When you mention the word “beach” in Grenada, the first thing that comes to mind is Grand Anse. It’s the island’s most famous beach, and I don’t think I met one person who didn’t tell me I should go there. I knew it would be quite busy, so probably not my favourite type of beach, but I decided to go anyway seeing as it was apparently something that shouldn’t be missed.
To get there on public transport, you can take the bus number 1 from St. George (capital city) bus terminal. On these buses, you have to tell the conductor when you’re ready to get off, but do NOT make the mistake of thinking you’re literally going to see the beach next to you before telling him to stop.
The beach is actually a lot lower down than the road, so the bus won’t pass right by the beach, you’ll just see it down in the distance. It’s best to tell the driver as soon as you get on that you want him to let you off somewhere where you can walk down to Grand Anse Beach. The journey is only about 15 minutes from town.
If you start at the North end of the beach, you’ll see the craft market which sells souvenirs etc., and you’ll pass plenty of beach restaurants and bars with sun loungers you can use if you buy something there. One of the well known restaurants is called Umbrellas, and the food is apparently very tasty. You can see the menu here – http://www.umbrellas.gd/menu.html
Personally, I had already eaten in town and I was in search of a slightly less upmarket place to chill or get a drink. There were barely any Grenadian people in sight, so I figured there had to be an area where they were more likely to hang out if I kept walking along the beach. Eventually I found a little painted yellow and green wooden shack/bar that didn’t seem to have a name. Some rastas were inside and called to me to come up, so I decided to check it out.
Fast forward a few hours, and I’d learnt the bar is owned by one of the guys that was there called Patchy, so people call it Patchy’s beach bar. I’d also learnt that putting my phone in a big shell when playing music increases the bass (we did this because their speakers weren’t currently working), I’d drank a coconut, and I’d tried to help Patchy and his friends get some customers from the beach (it turned into a bit of a game). He even game me some homemade spiced rum, pictured below (it’s very popular in Grenada).
I don’t have any pictures of the outside of Patchy’s, but hopefully from the above pictures, you’d be able to recognise it and maybe you’d choose to spend your money there, as I think their business is struggling a little more than the fancier ones. Also, don’t be intimidated by Patchy and his friends just because they’re sitting there smoking weed. I promise they don’t bite.
The sea was also a little less busy towards this end of the beach, so it was better for swimming. The water was super clear and there were hardly any waves. My waterproof phone case meant I could take selfies, just in case you wanted proof of this clear water:
After Patchy’s I kept walking down and met up with a group of Grenadian guys who were liming (hanging out / drinking) there, as it was a weekend so a lot of local people were doing that. I met up with them because I knew one of them from Instagram (yeah, 2019 life is a bit mad)… and he gave me a drink and I stayed to watch the sunset (it’s pretty nice from Grand Anse). Unfortunately I only have a picture of the drink and the guy, and not the sunset. I promise it was very pretty though!
The buses run quite late, so it’s no problem to walk back to the main road to catch one after sunset, and even if you have to change buses in St. George after dark (like I did), personally I wouldn’t worry about it, as the area around the bus terminal seemed fine to me and I didn’t feel unsafe and it was still busy.
My conclusion about Grand Anse Beach is that it’s great for socialising, swimming and beach bars/restaurants. I wasn’t in Grenada for very long so didn’t go to many beaches, but from my research and from what others told me, some options for quieter beaches with less buildings are Morne Rouge Beach aka BBC Beach (near Grand Anse) and La Sagesse Beach (in St. David, very empty featuring lots of palm trees).
Travel With Zoe 