5 days discovering Grenada on a luxury yacht

Located in the south of the Caribbean, Grenada and Carriacou boast excellent inland exploring opportunities and well-catered ports for docking whether on your own yacht or enjoying a luxury yacht charter in Grenada.

Grenada is a mix of lush vegetation – a large proportion of the island is covered in rain forest and volcanic stone. But Grenada is well known for something else: Known as the Isle of Spice, Grenada is one of the world’s largest exporters of nutmeg and mace.

From pristine beaches to some of the best dives in the Caribbean, to a rich history and culture, Grenada offers the best of the Caribbean. Its capital city, St George, has earned the reputation of ‘prettiest Caribbean town.’

Carriacou is a sleepy, docile island with a great mix of lazy cafes, beaches and shores that are simply excellent for a spot of snorkelling.

Day 1: St George’s, spice islands capital

Arrive at Maurice Bishop International Airport and get whisked off to your yacht, berthed in Port Louis Marina. The marina is located next to the Carenage – a picturesque, naturally horseshoe-shaped port basin around which St George’s, the capital, is set.

Dine on board against a backdrop of red-roofed brick and stone buildings tucked into the hillside as the ‘spice island’s’ perfume of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger wafts through the air.

Wake up on board to the aroma of brewing expresso and baking banana-nutmeg muffins, and set off early to explore Grenada. Begin by heading for the Grand Etang National Park, where you can take a muddy but spectacular trail to the Seven Sisters Falls, a series of seven waterfalls.

Ask your guide to include a stop at the Grand Etang Lake, lying in the crater of an extinct volcano 531 metres above sea level, which has five distinct sub-climatic areas along its shoreline.

Head inland again, this time to Perdmontemps, near St David, to visit Laura’s Herb and Spice Garden with its comprehensive concentration of trees, herbs and spices grown on the island. Then drive north to the River Antoine Rum Distillery, the oldest functioning water-propelled distillery in the Caribbean, where processes have changed little since the 1800s, and rum is still prepared in the same way that it was when it fired the throats of pirates and buccaneers. Make sure you don’t leave without your own stash of their finest Rivers Roya Grenadine White Rum.

For lunch, stop off at the Belmont Estate, a 300-year-old working cocoa plantation set in 400 acres of lush, rolling hills. The estate restaurant specialises in colourful Creole dishes created from the plantation’s own produce, including goat’s cheeses from its dairy. If there’s time on the return journey stop off at the Grenada Chocolate Company to stock up on its award-winning chocolate, produced from the lush cocoa groves in which the factory is situated.

Depart early for an exhilarating sail to Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, and drop anchor among the local fishing boats. You may want to pay a visit to the Carriacou Yacht Club or you could just head straight for the local rum shops, which are an unmissable spectacle.

On a circuit of the 11-kilometre-long island stop off in the village of Windward for a chat with one of the master boatbuilders, who still use traditional methods passed down by 19th century Scottish settlers. You may be lucky enough to witness a traditional boat launching to the beat of music and dances handed down the generations by people who still remember which African tribes they came from.

Have lunch at Bogles Round House, a quirky round stone building with wagon wheel windows, where you can sample fresh, seasonal island ingredients styled into sophisticated dishes by its young award-winning chef Roxanne Russell. Her menu changes every few days but it may include scallop tempura with a sweet-and-sour hot chilli glaze, coconut-crusted mahi-mahi with pan roasted garlic, rosemary and tomato sauce and silky panna cotta with passionfruit coulis.

After lunch put on your diving or snorkelling gear for an afternoon of exploring the reefs that give the island its Carib name of ‘land surrounded by reef’ and its reputation for having some of the best diving in the world.

Weigh anchor early for the five mile run to Sandy Island, where you can breakfast in the shade of its few palm trees after an invigorating swim around the untouched strip of sand.

Then set sail back to St George’s, docking back at Port Louis Marina. A foray into the open-air market will send you home with Caribbean imagery to last a lifetime. Bursting with fruits and vegetables of every shade, you will also find spice stalls and local craft – all sold by lively vendors.

Stock up on fresh spices and browse Young Street for batik and screen-printed textiles, before heading back to the yacht to enjoy your last al fresco luncheon – incorporating market-fresh produce and nutmeg, of course. After final goodbyes to your yacht and crew, head for the airport