Cruise Docking in Grenada : What to do in St George
About Grenada
Grenada is in The West Indies and I visited as part of a West Indies Cruise. The island is 133 square miles and the official language is English.
The island grows a lot of spices and you can smell them when travelling around Grenada. When we got to touristy places the locals were selling spices.
Nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and ginger are grown which are all very fragrant. You can do tours of the spice estates and rum is produced on the island where you can also visit distilleries and get to try some local rum.
In Grenada they grow their own coffee on the island which I saw but didnt get to try in Grenada but I did buy some as a gift for my mum back home in the UK. They only really use it for their own consumption or sell as souvenirs as they don’t grow that much.
The official currency in Grenada is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD) but USD are widely accepted.
Grenada Cruise Port
Most ships docking in Grenada cruise port will stop at Melville Street Cruise Terminal and is in the heart of the city so you literally get off the ship and can walk around which is great as no need to get a shuttle to the Grenada hotels.
There is a local bus into St George and you can get a taxi to Grand Anse Beach for about $10, there are plenty of taxis in port. There is also a water taxi which costs $4 to go across the Carenage.
St George is hilly so if you have mobility problems it might be best to get a taxi, you can also get taxis that offer local tours which I would do if I was to return to Grenada as these are so much cheaper tours organised by the cruise lines.
At the port there is a duty free shop and about a 5-minute walk there is a supermarket but it was getting too hot so I went back to the ship plus it was quite busy again with people mithering you for taxi rides or to buy things.
There is a café in Grenada port offering Wi-Fi so grab a coffee and catch up with what’s happening at home. You need to make a purchase to get a password to use the Wi-Fi.
What to do in St George
When my cruise docked in St George Granada, I was a bit gutted as it was overcast and a few showers so the island didnt look as pretty in the rain.
I did a tour organised by the cruise ship we visited a fort, a waterfall, planation and a dormant volcano.
There are two forts in St George, Fort George has great views over the harbour and Fort Frederick with views over the hilly mountain terrain.
The dormant volcano is in the Grand Etang Forest Reserve. We got a complimentary drink at the volcano I had a beer and there were two guys singing and playing music they were not the best but were making up as they went along as I passed they started singing about my golden hair and how pretty, I was so embarrassed
A monkey ran across the carpark but we only saw one as the rest were hiding from the rain.
At the plantation they gave a talk on the spices and let us smell and taste them.
The cocoa beans are actually white inside and they look a bit like a peeled garlic clove. They have to ferment them before they can be used.
The guide grated the finished product on my hand and it spelt like chocolate but was very bitter a bit like cocoa powder. I guess it needs a lot of sugar to taste like what I’m used to.
Granada was full of beautiful trees and spices but I didn’t see the white sandy beaches which I imagined to be everywhere so I will need to do that if I ever come here again. I did however watch some local fishermen bringing in the catch of the day which was interesting to watch.
Snorkelling is popular in Grenada and there are plenty of options to try this if your cruise stops in St George.
You can visit Hyde parks which is a tropical garden, Grenada national museum and Christ of the deep church.
