Back from Grenada/PR with do's + do not's

[RonJames]

Hey everybody, im back from PR/Grenada. I'll follow up with a couple of posts about the River antoine rum distillery and another about new rum additions but here's a low down of the trip. It rained for a week straight in PR and we got blown off somewhat by destileria coqui but overall had a good time in PR. Grenada not nearly as good of a time. In fact, we ended up only spending 3 of the 8 days we had planned and ended up coming home early. In all fairness to Grenada, I think it was more of a case we felt like Chevy Chase in one of those national lampoons vacation movies, everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING that could of gone wrong did.

1. Don't fly in at night, if your flight arrives late good luck finding your accomodations.
2. Do use Keith Japal as your taxi driver/tour guide, he was the BEST thing about this trip. You can hire him for the day, great rates, knowledgeable, even personality, (even invited us into his house for a drink of water and meet his wife) and DEPENDABLE. If there was one thing we did right on this trip, it was this guy.
3. Do stay in grand anse, no where else
4. Don't stay anywhere else on the island, including houses on the east side
5. Don't rent a car there if your from the US, driving on the other side of the road while the wheel is on the right side of the car and there's no signs to read as your going up blind switch back roads is actually harder than it sounds.
6. As Ed on this site has mentioned, the local buses can be fun for the adventersome, we had a good bus ride.
7. Don't go to st. george on sunday, everything is closed
8. For Rum tours, hire a taxi for the day, you might be able to get all 3 in if you tell the driver thats all you want to do.
9. Belmount estate and the restaurant are a blast.

Feel free to contact me if you want any info.

[RonJames]

I know that this is a plug but the taxi driver info is...

Keith Japal
phone 1-473-444-6346
cell 1-473-415-8978
email morriej@hotmail.com
rentals@rodneysrental.com

This info might help any traveling to Grenada, and I would go so far as to contact this guy before I did anything else.

[Arctic Wolf]

A Good Taxi Driver is probably the best tip you can give anyone who is traveling in the Caribbean. I remember when my wife and I stayed in Tobago for two weeks. Using the hotel cabs was expensive and we seemed to get the run around constantly.

Like you we found a good taxi driver (in our case recommended by a local who we became friends with) and suddenly we we seeing the island in a whole new way, through the eyes of someone who new it intimately.

[Edward Hamilton]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Grenada as much as you expected to. I have spent many months on that island and wrote much of my first books anchored on the south side of the Grenada not far from the Clarke's Court distillery. Having said that, Grenada can be a challenge and from the sound of it you discovered some of those challenges.
I've traveled all over Grenada and all of the other Eastern Caribbean by local bus and only rarely could afford a taxi, but planning your trip is essential. I can only imagine the frustration of arriving late at night, after a long day and not being able to find your hotel.
I hope you took a lot of pictures as there is a lot of beautiful landscape in the islands.

[RonJames]

Thanks arctic and Ed. laughing.gifIt makes me feel better to know that Im not the only one that had to learn by through the school of hard knocks. We were actually driving down by the southern shore and I said to my wife "Hey look at all those boats down there, thats where Ed the rum guy (sorry thats how she remembers you) parked his boat while he was here". Overall it had good and bads, and was a learning experience. My wife and I are gonna sit down this weekend with a glass of you know what and write down what we liked and didn't and does and don'ts for future trips. :o