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You could spend years traveling around the Caribbean and develop a pretty demanding definition of a great beach. The sand has to be right. Swimming has to be easy. You want enough beach for a long walk, somewhere good to eat nearby, and a hotel close enough that you can treat the beach as part of your everyday routine.
Then there is Grand Anse Beach.
The famous beach on the southwest side of Grenada runs for roughly two miles, a long sweep of white sand beside generally calm Caribbean water. Stand near the middle and the beach seems to keep going in both directions.
Despite being Grenada’s best-known beach, Grand Anse still gives you plenty of room to find your own stretch of sand.
Walk a few hundred yards and the scene changes. There are resort loungers in one section, local families swimming in another. Vendors sell spices and crafts. Small boats pull onto the sand. Couples walk the length of the beach barefoot, carrying sandals in one hand.
You can come here for an afternoon.
I’d stay for several days.
The Beach Is the Reason to Come
Grand Anse is exceptionally easy to enjoy.
There are Caribbean beaches that photograph beautifully and become considerably less appealing once you try to swim. Grand Anse delivers soft sand, calm water, and a beach long enough for serious walking.
Its length changes the experience.
A small cove can get crowded quickly. Grand Anse gives everyone somewhere to go. Walk far enough and you can usually find a quieter patch of sand, even when the beach is busy closer to the hotels and beach bars.
The best plan may be the simplest one: start walking.
Where to Stay on Grand Anse
One of the strongest reasons to choose Grand Anse is the number of genuinely good hotels along the beach and immediately nearby.
At Spice Island Beach Resort, you’re staying at one of the Caribbean’s signature luxury resorts, with suites close to the sand and a highly personal, intimate feel. It’s the kind of place that lets you make Grand Anse the center of the trip rather than one stop during it.
Silversands Grenada gives you a very different experience, with contemporary design, a dramatic pool, modern rooms and direct proximity to the beach. If you want Grand Anse with a strong design component, this is one of the obvious choices.
The Radisson Grenada Beach Resort gives you another option directly along the bay, with a larger resort footprint and easy proximity to the central part of Grand Anse. It’s also a really good value.
And then there is Mount Cinnamon, set just above the beach, with suites and villas and an elevated view over the bay. It’s a strong choice if you want more room and a resort experience that still keeps Grand Anse close.
The important point is simple: you can stay at Grand Anse at several different price points and in several different styles of hotel.
That makes the beach much more than a sightseeing stop.
Don’t Stay in Front of Your Hotel
This is the mistake I’d avoid.
Don’t spend the entire trip on the section of Grand Anse directly in front of your resort.
Walk.
Grand Anse becomes much more interesting when you experience it as one continuous two-mile beach rather than the strip of sand in front of your hotel.
You’ll pass swimmers, vendors, boats, restaurants and stretches where relatively little is happening at all.
Eventually you’ll begin recognizing landmarks along the bay and figuring out which section you prefer.
That’s when the beach starts becoming familiar.
Grand Anse Is Also Easy to Build a Trip Around
The beach is only one part of the reason to stay here.
St. George’s is nearby, giving you an easy way to spend a few hours around the harbor, historic streets and waterfront.
Head inland and Grenada becomes greener, with rainforest, waterfalls, spice estates and cocoa production spread across the island.
This is the Spice Isle, and nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and cocoa remain part of Grenada’s identity.
You can spend part of the day exploring the island and still be back on Grand Anse for another swim.
Why I’d Choose Grand Anse Again
The Caribbean has no shortage of spectacular beaches.
Grand Anse stands out because it gives you so much in one place: a long white-sand beach, calm swimming, excellent hotels, restaurants nearby, and easy ways to explore the rest of Grenada.
You don’t need to overcomplicate the trip.
Choose the right hotel, leave plenty of time for the beach, and walk farther than the stretch of sand directly in front of your room.
By the end of the trip, you’ll probably have a favorite part of Grand Anse.
I already do.
The post I’ve Been Traveling the Caribbean for Decades. This Two-Mile Beach in Grenada Is Still One of My Favorites appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
