We’re looking back as our time in Grenada ends. Three months have flown by, as we’ve kept busy with cruiser activities, guests and boat projects. As we say goodbye to a wonderful place to spend hurricane season, we’re ranking Grenada anchorages.
Cruising Grenada
The majority of cruisers park their boats on the southern shore of the island. Each bay has its pluses and minuses: some are more comfortable, others more convenient. All of the bays are busy this time of year, since we’re all here for hurricane season but different cruisers have different priorities and comfort levels. As a result, these observations and rankings are ours alone and you should bop around the bays yourself and make your own decisions.
In my descriptions below, I move around the Grenada bays from northwest to southeast. These are not all the places to anchor in Grenada, simply the most popular as well as those we have personally tried. Now, on to ranking Grenada anchorages.
Please note that some of this has changed due to Covid and time, so always check with the relevant authorities before entering a new country.
St. George’s
St. George’s, on the west coast, is where we first anchored when we arrived in Grenada.
This bay has some really big pluses:
- Location: St. George’s is the main town in Grenada, and when you anchor here you can easily dinghy to the hot spots like The Carenage, the Yacht Club and the markets. It’s also near the mooring balls to dive and snorkel the Sculpture Park and a quick dinghy ride to the Grand Anse beach.
- Clear Water: The only anchorage we have been in Grenada where you can see the bottom from your boat. The water here is clean and clear and great for swimming and snorkeling.
The minuses:
- Uncomfortable: The first night we stayed in St. George’s, the boat was banging around so much I couldn’t make coffee in the morning for fear of spilling everything. The sea looked flat and calm but Sava was pitching around like crazy and it was very uncomfortable. Even though St. George’s anchorage is on the lee side of the island, it’s not tucked in and is open to the North, South and West, so vulnerable to waves and wind.
- Away from Cruiser Activities: Though St. George’s is the big town in Grenada, it’s not where the majority of cruisers are. Most of the music nights and other events take place in or near the southern bays, and Brian likes to participate in the music jams, so St. George’s is not convenient for us.
Plenty of cruisers spend most of their time in St. George’s, for good reason. The proximity to music nights makes the other bays more suited for us.
Prickly Bay
A big and busy anchorage with two large dinghy docks spaced far apart, Prickly Bay is surrounded by beautiful homes and resorts on hills. It is very popular and there is room for a lot of boats.
The pluses:
- Access: Prickly Bay has two different dinghy docks at opposite sides of the bay. From the dock by Budget Marine you can easily walk to the main road to go to Ace or catch a bus, or walk to the Container Park and True Blue for the cooking demo or a meal. The other dinghy dock offers access via a quick walk to the brewery and Secret Harbor Marina. Mind the hills!
- Amenities: Spice Island Marine has a big chandlery, Budget Marine, and a restaurant, Sails. The Prickly Bay Marina has a restaurant, a laundry service, customs, a mini mart and a delicious French butcher shop. The Sand Bar beach bar and the University Club are also accessible by dinghy, as well as a scuba shop. It’s very convenient being in Prickly Bay!
- Beach: The beach in Prickly Bay is nice for relaxing, visiting a beach bar, or soaking in the water. The water is very shallow and grassy bottomed, so may not be for everyone. Kids love it!
Minuses:
- Uncomfortable: Prickly Bay gets very rolly and it’s not comfortable to be on board when this happens. If it’s just a day of discomfort, it’s fine, but it can last for days. During TS Karen, the radio was blaring with alerts of boats breaking free and ending up on land because of how rough it was in Prickly Bay.
Mount Hartman Bay
Looking back, we spent more big chunks of time in Mount Hartman. It was our most frequented bay of 2019 and probably the highest ranking Grenada anchorages.
The Pluses
- The community. We enjoyed the company of the many cruisers who stayed here all season. They were warm and welcoming and fun.
- Amenities. The marina offers laundry service, gas and water refills and a full service restaurant with decent wifi.
- Protected. Tucked in between two sets of hills and behind a reef or two, Mount Hartman Bay is nice and calm. We should have been here for Karen but it all came out okay.
Minuses
- Accessibility. Only okay. The local buses don’t run this far out and there is a big hill to climb to get anywhere from here.
Woburn Bays
The furthest east we have been in the southern anchorages, the Woburn Bays are big. There are several different spots where you can anchor: near Whisper Cove, or Hog Island, Benji Bay, or by Calvigny Island.
Mooring balls are available in some spots, and anchoring is allowed most everywhere. We used a mooring ball outside Whisper early on, and anchored in several spots in these bays during our stay in Grenada.
The Pluses:
- Variety: You can take your pick of spots out here, there are so many options of places to park. There is also variety in terms of places to go and things to do.
- Amenities: There are several dinghy docks with amenities in the area. Whisper Cove Marina has one of the best marina restaurants in the Caribbean and a great mini market, and Le Phare Bleu has a swimming pool and bar plus the Lightship. Clark’s Court has chandlery and a wealth of small boat experts of all kinds.
- Access: You can catch a bus to St. George’s and there are a lot of bars with activities a quick dinghy ride away including Nimrods, Hog Island Beach Bar, Benji Bay and Taffys. No wonder people stay here all season!
Minuses:
- The water: Unless you’re really far out, you may not want to swim here. The water in most of the Grenada bays isn’t the greatest, but it’s worse here. The closer you are to Clark’s Court, the worse it is. It smells pretty bad in the area as well and appears to be runoff from the nearby river.
We will miss Grenada for many reasons, and I’ll be posting about those soon. It is a great place for cruisers and the variety of places to anchor is a good reason. Thanks for reading my ranking Grenada anchorages. To other cruisers, what was your favorite anchorage in Grenada?
Follow Sava as we sail! 
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