North of the main island, across a stretch of water, sit Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada's sister islands. They are quieter, slower, and smaller, and that is the whole appeal. If the main island feels laid back, these feel stopped in the best way. This is where Grenadians go to properly switch off.
Carriacou is the larger of the two, about 30 km north. Its one town is Hillsborough, a low-key strip along the water where the ferry comes in. Petite Martinique is smaller again, a single hill of an island a short boat ride further on, home to a tight fishing and seafaring community and very few visitors. This guide covers how to get there and what is worth your time once you arrive.
Getting there
You have two ways across: the sea or the air.
By ferry, two operators run the route from the main island. Osprey Lines runs the fast ferry from The Carenage in St. George's to Carriacou and on to Petite Martinique. Schedule and fares change seasonally, so check before you travel, and note Osprey does not sail on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day or Good Friday. Tyrrel Bay Express, operated by Pyxis Shipping Co., sails Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, leaving Grenada at 5:00 PM and Carriacou at 5:00 AM, with cabins and vehicle transport if you want to bring a car.
By air, it is a short hop from Maurice Bishop International Airport to Lauriston Airport in Carriacou. It is quick, and the view of the reefs on the way down is worth the fare. Petite Martinique has no airport, so you reach it by boat from Carriacou, usually out of Windward.
Whichever way you go, book ahead in season and check the return times before you commit to a day trip. The last boat leaves earlier than you think.
What to do in Carriacou
The draw is the water, as clear and empty as the Caribbean gets. Paradise Beach lives up to the name, a long calm stretch near Hillsborough. Sandy Island, a tiny sandbar just offshore inside a marine protected area, is a postcard you can be dropped on for the day with a snorkel and a cooler. Anse La Roche rewards the short walk in with near-total privacy.
Tyrrel Bay is the sailing and lime hub, a natural harbour full of yachts with bars and easy food along the shore. Head to Windward on the northeast coast to see Carriacou's boatbuilding heritage, where wooden sloops are still built by hand the way they have been for generations. That seafaring culture comes alive at the annual Carriacou Regatta, and again each December at the Carriacou Parang Festival, the island's cultural highlight.
Petite Martinique
Petite Martinique is for the quiet, the welcome, and the sense of somewhere the modern world has barely touched. There is one main road, a strong boatbuilding and seafaring tradition, and a community that knows every boat on the water. You do not go to do things. You go to slow all the way down.
Know before you go
Services are limited out here and cash is king, so carry enough EC dollars for your stay because ATMs are few and cards are not widely taken. Rooms are limited too, so book a guesthouse ahead in season, especially around the Regatta and Parang weekends. Pack light, bring reef-safe sunscreen for Sandy Island, and keep your plans loose. The pace is the point.
The businesses below are the Carriacou and Petite Martinique spots worth knowing, from guesthouses to bars to dive shops. Every one is on Island Link, so you can find them on the map and sort your plans before the ferry.
This is part of our guide to Grenada by parish. For more on the water, see tours and excursions in Grenada and the best beaches in Grenada.