Magazine beach

[nigkar]

We will be visiting Greneda on our 1st Caribbean cruise and would like other peoples opinion on the place.

Is there any where else worth visiting that is near to the port????

thanks for any information.

[espmass]

I have been to Grenada three times and loved it. Depends on the types of things you want to see and do. The people are quite aggressive in trying to sell you things but they are friendly and polite and mean well. The spice market is walking distance and an interesting thing to see. There is a small Museum of Grenada also in walking distance. We grabbed a cab one trip and just asked the driver to give us a tour and he took us all over the island (don't recall the cost). Last time there we took a catamaran trip where they pointed out all the things of interest along the way and then took us to a beach for about 2 hours before we headed back.

[crisp1]

Magazine beach is very nice, not crowded with good snorkeling. There is a beach bar and restuarant too.

[nigkar]

how much would a taxi cost to the beach???

[Aplmac]

Magazine beach is very nice, not crowded with good snorkeling.

There is a beach bar and restaurant too. ===> Aquarium is its name

 

 

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[Snorkel Dawg]

Are there palm trees on magazine beach? Also is there a reef off the beach & how far out? How calm is the beach?

[helo driver]

Back from Grenada and went to Magazine, love it. Shade from trees on edge. Taxi for 4 round trip, $40, paid after he came back to get us. Great peaceful beach, snorkling was pretty good 50 feet from the beach. Drinks from Aquarium restraunt were cold, $3 beer, $5 virgin frozen drinks for my teenagers. Food from restraunt was pretty pricey, but good.

 

We would go back if ever in Grenada again.

[funkycruiser]

We went to Magazine Beach in January and LOVED it! It was actually quite windy when we were there, so snorkeling was not that great. I had the best pina colada I have EVER had at the Aquarium Restaurant. It had fresh nutmeg sprinkled on top. Mmmmmm! There were palm trees and a very nice older man who rented chairs for $5 a piece. Also came by once to see if we wanted to buy a big conch shell. Not pushy at all. Would definitely go back! Here is a favourite pic of mine...

[jessie073]

Back from Grenada and went to Magazine, love it. Shade from trees on edge. Taxi for 4 round trip, $40, paid after he came back to get us. Great peaceful beach, snorkling was pretty good 50 feet from the beach. Drinks from Aquarium restraunt were cold, $3 beer, $5 virgin frozen drinks for my teenagers. Food from restraunt was pretty pricey, but good.

 

We would go back if ever in Grenada again.

 

helo diver - you mentioned the snorkeling was pretty good - was there structure out a that distance, what was the water depth there?

 

Thank you.

Jessie

[IslandStar]

Lovely beach and lovely place all round. Check to see if they are open if you arrive on a Monday as I know they are normally closed on Mondays. All the vendors in Grenada on the beaches are very nice and just trying to make a living. As I've said elsewhere there is no social security and little support from Government so if they don't sell they don't eat and it's as simple as that - possibly why the arrival areas at the post is a bit more agitated?

 

A couple of things to watch out for though to make a perfect day....

There can be (not always though) a bit of a current running that far south so ask a local if it's ok to swim and how far out. They're super friendly and will give good honest advice. I know of one who regularly keeps an eye on the guests to make sure they dont stray too far out if there's a current.

 

For the stronger more adventurous swimmers make sure you keep an eye out for boats, fishermen, sailing, powerboats, dive boats etc as they all whizz along near this coast line. Not in too close but as I said this is for the stronger swimmer who may venture out quite far.

 

If I recall correctly there are manchineel trees near the area, ask a local to point them out so you know where they are. Do not stand under them if it rains as they have a rather acidic sap and DO NOT eat the fruit. (Species: Hippomane mancinella, Family: Euphorbiaceae) got its name from the Spanish 'manzanilla' which means 'little apple.' The fruit and leaves of the tree resemble those of an apple tree. However, the manchineel tree is a very poisonous plant and should be avoided as far as possible. It has a reputation as being the most dangerous tree around.

 

Now that you've taken note you'll have a lovely experience there and hopefully some some yummy cocktails too :cool:

[Perky1]

Has anyone been here recently? Will we have trouble getting a cab to get back to the ship? Would we be better off just to go to Grand Anse Beach where it is closer to the ship.

[tango9]

We were there last week off Millenium. Our cab driver agreed to pick us back up at an agreed upon time. It may be hard to get a cab back if you don't do that. It was a lovely place, quiet and relaxing, but when we were there, there were great crashing waves and they kept knockin us down and sucking us back into the ocean. My friend had to be rescued by three men. The Aquarium restaurant is open air ; coke is $2, juice is $3 and pina colada is $7.

[Aplmac]

We were there last week off Millenium.

It was a lovely place, quiet and relaxing, but when we were there, there were great crashing waves

and they kept knockin us down and sucking us back into the ocean. ===> And still you went back for more! :D

Winter North swell.

Can't imagine why you guys even tried going in, when it's like that!

 

These North swells happen as a result of Atlantic storms, anytime from Oct. to March

-inconveniently and exactly during cruise season. Bummer.

.

[Snorkel Dawg]

We plan on going to Magazine beach & snorkeling in mid March. I would appreciate reading anyone's experience/opinions who has recently been there

[Perky1]

Snorkel Dawg.. I hope you will report when you get back. We will just be a couple of weeks after you.

[Lsimon]

We've been to Magazine beach twice - had the cab driver drop us off at the Aquarium restaurant. They have some shady areas in front and there is someone there renting chairs. The chair guy also has a little bit of snorkel equipment for rent.

 

The water there is sometimes wavy but has some OK snorkeling a little ways out along the beach and towards the rocks to your left. Even with some decent waves coming in the snorkeling was still OK. Not great but fun.

 

Food at the Aquarium is good - they have a great fresh grilled fish sandwich. The people there are very nice but the restaurant definitely works on island time so relax and don't be in a rush.

 

The last time we were there there was a tour group who had rented all the chairs when we arrived and we just sat on the sand for an hour or so until they left.

 

Overall a very nice place. There are one or two vendors there who are a little pushy, but not the large quantity of pushy vendors we've heard about at the other beaches.

 

You will definitely want to pre-arrainge a ride back with your cab driver. There were no waiting cabs there. Don't know if they could call one from the restuarant for you or not.

 

I dont' recall the cab fare but I don't think it was too expensive.

 

Photos: From 2008 . . From 2007

 

This year we're not going back as we'll be in Grenada on a Sunday. They have a big BBQ brunch on Sundays which is supposed to be very nice but very busy there.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Hey Larry,

 

Thanks for the information. We are also here in the Artic Chicago (suburbs) and visiting Grenada in March. Just counting the days!!!

 

Have you been snorkeling at other locations there? All we really want to do is spend the day at a nice beach with decent snorkeling. Is there a better place you might reccomend?

 

Thanks,

Dawg

[Lsimon]

The only place we've been to on Grenada has been Aquarium beach. A few years ago we researched beaches with snorkeling a little and decided on Magazine. We've had OK but not great snorkeling there. But it has the potential to be a little nicer if conditions merit. Don't get me wrong we really like Magazine beach and the Aquarium - but we've done that a couple times already and it also sounded like it might be a bit too busy on Sundays to have a calm relaxing day there.

 

This year we're doing a day-sail and beach excursion through the cruise line that sounds fun - on the Shadowfax - google Shadowfax Grenada and you'll find their web site with details of their day-sail & beach excursion.

[Snorkel Dawg]

We will be visiting Greneda on our 1st Caribbean cruise and would like other peoples opinion on the place.

Is there any where else worth visiting that is near to the port????

thanks for any information.

 

I was just on Magazing beach a couple of weeks ago. It was completely uncrowded. What a beautiful beach & relaxing day. We went there (4 of us) & 2 friends joind us. The 6 of us had the beach to ourselves until noon. Even then there were only a few couples there at the Aquarium Beach bar. The bar has a wonderful Pina colada & $3.00 Carib beers. Great snorkeling, espically enjoyed going straight out 30-40' into the ocean!. Lots of big circular drop offs. from the biggest bolder left of the bar go straight out.

 

The taxi ride there was $5.00 pp & he came back & picked us up at scheduled time. Perfect. Was an amazing day there. The people of Grenada are not pushy. I found them to be one of the most friendly people i've ever had the pleasure to have met. Maybe my favorite day out of my recent 10 day 6 island cruise!

 

Snorkel Dawg rating: Magazine Beach 5*****s

[YoPhilly]

We went to Magazine Beach in Dec.'08 and it was a very nice beach, uncrowded. It was windy, and the water was quite choppy so snorkeling was poor.

 

We were back on Grenada earlier this month but only had 1/2 day there. So, for convenience we took the water taxi to Grand Anse Beach and walked quite far down the beach before settling in....maybe 200-300 yards past the vendor area. It was perfect. Few people down that far. The water was flat as a lake. Great sand. I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, there were several "vendors" who stopped by our loungers, but they moved on when we said No thanks - no hassles.

[texkan]

Magazine beach is very nice, not crowded with good snorkeling. There is a beach bar and restuarant too.

 

Where cabs available when you wanted to return to ship.

[Lsimon]

Where cabs available when you wanted to return to ship.

When we've gone there in the past (it's been 3 years or longer) we've had to arrange a pick up time with our cab driver. I don't recall seeing extra cabs there.

[Miss Vickie]

We arranged a pick up time with our driver, and it was too late. We asked him to come back at 2. It should have been 1:00. The day we were there it was us and a group on a ship beach break tour. The restaurant wasn't open, only the bar. There were a couple of vendors. The water was rough, with a serious undertow, and one of the guys on the ship excursion had to be rescued from the water (one of the vendors pulled him out). When the ship excursion left at 1:00 the bar closed, and it was obvious that the vendors, who took care of the chairs and umbrellas, we're just waiting for us to leave so they could, too. So, we never got into the water, had no where to get any refreshments, and shouldn't have stayed as long as we did. It was a very pretty beach, but we won't be going back.