

While St. George’s award-winning Grand Anse beach and colourful capital may well be bustling with tourists if Grenada gets added to the ‘green list’, Carriacou is unlikely to draw the same numbers.

The beaches are beautiful

Unsurprisingly for a Caribbean island, Carriacou certainly isn’t short of beautiful beaches. What’s more, you’ll probably have the entire beach to yourself most of the time.

I managed to visit four of Carriacou’s beaches during my time on the island.

Petite Carenage

With mesmerising views over to Petite Martinique and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the secluded Petite Carenage Beach is accessible via a path leading down from the road in Windward.

A protected nesting spot for hawksbill and leatherback turtles, at night-time, you can enjoy a guided tour of the mangroves and see the baby turtles running for the shore.

Anse La Roche

Tucked away in a cloistered little cove, the aforementioned Anse La Roche beach is a soft, golden sand crescent rippled with glittery black volcanic basalt. Golden sunbeams dance across the clear, agate-like waters as shimmering shoals of fish and aquatic wildlife swim in the deep blue depths beneath.

After researching directions to Anse La Roche online, I tried to hike there along the road leading down to the beach from Bogles Round House. Upon further investigation, however, the path had become rather overgrown and looked a little too treacherous; I didn’t fancy scaling the cliffs in my sundress!

In the end, I opted for a ten-minute ‘water taxi’ in a small motorised boat with the lovely Reggie, a local tour guide who also showed me around the island during my stay.

Paradise Beach

A one-mile stretch of uninterrupted white sand contrasting against a glistening aquamarine coastline, Paradise Beach certainly lives up to its name.

Home to the Paradise Beach Hotel and Isle of Reefs tour guides (who also own the hotel) – one of the most reputable guides on the island – Paradise Beach offers stunning views across to Sandy Island. You haven’t really been to Paradise Beach until you’ve taken the short boat ride across to Sandy Island!

Sandy Island

A small horseshoe-shaped islet perched opposite Paradise Beach on Carriacou’s west coast, the southern side of Sandy Island consists of a seaweed-strewn white sand beach with several offshore reefs. Meanwhile, a wall of shingle and dead coral embraces the northern side. While this may look manmade, it actually resulted from the force of Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

One of the best destinations for diving and snorkelling in Carriacou, Sandy Island boasts 15 of Carriacou’s 20 PADI-approved dive spots.

The best way to get to Sandy Island is to take a boat ride with a trusted local guide like Isle of Reefs. I filled up on freshly cooked local crabback, rice n’peas and fresh salad – all washed down with a rum punch, of course – before venturing to Sandy Island with Isle of Reefs.

It’s great for snorkelling & diving

In the 17th Century, Carriacou was named “Kayryouacou” or “land surrounded by reefs” by the Kalinago (Caribs), who settled on the island after the South American Arawaks. Even to this day, the island boasts a collection of unspoilt coral reefs brimming with countless species of marine wildlife, alongside a few ancient shipwrecks.

You’ll find 20 diving sites dotted around the island. Besides Sandy Island, some of the best spots can be found at Anse La Roche. If you have time, sail over to the Tobago Quays. Locals liken this famed natural beauty spot to an aquarium because the water is so clear, it’s like looking through glass at the exotic fish and other colourful creatures that call this their home.

Wooden boat-building is fascinating

Carriacou, like many of the Windward Islands, is well known for its traditional wooden boatbuilding. If you head to the town of Windward on the island’s northern coast, you can see the boats being built by hand in the local boatyards.

Windward’s long tradition of boat-building dates back to the early 19th Century, when Grenada was under British rule after being passed over by the French in 1763. Plantation owners wanted to export goods to the UK and elsewhere in the Caribbean, so Scottish shipbuilders settled in the town to build sloops and schooners for trading.

Today, Carriacou is home to both traditional boat-builders and modern ship makers. Given the luxury nature of the island as a travel destination, luxury sailing yachts (like those made by reputable British firm, Oyster Yachts) are common here.

In fact, according to Grenada Tourism Authority, Grenada and the wider Grenadine Islands experienced more luxury yacht traffic throughout the pandemic than ever before on record, as many yacht owners chose to quarantine on their boats throughout. Now, I don’t know about you, but I definitely wouldn’t mind quarantining on a luxury yacht in the Grenadines!

You can see Carriacou in a couple of hours

As Carriacou is so small, you can travel across the whole island in no more than two hours, although you might want to allow a little longer if you plan on stopping for photos. You can use the public bus service, hire a private cab or even use a water taxi if you need to travel across the water.

However, the quickest and easiest way to travel around most of Carriacou, and the rest of Grenada, is to hire your own car. You’ll need to acquire an international driving permit in order to do this. Read more about the international driving license for Grenada here.

Driving through Carriacou’s only town, Hillsborough, on a whistlestop tour with my guide, Reggie, we whizzed past brightly coloured shacks selling everything from street food and Stag and Carib beer, to stamina-improving remedies for men…

Highlights of our tour included Carriacou Museum, the ruins of Belair Windmill (once used for crushing sugar cane) and the views from Hospital Hill, also in Belair. Located next to Carriacou’s Princess Royal Hospital, Hospital Hill still bears its original canons in a subtle nod to Carriacou’s colonial past.

Admire the birds-eye view of Hillsborough and see if you can spot Sandy Island and Mabouya Island too.

The people are so friendly

Wherever you are in the Caribbean you’ll almost always be met with a warm welcome by the gleeful locals, but this is even more pronounced in Carriacou. You can’t walk down the road without someone saying hello and asking how your day is going, and everyone makes it their mission to ensure you have a good time on the island.

With fairly low crime rates, this is an incredibly safe place to be; as a solo female traveller, I felt far more at ease here than I do in parts of the UK.

I spent so much time planning my time in Grenada that, up until arriving in Carriacou, I’d made no plans whatsoever for my time here. Arriving on Whit Sunday public holiday in June, everything was closed and there was barely a single soul in sight; most of the islanders were at the Whitsuntide Regatta festival in nearby Petite Martinique (another of Grenada’s sister islands).

The following morning, I awoke feeling anxious at my lack of plans, ever conscious of the little time I had left in which to explore the island. I needn’t have worried, though.

No sooner had I walked to the end of the driveway at Bogles Round House, where I was staying, than I’d been greeted by a friendly man living just next door, who introduced himself as Reggie and ended up being my tour guide for my entire stay. Just like that!

However, it always pays to make advance plans and with pandemic restrictions upon us, advance bookings are often a must nowadays. So, don’t do what I did and fail to make any plans whatsoever – but rest assured that, in the event of any hiccups, you’ll still have an amazing time if the lovely locals have anything to do with it!

The local food is a real delight

If you like Caribbean food, you’re in for a treat in Carriacou. The island is well-known for its fishing community, so its only natural that fish and seafood feature heavily on local restaurant menus.

Since my visit to Carriacou, I’m told a local chef named Tim has begun selling freshly caught, barbecued-to-order fish and lobster on Anse La Roche beach. Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that’s as good a reason as any to start planning my next visit to the island!

Bogles Round House Restaurant and Bar

While staying in Carriacou, I stayed at Bogles Round House. As the restaurant here is owned and managed by award-winning chef, Roxanne Russell, it’s no surprise it’s regarded as one of the best places to eat in Carriacou.

The restaurant at Bogles Round House is open for lunch and dinner. It costs a little more to eat here than it does at some of the other restaurants on the island, but the food is exceptionally good and a three-course meal still costs less than it does back home.

Dining at Bogles, I tucked into hearty callaloo soup followed by fresh red snapper with crispy sweet potato, mashed potato and veg (or provisions, as they’re known in the Caribbean), followed by chocolate pudding made with Grenada-based Crayfish Bay’s organic, single origin dark chocolate (produced by Roxanne’s father, Kim Russell) and vanilla ice cream.

Click here to book a stay at Bogles Round House.

It’s only a 1.5 hour ferry ride away from Grenada

Many people dismiss the idea of visiting Carriacou while in Grenada, assuming they won’t have time to see the island during their trip.

However, it only takes an hour and a half to reach Carriacou from Grenada on the fast Osprey Lines ferry, the Osprey Shuttle (whereas the slower Osprey Express takes three and a half hours). A return journey is priced at EC$160 for adults.

The ferry departs from the Carenage in St. George’s, Grenada, arriving into Carriacou’s Tyrell Bay, with the return journey to Grenada departing from the jetty in Hillsborough.

Be warned – the ferry crossing can be a little rough. While I loved sitting on the sundeck, many of the locals onboard seemed rather uncomfortable as the boat bounced around on the waves en route to Carriacou. If you suffer with sea-sickness, you might prefer to sit in the air-conditioned cabin.

Alternatively, you can fly to Carriacou from Grenada by plane with SVG Air in around 20 minutes, provided you don’t mind paying a bit extra, don’t have too much luggage (there are weight limits – and you’ll need to be weighed too) and don’t mind travelling in a small propellor plane.

Visit Grenada’s second sister island, Petite Martinique

If I haven’t given you enough reasons to visit Carriacou already, here’s another – and this one’s a biggie!

While visiting Carriacou, you’ll be able to visit Grenada’s second sister island, Petite Martinique. Carriacou is only a 30-minute boat ride away from Petite Martinique with Osprey Lines, so you could potentially cross both islands off your bucket list during your stay.

Like Carriacou, Petite Martinique is home to an array of pristine beaches and authentic restaurants, alongside attractions like Darant Bay Cave and the island’s highest peak, The Piton (popular with hikers).

Sadly, I only managed to admire Petite Martinique from afar on my visit to Carriacou, but it’s topping my bucket list for my next trip.

An exciting annual events calendar

During normal circumstances, Carriacou hosts a series of exciting annual events including Carriacou Carnival, Carriacou Regatta and the Maroon Music Festival. At present, these events are on hold due to the pandemic, so if you’ve got your heart set on attending, you might need to wait a little while.

Carriacou Carnival

Held annually in February, the two-day Carriacou Carnival is a vibrant celebration of the island’s different cultural traditions including traditional calypso and soca music, street dancing, dramatic costumes and local foods. The Shakespeare Mas is the highlight of the festival, when locals dress up in Shakespeare-inspired costumes and recite lines from famous Shakespeare plays in a fierce battle of words.

Carriacou Maroon and Music Festival

Also held in February, the three-day Carriacou Maroon and Music Festival is a colourful celebration of Maroon culture. With its roots in Africa, Maroon culture values giving thanks and prayers for life, production and prosperity.

Expect to hear lots of traditional drumming, string bands and singing, watch exciting cultural performances and eat your body weight in smoked foods.

Carriacou Regatta Festival

Given its long-standing history of boat-building, it seems only right that Carriacou Regatta Festival has a fantastic reputation.

Held over four days in the first week of August each year, the annual Regatta Festival has been the longest-running regatta race in the Caribbean since 1965. It attracts vessels from all corners of the Caribbean, although the boat-builders of Carriacou make the most of the opportunity to show off their excellent craftmanship.

Getting around Carriacou

When you depart the ferry at Tyrell Bay, you’ll be greeted by a string of taxi drivers, all of whom will be falling over themselves to take you to your wherever you’ll be staying and cart you around during your stay. You could also catch the local bus, which is generally fairly regular and reliable.

If you can drive, however, I recommend applying for a temporary driving licence while in Grenada so you’ll be able to hire a car to drive around Carriacou.

Where to stay in Carriacou

While you could visit Carriacou on a day trip from Grenada, I recommend staying at least one night to fully appreciate all that the island has to offer. I’d planned on staying in Carriacou for three nights but I cut my trip short by one night due to other commitments. With hindsight, I wish I’d spent the full three nights on the island. When I return to Grenada I plan on spending much, much longer in Carriacou; it really is my happy place!

Bogles Round House

As Carriacou is so small, there aren’t a great deal of places to stay here. You’ll struggle to find any luxury hotels or high-end resorts, but charming little guesthouses and budget to mid-range hotels are aplenty.

Bogles Round House came highly recommended by Grenada Tourism Authority and, after discovering it was built by Roxanne’s father, Kim Russell (who also owns Crayfish Bay Organic Cacao Estate, one of the most popular budget places to stay in Grenada) I just knew I had to stay here.

Anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of meeting Kim will understand what I mean when I say he’s a rather quirky character. I first met him at Grenada Chocolate Festival in 2018. Having seen the tree houses he’s built for Air B&B guests at Crayfish Bay, I was keen to see Bogles Round House for myself.

It certainly didn’t disappoint. Built entirely by hand, the round house itself is a circular stone cottage with a domed roof and open windows made from cart wheels. According to a sign at the entrance, it was built in 1991 using natural and manmade waste by Kim and his then-wife, Sue.

The roundhouse is surrounded by a lush green garden blooming with flowers and foliage. An old swing hanging from a tree at the bottom of the garden overlooks the Caribbean Sea, with views across to Mabouya Island and Sandy Island. A gate opposite the swing leads directly down to a small beach.

With open kitchens and living areas, the self-contained guest cottages aren’t made for those with a fear of creepy crawlies, as I soon found out. Trying to keep my cool as cockroaches flitted past my ears and fell down from the ceiling above me as I sat in the lounge during the evening was an interesting experience, yet one I’d repeat in a heartbeat if it meant visiting this island paradise again.

From memory, I paid around £250 for a three-night stay at Bogles Round House back in June 2019. This included an ample breakfast of fresh fruit, freshly baked bread for toasting, local jams and cereals.

Check the latest rates and browse availability here.

What would you look forward to the most about visiting Carriacou? Have you ever been to Grenada or any of its sister islands before? I’m Grenada-crazy, so please feel free to share your experiences by commenting below; I reply to all my comments personally and I’d love to exchange travel stories!

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