Grenade

English is the official language and is spoken everywhere, including on Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Casual conversation between Grenadians often shifts into Grenadian Creole English, which can be hard to follow at speed but is not a barrier — locals switch easily back to standard English with visitors. A French-based patois once spoken on the island has almost disappeared and is no longer needed for travel.

Digicel and Flow both run 4G networks that cover the main tourist areas well; coverage gets patchier in the interior and on Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Prepaid SIM cards from either provider are easy to find in St. George's and at the airport — bring your passport when you buy one. Wi-Fi is standard in hotels and guesthouses across the island.

Tap water on the main island is treated and safe to drink. Carriacou and Petite Martinique rely on rainwater harvesting instead, so bottled water is the safer choice there. Pharmacies are well stocked in St. George's and around Grand Anse; options are more limited elsewhere and on the smaller islands, so bring extra of any regular medication.

Dengue and Zika are both present in Grenada. Both spread through mosquitoes that bite during the day, so use repellent even outside the evening hours. No vaccinations are required to enter Grenada unless arriving from a country with yellow fever — a certificate is needed in that case.

Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the EU, and most Commonwealth and Caribbean countries do not need a visa. They can typically stay up to 90 days as tourists. Everyone needs a passport valid for at least six months beyond arrival and a return or onward ticket.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

• Camouflage-patterned clothing and accessories are illegal for civilians in Grenada and can be confiscated on arrival — do not pack any.
• Cover up away from the beach or pool; swimwear is fine on the sand but not in town or restaurants.
• Greet people with "good morning" or "good afternoon" before asking a question — jumping straight to a request is considered rude.
• Ask before photographing people, especially in markets and fishing villages.

Spicemas, Grenada's Carnival, takes over St. George's for several days in August with parades and street parties — expect many businesses to close and transport to be crowded. Sundays are quiet island-wide, with most shops and some restaurants closed, so plan grocery and errand stops for Saturday.

• By air: Maurice Bishop International Airport, near Grand Anse, is the main gateway. Small propeller flights connect the mainland to Carriacou in about 20 minutes — useful if the ferry schedule does not fit your plans.
• By ferry: A passenger ferry links St. George's with Carriacou (and on to Petite Martinique) a few days a week; the crossing takes roughly two hours. Book ahead in high season and around Carriacou's Regatta Festival in late July/early August.
• By minibus: Privately run minibuses ("reggae buses") cover the main roads for EC$2.50–6.50 depending on distance, roughly 6 am to 9 pm Monday to Saturday, with little to no service on Sundays. Flag them down anywhere along the route.
• By taxi: Taxis run on a fixed-rate card rather than a meter — agree the fare, or check it against the posted rates, before you get in.

Breakfast is often simple — saltfish and bakes (fried dough) with a cup of local cocoa tea. The national dish is oil down: breadfruit, salted meat, callaloo, and dumplings layered in a pot with coconut milk and turmeric. It simmers, unstirred, until the liquid is fully absorbed. Every parish and household makes it a little differently.

Spices define Grenadian food. The island is one of the world's largest nutmeg producers, and nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and cloves flavor stews, rum punch, and ice cream alike. Rum matters just as much: River Antoine Rum Distillery still presses and distills cane by hand on 19th-century equipment, and estates like Clarke's Court Rum Distillery offer tours of the process. Cocoa is the third local staple — plantations such as Belmont Estate and small producers like Grenada Chocolate Factory take visitors from bean to bar.

For street food, Friday night in Gouyave is worth planning around. The town turns its main street into an open-air fish fry, grilling and frying seafood with local hot sauce. To drink, look for rum punch, sea moss punch (a creamy, nutmeg-spiced tonic), and the bitter, herbal mauby, alongside the usual Caribbean beers.

Most visitors base themselves on the mainland, close to the capital, St. George's, with its harbor and historic forts. Just south of town is the resort strip along Grand Anse Beach. On the west coast, the fishing town of Gouyave is known for its nutmeg processing station and Friday fish fry. Grenville, on the east coast, has one of the island's biggest produce markets. In the north, Sauteurs sits above the site where the island's last Kalinago inhabitants died rather than surrender to French forces in 1651.

For a slower pace, Carriacou and Petite Martinique is Grenada's sister-island dependency, a short flight or ferry from the mainland. Carriacou's main town, Hillsborough, and the tiny, mostly car-free Petite Martinique see far fewer visitors. Both have quiet beaches and strong sailing and diving traditions, and Carriacou has its own small museum of island history. Just offshore, the powder-white sandbar of Sandy Island is one of the country's best-known views.