#islandhopping

Well my fellow adventurers – it is about that time for some island hopping. Once you’re in the Caribbean it would be a crime not to venture out to all the little picturesque islands packed with culture, gorgeous beaches and one of my favourites – delicious food. I promise you once you’ve tried it you are hooked!

The beauty of island hopping here in Grenada is that it’s quite easy. The islands to explore for a couple of days or a long weekend are for example: Carriacou, Petit Martinique, Union Island, Palm Island, Sandy Island, Petit St Vincent, the Tobago Keys, Bequia, Mayreau, Mustique and St Vincent. Spoilt for choice? I think so!

There are two ways to island hop basically – by boat or by a little plane. Boat will always be cheaper of course but does take longer and I must say that parts can be rough when on the boat so if you are the queasy type maybe catch a little island hopper plane instead.

The best island hopper airline to use is SVG Air. Flights are quoted in either EC dollars or US dollars. To fly to Carriacou for example you would be looking at EC$270 return.

The planes are literally little hoppers so will usually hold 4 to 8 people but it certainly is an experience. If you want to book tickets best thing is to email the airline. And don’t take offence if they ask you for your weight – it’s all about balancing out the plane.

Alternatively you can use boats.

Insider Tip: If you are in a budget you can take the MV Dolly C boat from the Caricom Jetty in St George’s Port, Grenada or Tyrell Bay in Carriacou.

It leaves Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Carriacou at 6am and from Grenada at 5.30pm.

You can even bring your car along if you have one. Return fares for adults are EC$100, for children (6-13 years) EC$70 and for younger children it’s free. If you want to bring your car you pay EC$350 return which includes the car and driver.

The Amelia ferry is an additional ferry that leaves from the Carenage in St George’s on Mondays and Thursdays and returns from Carriacou Wednesdays and Saturdays. Return fares cost EC$80. The trip lasts 4 hours.

The Osprey ferry leaves from the Carenage daily (opposite the fire station) in St George to Carriacou at 9am – on paper. The journey takes 2 hours and the faster boat journey to Carriacou. Parking by the way around the Carenage in the morning is super easy and free.

Realistically it usually leaves up to 20 minutes later if a lot of people are catching this service.

Tip: it’s worth going early to catch good seats either on top of the deck or inside.

You can buy your tickets either on the day by the ferry or at the ticket office at the Carenage. Cash only so don’t even think about flashing your bright cards. A return fare to Carriacou works out to EC$160 per person.

The ferry itself is actually not too bad (not being crazy on sea sickness myself) – it has comfortable seats with some tables and air con to make the ride more pleasant.

If you fancy a drink a bar is open throughout the ride selling soft drinks and some alcoholic drinks too.

Personally I preferred to stand on the top deck and taking in the scenery as we were passing Grenada and other small islands before escaping inside whilst we passed over Kick ’em Jenny underwater volcano.

I was accompanied by the most amazing pelicans pointed out to me by one of the crew.

The boats seems to attract flying fish to come to the surface which means breakfast time for these soaring beauties.

Definitely an awesome distraction from the rocking to and fro on the boat.

If you fancy island hopping further to Union Island, a beautiful island for kite surfing, amazing lobsters and quick access to the Tobago Keys, you can catch the Lady JJ boat from the harbour in Carriacou and Ashton in Union Island Monday’s and Thursdays (7.30am departure from Union island and 2pm from Carriacou).

The crossing lasts only 45 minutes and is quite an adventure. Fares one way are EC$60 for adults, EC$25 for children between 5 and 15. Younger than 5 get free passage. So if you fancy a trip best to confirm the boat is running by contacting Troy Gellizeau on 1-784-432-5728, email him at gellizeautroy@gmail.com or check out the Facebook page: M/v Lady J-J

So once you get to one of these islands, Carriacou for example, what would you get to explore? Well that’s a whole new story…..next post to follow soon.