Who does the best tours?

We will be in Grenada in April on the Celebrity Summit. I don't know much about Grenada but DH saw they have waterfalls. He would like to do a hike to the waterfalls. I'd like to see spice processing. We have an 11 year old with us so we don't want anything too strenuous. Who would offer the best tour for what we are looking for? Thanks in advance.

I have been doing some research on this too, and it seems that Sunsation Tours which is rated #2 on Trip Advisor does some very nice tours that would include all that you mention plus more. You can Google them in Grenada to see their website.

We like the tours offered by Mandoo. We've done the spice tour, eastern tour, western tour , and the hike to seven sisters.

http://www.grenadatours.com

We like the tours offered by Mandoo. We've done the spice tour, eastern tour, western tour , and the hike to seven sisters.

http://www.grenadatours.com

Yes Mandoo is wonderful. We did a tour with him years ago with my family and my mum still says how wonderful it was (and she is a tough nut to please). :cool:

We loved Mandoo. We learned so much about the island and about spices. His love and passion for his island is obvious. After "scratching and sniffing" and learning more about the native spices, we bought a bunch to bring home. It was the best excursion of our whole trip.

Just off the Celebrity Summit and we took a tour with AJ Meddy. For some reason I didn't find a lot of feedback on his tours in this area but in TripAdvisor his tours were #1. We enjoyed our time - we had Nadya(not sure of spelling) as our guide and also a driver. We did the Western route which included a waterfall(sorry - don't remember the name but it was beautiful) - the spice processing plant, nutmeg station - Grand Etang lake and several other stops. Probably the only thing I wasn't aware of going into it was entrance fees at several of the locations. They were never large amounts but have some small bills with you. I was surprised to have a driver AND a guide but after riding around Grenada I figured out what a challenge it would be to be talking and driving at the same time.....If you have any questions - I would be happy to answer them.

I, too, was interested in the spices when we stopped in Grenada 9 years ago. I took a chance and booked our first ever independent excursion with Mandoo and was so glad I did. We managed to get to all our stops before any of the cruise tour buses did, so it was a much more intimate tour and we could actually hear what Mandoo was telling us about everything. His tour got me hooked on independent excursions and I book nothing but now.

How did you contact AJ Meddy? Was this a private tour or a group tour. How long was the tour? It sounds like a great tour and I would like to get in touch with them. We will be in Grenada in late February -- one port that we have never been to.

He has a website - ajmeddytoursandtaxigrenadadotcom - He was very quick to respond. Touring with him was a rather last minute decision so I think that is why we had a different tour guide than himself but I don't think you can go wrong either way. There were 4 of us so it figured out to be cheaper than a ship excursion but I think if asked - he would put you with a larger group if there were only 2 of you.

The AJ Meddy tour sounds like the one we went on with Mandoo. Same stops. We didn't have to pay extra for anything though (unless we wanted to buy some spices or drinks, etc.).

Stan ofJNJ tours is the best ! You will see everything including the monkies !

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I haven't been to Grenada but will be there next week. I've arranged a tour with AJ Meddy (or whoever - not sure if it will be him only or someone else or two people) and he will be taking only 4 of us for a decent price. He told me that he does NOT add more people to the tour unless we want him to, and I liked that idea so it's easier to get in/out, see out different sides of the van, etc. He told me there might be a few dollars needed for admissions.

We did a tour with Stan Grainger (JnJ tours) and had a great time. Our van was full - 12 people I think. We covered all the usual spots plus I had emailed him earlier to see if there were any rum factories we could stop at. He remembered me and my emails and told me our last stop would be at Clark's Court rum. He would have allowed us time for a tour but we didn't want to hold any of the other passengers up so we all went inside for a rum tasting only. I think everyone enjoyed it, plus several others bought rum too. Stan paid for all the admissions into the sites, Annadale waterfalls, Grand Etang, the fort and the rum tasting, plus had cold beverages for us midway through - local beer or non-alcoholic drinks. At the end of the tour, he dropped those so us who wanted some beach time at Grande Anse beach and took the other passengers back to the ship. He came back for us remaining beach bums at precisely the time we requested and returned us to the ship. The cost for the day was $50. Money well spent. Stan was so personable and knowledgable and felt like family by the end of the trip.

PS. At many of the stops, there are locals who sing, or jump into the falls, etc. so take lots of $1's if you wish to donate.

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We like the tours offered by Mandoo. We've done the spice tour, eastern tour, western tour , and the hike to seven sisters.

http://www.grenadatours.com

We really liked Mandoo. :)

We recently did a tour with AJ Meddy. He met us at the pier and then we went with Daniel (great guide) and Cyril (great driver). It was the west coast tour and there were only 4 of us. He does not add passengers unless you agree to that. Daniel was sensational and we enjoyed the tour quite a bit. Grenada is truly the land of spices, although Hurricane Ivan damaged a lot of the crop and things are still not back up to snuff. We knew about the entrance fees up front, so we had some American dollars to use. The nutmeg coop cost $1 pp and Grand Etang depends upon where you enter and what you want to see. I believe in total, two places there, cost $4. We really didn't need to spend the extra $2 at Grand Etang, as all that got was the museum and the overlook over the lake, which we had seen from right next to it. However, it was only an extra $2 so we didn't mind paying. (My husband found the museum interesting, but I'm not a museum goer in general, so I just went outside and found fantastic plants to photograph. The other two people we went with wanted to go to Grand Anse afterwards, and so we gave up Concord Falls to go enable them to be dropped off by Cyril and Daniel at the beach, with us dropped off at the cruise pier before that. That was fine with me, as I had just seen the Trafalgar Falls in Dominica, and didn't need to see another Caribbean waterfall. We saw mona monkeys at Grand Etang, the volcanic lake, and bought some Grenadian chocolate at the Etang stop, and also visited the Nutmeg coop in Gouyave and the Dougaldston estate where we saw cloves drying and other spices were explained. The visit to Halifax Harbor was really a drive by, which was all we needed - nice, old harbor, but nothing spectacular. Daniel pointed out things of interest along the route and was very personable and knowledgeable.

Yes, this tour is similar to Mandoo's except that it cost less ($140 for 4 people, and then $25 for each extra person - although add a few $$ for entrance fees) and runs only 4 hours. It also does not normally include a dropoff at Grand Anse - although the water taxi and bus to there are close to the ship, so I figured that if I wanted to go there, I could. I had so much fun, however, walking through the Sendall tunnel, looking at the Carenage, and finding unusual things at Fort George, that I didn't have any time or foot power or energy left for Grand Anse.

In case you're wondering where the monkeys are, we saw them at the parking lot at Grand Etang - where the vendors are, on the railings, before you pay the $2 (if you want to, to go up to the museum). I was excited to see them when we got there, as I had read that some people see them and some people don't and so I wasn't really expecting anything much! My pictures are at http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 if you'd like to take a look.

I'm glad you're thinking of taking a tour in Grenada, because there really is a lot more to see on the island than the beach!

We are also booked with AJ Meddy in October and he has been wonderful to correspond with so far. We are staying in Grenada prior to our Island windjammer cruise so we are doing a full day tour with him for four of us.

Wow mandoo's tours has a few options. I have no idea which one to pick.

Did you all do the 8 hour tour or a half day?

We did the tour with Stan in March. Although he is a great guy, we found the tour boring. We didn't get to actually do anything...just look. It was a bit underwhelming. Also locals everywhere trying to get your money. At the first stop the bathroom was locked. And at the beach you had to pay for the bathroom. Really?! The beach didn't feel safe and we could smell pot for most of our stay there, even out in the water. I wanted to do a review on trip advisor but can't find him on there.

Wow mandoo's tours has a few options. I have no idea which one to pick.

 

Did you all do the 8 hour tour or a half day?

We've done both, the best thing would be to e-mail Mandoo and tell him the hours you are in port and ask what he recommends. The last thing any of the independent tour operators want is for a client to miss their ship :eek:

I think that in many ports in the Caribbean, especially the ones that are a little less traveled (like Grenada), you have to make sure that your expectations aren't set too high. I had a great time on our tour, and in the city of St. George's as well, but if you're looking for non-stop, world-class attractions, you probably won't find them in the Caribbean, or at least not on the island of Grenada. I did a lot of research on Grenada and decided a four hour adventure would be enough to see the highlights, which to me was what I'll call "the spice connection." I would probably stick to a half day tour if Mandoo offers it - and that is coming from someone who always wants to do it all and see it all when I reach a port. I'm not implying that there isn't enough to see or do in Grenada, just that my sense is that a whole day would involve either a lot of driving or else too much time spent in one (or two) particular spots. Besides, the water taxi is right there to take you to the beach for a few hours, and the city of St. George's is there to explore if you want to see more.

Certainly, from what I've read (and experienced) the quality of the tour guides in Grenada is high, which helps make for a great experience. However, there really, truly is only so much you can show people on a small Caribbean island that will interest a group of people. I'm glad I didn't just go to the beach in Grenada, but I WAS glad I didn't sign up for an all-day tour. As for which tour to take (if you DO go for an 8 hour one), I would say: We didn't go to any waterfalls, but you may see waterfalls in other Caribbean islands (Dominica comes to mind), so it may be slightly repetitive for you to visit one of the waterfalls. Grand Etang Lake, while interesting because it is volcanic, was a bit of a letdown for me. It's basically a lake! I did really like seeing the monkeys at the parking lot above the lake, but keep in mind that they are not always there. Grand Etang is a bit of a touristy place - which isn't necessarily bad, but....

I really liked Gouyave Nutmeg plant because that is a real facility with real people working. Dougaldston was interesting as well, although it is not a working plantation any more. I thought maybe seeing both of those facilities would be repetitive, but they're really different.

River Antoine distillery sounded (and looked, per pictures) interesting to me, but we didn't have time to go there, as it's south (I think) and we went north. We never went to Grand Anse, but the few reviews I got from people who did were mixed. All tours in the Caribbean seem to include a beach stop - guess lots of tourists want one!

Whatever you end up doing, have fun! I am lucky enough to have seen plenty of beaches and banana plantations, so perhaps I'm just a bit jaded at this point, so perhaps you can just close your eyes and pick a tour and be fabulously happy with it! After all, life is what you make of it! Enjoy!

He's the best but you must ensure he is your driver/guide. This man is in love with Grenada and highly focused on educating its visitors. What you don't learn until you spend time with him is that he speaks about his country at public schools, churches and other gatherings. This level of knowledge and passion is not available from even other good tour companies in Grenada.

Just make sure he will be your guide. Hurry though, because he isn't getting any younger...............