Grenada. Several years ago, a friend suggested Grenada for a spring girls getaway, and as much as I wanted to make the trip, I could not fit it into my schedule. They went on the trip and had an excellent time. One of them loved it so much she said she would return in a heartbeat. Fast forward almost five years, a few friends gained admission into the medical school in Grenada and invited me to the induction ceremony. I did not need a lot of persuading to attend. My route to Grenada was complicated (but necessary) to make the trip happen while juggling work and other things; I flew from London to Dallas to Miami to St. George. There are direct flights from London to St. George, and if you are flying from the States, you will likely have to endure a few hours layover in Miami. If you can, I recommend planning to spend the day before in Miami as the flight departs relatively early from Miami International. Flight time is under four hours from Miami. 

Entry Visa. Until a few years ago, you could enter the country with either a US permanent residency or a multiple entry US visas - those rules changed for Nigerians (and other Countries), and now a permit is required. Getting the entry visa was a very stressful process for me and entailed multiple trips to the consulate in London after the initial visa appointment. Thankfully I was able to pick up my passport a day before my flight. Before traveling, confirm the visa requirements for the passport you hold. As a note, on arrival, the immigration officers will hand you a slip on paper; make sure you hold on to that slip; you will need it to depart the Country.

Local currency. The local currency is the Eastern Carribean Dollar, which is used by most of the region. As of the time of this post, the exchange rate was about one USD to 2.70 ECD. I recommend having cash on hand; I was able to exchange currency at my resort, and since my resort accepted credit cards and cash - that was very useful. Call your lodging ahead of time to ensure they take credit cards; I heard some resorts on the Island only accept cash. Carry a mix of loca. currency and USD with you. Some vendors only wanted USD.

How many days do you need? This was a last-minute addition to my travel itinerary for the year; most of my PTO for the year had been allocated, and I only had a few days available for this trip. I spent four days and three nights, and it was not nearly enough. I think if I did not have other reasons to visit, three days is too short of a trip. I recommend at least five to seven days to make the most of the trip. I still had an incredible time in my short time in the city. I had to sacrifice some lying on the beach time, but no matter it was four days well spent.

Getting around. I reached out to my hotel before arriving, and they confirmed a price range for taxis from the airport, so it was just a matter of picking one and going with it; there was no Uber or similar at the time of my trip. The process of getting a taxi at the airport was very orderly, and the taxis take USD as well as local currency. While in the country, I used a mix of taxis, local buses, and tour bused to get around. There was a local bus that picked up from the lobby of my resort that was very helpful. Grenada is a relatively safe country, but I still won't recommend taking the local bus as option one. 

Where to stay. I stayed at the Grenadian by rex resort (aka Starfish Grenada). It is currently closed for refurbishment but due to open at the end of 2019. Some of the exterior of the facility looked dated, but the bed was incredibly comfortable; it was on a private-ish beach - Magazine Beach and had a great pool area. La Sagesse Hotel was also highly recommended but was sold out for my dates. 

Where to eat. Surprisingly I did not eat much while I was on the Island; not sure why; the few times I did eat, it was at the resort, and food was not terrible. Two things were highly recommended to me - going to a fish fry and eating oil down, which is a traditional dish of the Island. I managed to get some oil down during my tour of the Island at Helena’s Ocean View restaurant , and it was IN-credible. If you are curious, oil down is a one pot dish made with salted meat, chicken, dumplings, breadfruit, callaloo Fish fry happen on Fridays, and that was the day of my event, so I could not get to a fish fry. On my last day on the Island, I went to St George and found an excellent smoothie spot in the Esplanade Mall - Celine’s fruity palace; it is possibly the best smoothie I have had to date. There is also a great ice cream spot - Bernie's. They recommended the nutmeg ice cream. I was not disappointed. If you are brave enough, treat yourself to some street food that ranges from roasted corn to coconuts - all of which I enjoyed.

What to do. Because of my time constraints, I chose to do a full-day tour with lunch with Henry Safari Tour. It was an excellent tour and Henry was the best and wealth of knowledge; I got picked up from my resort and dropped off at the end of the day. It was a very extensive and entertaining tour which included St. George; Grand Etang; Concorde Waterfalls; nutmeg factory; local lunch; rum distillery; the chocolate factory, and so much more that was not on the itinerary. If you are not sure how to navigate the Island, I highly recommend this tour and the tour company. Personally, my favorite stops were lunch because trying oil down was ah-mazing; our last stop at Grand Etang and the run distillery where got to learn about the rum making process but also got to try to rum.

The rum from Grenada will make your hair stand; it is not for the faint of heart; although some locals drink it like its water. Also note the alcohol proof in some of the rum is not legal in some countries so if you are looking to purchase some to take home; ask the staff and they will guide you appropriately. I did not enjoy the chocolate factory stop, it started raining on our way to the factory and it was a downpour once we walked in the factory souvenir shop; no one was leaving and there were about 10 tour buses; the small shop was just too crowded for me and because of the downpour, touring the grounds was discouraged; I did try the hot chocolate from shop and it was delicious.

At the nutmeg factory, the employee were very welcoming. The island lost more than half its nutmeg source supply in during one of the major hurricanes of the last decade and they are not quite back to the same levels. There is so much to get from nutmeg beyond the spice; I was pleasantly surprised. Nutmeg oil was probably the biggest surprise of all - several people on the tour and some friends informed me the oil is a great source of release if you have muscle i.e. arthritis issues - these are not claims I have confirmed with doctors - proceed with caution.

The resort was on an excellent private-ish beach (Magazine Beach), so I did not explore a lot of the local beaches. I made an exception and visited the Grand Anse beach, which is one of the top-rated beaches in the region and it is not hard to see why. There is a highly recommended Saturday market in St. George. However, unless you plan to pick up spices or enjoy street food, then you might be better off skipping it. If you choose to go; be aware of random folks who offer to give you a tour of St. George. They are not official tour guides; decline politely, and move on. Unless you want a guide. Everyone I interacted with told me to avoid them, so I did.

I am obesessed with watching sunset/sunrise - there is a serenity that comes from it that I cannot explain Grenada has some spectacular sunsets and sunrise. Some of the best I seen to date. With more time, there are a few things I would have added to my itinerary, including :

1. Friday fish fry in Gouyave

2. Visit La Sagesse Beach in St. David

3. St George Carnage and Fort George

4. Visit the smaller Island of Carriacou and Petit Martinique