Petit Martinique Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Petite Martinique is the third populated island of Grenada in the Caribbean. It's roughly circular with a diameter of a mile, with its population of 900 and limited visitor facilities clustered on the more sheltered northwest coast. It's administered as part of the second island Carriacou, which lies 2½ miles west.

There is no air service, so you have to come by boat.

Osprey ferry is a foot-passenger ferry from St. George's on Grenada via Tyrell Bay on Carriacou. It sails M W F, taking 3 hours for a single fare in 2023 of EC$ 100. On Tu and Th the ferry only shuttles between Petite Martinique and Carriacou. A day trip only gives you two hours here, enough for essential island business but not for a relaxing stay.

Petite Martinique is not a Port of Entry into Grenada, so with your own boat you need to seek immigration and customs clearance at Carriacou, if that wasn't already done on Grenada. There is no marina but anchoring in the sandy bay near the ferry pier is reasonably secure.

Walk. From the ferry pier Main Street (the only street) extends 1 mile east and 2 miles southwest before petering out in dirt tracks. The southwest track is being extended as a concrete road in 2023.

• 12.5254-61.38631 Town (also called Sanchez) straggles along the northwest of the island by the ferry pier, with a few historic buildings such as Sacred Heart RC church. This was wrecked by a hurricane in 1944 but rebuilt in 1947. "Board houses" are the colourful little traditional dwellings.
• Darant Bay has sea caves accessible at low tide.
• 12.5169-61.38462 Piton is the highest point on the island, at 230 meters / 756 feet. The trail starts behind Sacred Heart Church and is waymarked but rough going in places, with a fraying rope to cling onto up the steepest part. You can take different paths down to loop back via Main Street.
• 12.5372-61.38413 Petit Saint Vincent is the island seen a mile north. It's privately owned and part of Saint Vincent, as at the end of the colonial period the two archipelago nations were demarcated by the latitude of North Point on Carriacou. So you can't go there but from Town you could just about skim a flat pebble across the border. At any rate there's no law against trying.
• Mopion is a cartoon-cliche desert islet northwest of Petit Saint Vincent that local boats sometimes visit, and never mind the border. It's a tiny sand bar with a parasol instead of a palm tree.

• Beach: Sanchez beach near the ferry pier is the most sheltered for beach-lazing and snorkelling.
• Whitsuntide Regatta has boat races and onshore festivities. It's around May / June, dates depend on Easter.

• Island stores are Matthew's (M-Sa 8AM-5PM), Emma's (M-Sa 8AM-5PM) and M&M (M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-5PM).
• B&C at the ferry pier has marine diesel.

• Palm Beach, Petite Martinique, ☏ +1 473 443 9103. 
• GG's Bar & Grill is open M-Sa 9AM-10PM, Su noon-7PM.
• Gary's Beach Bar is open M-Sa 9AM-11PM, SU 11:30-1:30AM.

• Bamboo Bar at the east end of the road remains closed in 2023.

• Melodies Guest House, by ferry pier, ☏ +1 473 443 9052, [email protected]. This remains closed. (updated Jan 2023)
• M&M Guesthouse^{[dead link]} remains closed in 2023.

• As at Jan 2023, Petite Martinique has 4G from Digicel and to the west from Flow. 5G has not rolled out in Grenada.

• The ferry takes you back to Carriacou and Grenada main island.
• With your own boat you can sail north into the Saint Vincent archipelago - Union Island is the first encountered.