Discovering Grenada

Time was when you mentioned Grenada to people they'd most likely say one of three things: "Isn't that the Spanish town with a great palace?", "Wasn't that wrecked a couple of years ago by a hurricane?" or "Isn't that the Caribbean island that was invaded by the US in 1983?"

Things have changed. This West Indian island is firmly on the tourist map and incoming holiday jets are packed to the rafters with people looking to replace England's winter gloom with a joyful dose of Caribbean sunshine.

As the island becomes more popular and more firmly entrenched in the package market, is there a danger of its delightful individuality and idiosyncracies disappearing? Thankfully, the answer's ‘No', and arriving in Grenada still feels like embarking on an adventure, one that you can tailor to your individual tastes. Want to laze on glorious beaches with the occasional activities? No problem. Prefer trekking around rainforest and staying in different parts of the island each night? Easy. Like the idea of gastronomic feasts in stunning settings? Simple. This place really does have it all.

For a start, the topography of the island sets it apart from most of its neighbours; scrubland and decent beaches are bested by mountain ranges, rainforests, volcanic lakes, glorious bays and beaches.

With just 2,000 hotel beds on the island, this is a small, friendly tourist industry catering to individualism and personal service above all else. In place of chain resorts, there are independent resorts and hotels owned by Grenadians that span the gamut from £25 a night self-catering apartments to top-of-the-range beachfront resorts that can set you back £800 a night. Or you can opt out of the whole hotel thing and experience local hospitality via Homestays Grenada, which can place you with a family or find you a house or apartment on the island.

On top of that there are great local eateries around the gorgeous port and main town of St George (one of the most beautiful urban waterfronts in the Caribbean), the only Gary Rhodes restaurant outside the UK at the Calabash Hotel, stunning rainforests, eerie lakes in volcanic craters and a surreal disused airstrip, all accessible via private enterprise buses that blast reggae as they cheerfully tootle round the island for the sum of two EC dollars (about 40p) per person.

The best way to discover Grenada is by taking a tour of the island or hiring a car (the aforementioned buses will do the job too, but only if you have weeks to spare and can figure out which buses serve which routes). The all-day tours run by companies such as Sunsations or Mandoo Tours will give you a good basis for further exploration as well as some stunning sights, including Grand Etang National Park, the rainforest peaks of Mt St Catherine, the gorgeous Concord Waterfall, Lake Antoine (so perfectly nestled inside a volcanic crater it feels likes something out of a James Bond epic) and the picturesque fishing town of Gouyave, home to one of the island's remaining nutmeg processing plants.

Another highlight of the tour is the Queens Park National cricket stadium, an impressive feat of engineering rebuilt by the Chinese as a gift after Hurricane Ivan's destruction of the original.

Then there are the rum distilleries, chocolate factories, plantation estates, the daily general market, big Saturday market and colourful Carenage promenade at St George to be explored, the Dougaldston spice farm, the forts and numerous wrecks and reefs... and, of course, the beaches to relax on after all this activity.

Grand Anse is the big daddy of Grenada's beaches, and almost all the best hotels face onto it, including Spice Island Beach Resort, which has stunning individual suites on the beach itself, and the less chi-chi but comfortable Coyoba Hotel next door to it, but because there are no private beaches on the island it's easy to come and hang out even if you're paupering at a less pricey hostelry like the nearby Blue Horizons Garden Resort, which offers great self-contained cottages complete with kitchenettes.

There are plenty of other beaches to choose from though depending on what you're looking for, from solitude on Bathway and Levera beaches in the north, luxury for less at the resort and nature park of La Sagesse, gently lapping waves at Lance Aux Epines, and celebrity sightings at Portici, close to the ultra-exclusive La Luna resort.

For the local Grenada food experience head to St George for lunch at the Police Canteen and restaurant on Granby St, the Creole Shack on the Carenage, Nibbles Too on Granby St, the Nutmeg on the Carenage, Marvellous Marva's on Grenville St and finally, on Sundays, the Aquarium beach restaurant, where a barbecue forms the focus for the whole beach area turning into one giant party. Just make sure you get here before the developers do!

More info: Click here to book flights and hotels to Grenada. Direct flights are offered by Virgin Atlantic, BA and Excel. Virgin Holidays offers a range of packages including a week at Blue Horizons Garden Resort from £639, Spice Island from £1739, Calabash from £1089, and Coyaba from £899. Just Grenada (www.justgrenada.co.uk) organises cheaper holidays and a whole host of other things, including tours, hikes, guides and hire cars.