My husband and I had the great fortune to visit Grenada for our winter vacation. We loved Grenada - such a beautiful Island with friendly people. Everyone we encountered seemed to welcome tourists (I would imagine tourism is a great deal of their income).

Our stay on Grenada was at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort. A nice place, nothing fancy, but clean and great location. Service was horrible at the bars - forever to get a drink. And by forever I mean Island Time to the tenth power. We opted not to eat at the resort, as we wanted to try some local restaurants and get a feel for the local fare. But as far as a place to stay, Grenada Grand is a good choice.

BB's Crabback, Umbrella's Beach Bar and Le Papillion Cafe were our three favorite restaurants. I would say each is a "must do" - excellent every one! Coconut Beach was not so great. Food was just mediocre. Some friends of ours ate at Jenny's on the beach and looked over to see a rat under their table! Yikes!

We attended Fish Friday in Goyuave and had a great time sampling food from several different booths. I highly recommend this to anyone considering it. It was a great experience. The locals are super friendly.

The Island Windjammer sailing trip was good. We sailed on the Diamant. The crew did everything under the sun to make us comfortable, keep us well fed and entertained, and safe. They are all very professional while at the same time being engaging and friendly. Strictly from that standpoint I would recommend a trip with them.

However, and yes I knew this going in, you get a mixed bag of passengers which means you never know who your shipmates will be. Most everyone was agreeable and likeable to a degree, but there were a couple of people who just didn't understand the basic social concept of "no politics, no religion". There's not much room on a small ship like the Diamant to get away from such discussions, but we managed.

The down side for us was that one couple brought their kids along. Now when I say kids, I'm talking about a 21 year old, who was just fine. Likeable, smart, socially aware kid. No problem. But their 17 year old might as well have been 10. He was ill-mannered, bratty, difficult and a know-it-all. Between him and his mother, they dominated mealtime with complaints about what he wouldn't eat, did he take his meds, did he take his fiber, and what activity he was refusing to do that day. The kid wouldn't ask to have salt/pepper passed...he would reach four people across. He drank all the Ting in about two days, never thinking someone else might want one. He climbed out the windows of the saloon/dining area instead of using the doors, he talked back/disrespected other adults, interrupted conversations and on and on. Just a totally rude little brat. And the mother and father largely overlooked it. I heard him chastised once for climbing on the furniture. But apples don't fall far from the tree. I looked up in horror one evening to see his father licking his dessert plate. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

But aside from that (sorry for the rant!) the sailing was incredible. The Grenadines are beautiful. I particularly loved Tobago Cays where we snorkeled and swam with turtles. (Youtube turtle video )

We had high winds most of the week and the itinerary was altered, so we never made it to Bequia, much to our disappointment, but the captain made sure we had plenty of great experiences. We had beach time every day. We had plenty of snorkeling opportunities. We had plenty of time to explore various islands, shop, bar-hop or whatever we wanted to do. We had excellent meals prepared by a wonderful chef in the tiniest kitchen imaginable.

All in all, a really great experience. I'd return to Grenada in a heartbeat - it's a very welcoming, safe place to visit. And, I'd probably sail with Windjammers again, but only if I knew my fellow passengers ahead of time.