Carriacou is an island off of Grenada that is the most wonderful paradise! I feel so lucky to have visited here. I hope it remains an untouched paradise for future visits!
Carriacou offers palm trees, hidden pristine beaches, epic boat rides, amazing seafood, the kindest people, and an overall relaxed and wonderful island vibe.
Getting There
You have two options for getting to Carriacou from mainland Grenada. You can take a small hopper plane, or you can take the ferry. We tried both and I really enjoyed each one. I highly advise doing both as well just so that you can experience each one.
The plane: The plane is the smallest plane I have ever been on! The airline that runs this route is called SVG Airlines. The flight cost is about 90 USD for a round trip and about 45 USD for a one way. The flight is STUNNING! It feels like you’re taking a tour! It’s the kind of flight people would pay to take just to see the views. You fly over the coast of Grenada and have absolutely epic views the whole way. The flight takes about 20 minutes from lift off to landing. We had carry on sized bags and we were not charged to bring them on the flight, however… there are no overhead compartments or under-seat areas for luggage on this flight so everything must be checked except for purses and small handbags. You must book the flights in advance as they will often book up each day with people going to the island and also with people taking a day trip to Carriacou.
The Ferry: The ferry takes a bit longer than the plane, but it is a BEAUTIFUL ride. I believe it was about 2.5-3 hours long. We left Carriacou at sunrise and I literally stood on the ferry for the entire ride just looking at the scenery as it was too beautiful to sit down! You can sit on the upper deck of the ferry out in the open air, they also have indoor seating for those who do not want to be exposed. The ferry had bathrooms, was clean, and fit quite a number of people. We bought tickets at the ferry office the morning of our journey and had no issues. The ferry cost about 30 USD and it should be noted that it runs on specific days. You should check to make sure of the ferry dates before booking your trip.
Is it Safe
Short answer YES. We stayed in an airbnb and our host was a retired New York City Police Officer. He actually spoke to us at great length about safety on the island and said we had absolutely nothing to worry about. You can move around freely during the day and night, you don’t need to worry about your possessions, and you don’t need to worry about being harmed. On the mainland of Grenada we’d been warned about some crimes of opportunity such as grabbing someones purse that was just sitting there, or reaching through property gates to grab items. But overall, Grenada and more so Carriacou are incredibly safe. We never felt uncomfortable at all and we felt very welcomed and taken care of by all of the people of both islands.
Where to stay
We stayed in an airbnb in the Tyrell Bay area of Carriacou. This was a perfect location for us. We were able to ride bikes or walk to anything we hoped to do. We also spent an entire day out on a boat and the boat was able to pick us up from the bay as well. We were high up on a hill overlooking the island with the most epic views in all directions. Our host really made us feel welcome and involved in our stay and I couldn’t recommend this spot more highly. There were multiple places to eat within walking distance as well so we could have drinks and dinner at the end of our days and not have to worry about how we would get home. The airbnb we stayed in also had multiple units and the upper apartments had absolutely incredible views. If we return someday I will splurge for the upper levels. Listing airbnb gives me absolutely no benefits on this blog haha. But honestly, these hosts were so INCREDIBLE I am singing their praises and you would be lucky to book with them!
Where to eat
Paradise Beach Club: Paradise beach is the place to be on Carriacou! They have the most wonderful owner who is so kind and inviting. They have fantastic food and delightful drinks and the area is so perfect to hang out at. The beach here is beautiful, but you can also hop a speed boat over to Sandy Island and hang out as well for a small fee. We ate lunch here twice during our time on the island because we loved the food and vibes so much.
The Slipway: We loved this spot as well and actually ate dinner here twice we enjoyed it so much. They have a really nice and versatile menu, the setting is so nice right down on the water and you can see all the boats docked in the bay all lit up. You can walk down the beach to get here or walk down a large hill from the main road, you can also drive here. This was directly down the hill from our airbnb so it was an easy walk for us.
Lambi Queen: The mom & pop shop of the main drag of Tyrell bay and we LOVED it. Simple and well prepared delicious food here and really kind staff to welcome you! Definitely would have eaten here again as well if we had more time. We also did our boat tour with Lambi Queen which I will write more about in the next section!
Tims Sunset Beach Bar: You’ve gotta get here if you’re on the island. The best way is by taking a boat tour that stops here for lunch! You can also drive closer and hike to the beach bar. The lobster here is absolutely incredible! The vibes are amazing, the beach is stunning, everyone is in a good mood, it is the absolute perfect island lunch experience.
Things to do
Paradise Beach: I know this is on my list of places to eat, but it also qualifies as a thing to do. Even if you do not want to eat, you could come hang out here, grab a drink, enjoy the sunshine, and relax. You could take the boat over to Sandy Island to hang out for a while and just enjoy the vibe!
Boat Tour with Lambi Queen: We took a full day boat tour with Lambi Queen and it was the most enjoyable experience. We went to countless islands and even though they were all close together they all had really different and cool vibes. We started out on the most pristine island “White Island” and we were the only group there exploring.
We followed that up with snorkling with sea turtles which was a DREAM of mine and one of the most fun things! They then took us to “Sandy Island” and we had some rum punch and explored all around this delightful spot.
Lunch was at “Tims Sunset Beach Bar” and it was the most perfect lunch ever. Lobster, salad, veggies, and great drinks in the most secluded beautiful spot! (pics above) After that we checked out “Umbrella Island” which is known to be the smallest island in the Carribbean!
We ended the day on Petite Martinique which is the smallest of the 3 islands of Grenada. It was nice to sit on the beach and relax as the sun was starting to go down. This is one of my favorite boat days we’ve done anywhere in the world. Drinks were flowing the whole time, we had plenty to eat, the captain and crew were so incredibly kind & thoughtful and we loved the people we ended up spending this day with!
Ride Bikes: We were super lucky that our airbnb had E-bikes for rent. E-bikes were a perfect way to cruise around the island. It can be a bit hilly so a regular bike would have been fine but the e-bike made things so easy. We cruised into the town of Hillsborough for a ride around, there isn’t a ton to do in this town but it was nice to see. There is a beach that borders the town that is SO beautiful and we popped through some bushes onto it and found we had it completely to ourselves! It was a stunning beach with some of the clearest water I’ve ever seen. If you enjoy a good adventure, bikes are an amazing way to get around the island.
Relax: The pace of life on Carriacou is extremely slow. I thought this would be challenging for me but I actually adapted quite quickly and found that when we were leaving, I wish we’d stay a few more days. But be prepared that this isn’t place that is just full of activities and things to do. It is a place to chill on the beach, relax and watch the sunset, spend a peaceful morning exploring, read a book, etc.
Visit Beaches & Islands: If you don’t want to do the full day boat tour you can also get speedboat rides to the individual islands that sound like your vibe.
Practical Information
Cost: Trying to figure out a cost per day here would be a bit challenging as we didn’t really focus too much on what we were spending here. I would say we averaged $100-$150 per day here on food/drinks/activities/groceries/bike rental etc for 2 people.
Our airbnb was really nice and that cost a bit more, many places in Carriacou do not have air conditioning so you’re going to pay a bit more for that. We found it to be extremely WORTH IT!
Overall you could also do really well if you cooked or ate meals at home, which we did not.
Grocery Store: There were at least 2 grocery type stores in the area we stayed. I can’t say either of them gave me a ton of confidence. Some things were expired, some things just didn’t look right, and some things were totally fine. It may be difficult to try to prepare full meals based solely on grocery store items here. We were able to grab small essentials like bread, snacks, sunscreen, etc.
We were very lucky that our airbnb provided eggs! They had a few chickens and we were able to buy fresh eggs from them in the mornings.
Pharmacy: There was also a pharmacy in the area we were staying but the hours were quite speratic. When opened it was just as good as any other pharmacy we’ve been to in Europe or other countries. They had most pharmacy essentials and it was clean and well staffed.
Opening Hours: It is definitely important on Carriacou to call or check in with places to see what their hours are, or if they are open at all. Information on google was not accurate here. Some places we wanted to eat had closed completely but we were still showing open, or were showing incorrect opening hours etc. Try to speak to a human if you can or have someone at your accommodation help you to make sure you aren’t going to a closed down place.
Getting Around: You could rent a car on the island and it would make it quite easy to get around. There are also “busses” which are really just vans that you hop into and let them know where you want to go for a small fee. Staying in the area we did was pretty easy to get around mostly on foot as well. If you wanted to stay in a more remote part of the island a car would likely be your best bet.
Plan for me dani 