Where to drink as the sun sets in Grenada – including rum punches to real ales
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Given that Grenada is a sleepy little Caribbean island, its nightlife is surprisingly lively. That is in no small part thanks to the large population of foreign students at St George's University, whose campus is in the south-west of the island. Having a good night out is all about being in the right place on the right night, as most bars and clubs have live music and DJs only on certain evenings. It's worth picking up a free copy of the Lime & Dine booklet that's available in most hotels, as it includes a summary of what live music and other entertainment can be found in Grenada's bars on each night of the week.
Grand Anse
Puro
A good way to get to gawp at the sleek and swanky Silversands hotel, behind the northern end of Grand Anse beach, is to have a drink at its rum and cigar bar. Overlooking the property's 100m-long swimming pool through glass walls, Puro is a modernist, fiercely air-conditioned affair. Some 180 rums are on offer, including lots of Caribbean options. The most expensive cost hundreds of dollars a shot, but there are relatively affordable bottles too, such as the moreish, nutmeg-flavoured Clarkes Court Black Gold, from Grenada.
Contact: 00 1 473 533 8888; silversandsgrenada.com
Opening times: Daily, 11am-1am
Prices: £££
Getting in: Best to tell Silversands you're coming to smooth entrance into the hotel
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Esther's Bar
Grand Anse Craft & Spice Market, directly behind the beach towards its northern end, has a clutch of colourful little beach bar shacks. They are popular with both locals shooting the breeze and tourists – cruise-ship passengers congregate around this part of the beach. Esther's Bar, a long-standing island institution run by the friendly Esther and her son Kimani, is usually the busiest. It specialises in potent mojitos and rum punches, and also does fruit punches made from scratch with local produce. You can drink at picnic tables shared with the other adjacent bars.
Contact: facebook.com/Esthers-bar
Opening times: Daily, 10am-10.30pm
Prices: £
Getting in: Just turn up
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True Blue
Dodgy Dock
This informal bar and restaurant – focal point of the colourful True Blue Bay Resort – is a lovely spot, on a canvas-covered deck protruding out over the waters of the bay. It's worth coming for a drink and bite to eat any night of the week, but the liveliest evenings are Tuesdays (Grenadian Night), Wednesdays (when locals provide a buffet of Grenadian dishes), Fridays (Mexi-Caribbean Night) and Saturdays (Romantic Night). On these evenings there's related live music – for example steel pan on Tuesdays.
Contact: 00 1 473 443 8783; truebluebay.com
Opening times: Daily, until around 11pm
Prices: ££
Getting in: Just turn up to drink; reserve if you want to eat
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Bananas
In walking distance of St George's University, this is one the liveliest nightspots in the south-west of Grenada on certain nights of the week. The multi-faceted place includes an outdoor area with a fast-food eatery (pizzas and burgers), a laid-back sports bar, and an indoor nightclub with DJs, which is usually open Tuesdays and Fridays, and for which there can be a small admission charge.
Contact: 00 1 473 444 4662; bananas.gd
Opening times: Mon, 4pm-12am; Tue, 4pm-3am; Wed-Thu, 4pm-12am; Fri-Sat, 4pm-4am; Sun closed
Prices: £
Getting in: Just turn up
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Lance aux Epines
The Brewery
This friendly brew pub is a few-frills warehouse by the road down to Lance aux Epines beach. Behind the bar stand large silver vats where the West Indies Beer Company's tasty real ales and ciders are brewed. On weekend nights, the place is heaving with students, some clearly the worse for wear after a beer or two too many (the Old Mongoose porter is a powerful 7.1 per cent). Stick to mini 'flute' glasses if you want to try a few offerings. There's also basic food, and sports events are shown on a big screen on the outdoor terrace.
Contact: 00 1 473 232 2337; westindiesbeer.com
Opening times: Mon-Thu, 12pm-1am; Fri-Sat, 12pm-2am; Sun, 12pm-1am
Prices: £
Getting in: No reservations required
Prickly Bay Marina
The marina, on the western side of Lance aux Epines peninsula just beyond Lance aux Epines beach, includes an open-air bar and casual restaurant, both of which are popular with ex-pats, tourists and yachties. On Fridays – the liveliest night, often attracting hundreds of visitors – a steel pan band performs on the outdoor stage from around 6.30pm, followed by a decent rock and pop band. Bingo on Wednesdays, with big cash prizes, also attracts a large crowd. A quiz is held on Tuesday evenings, and films are screened on Sunday evenings.
Contact: 00 1 473 439 5265; facebook.com/pbmgda
Opening times: Sun-Thu, 7.30am-11pm; Fri, 7.30am-12am
Prices: £
Getting in: No reservations required
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Oasis
This is without doubt one of the Caribbean's more unusual bars. Oasis is on a floating deck out in yacht-speckled Mount Hartman Bay, off the eastern side of Lance aux Epines peninsula. Run by three guys (an American, Grenadian and Brit), the 12-sided, wood-panelled space offers few frills, though there is a loo. Drinks include rum punches and local beer. Saturday evenings tend to be busiest.
Contact: 00 1 473 459 6246; oasis.gd
Opening times: Fri-Sun, 12pm-10pm
Prices: £
Getting in: With your own boat, just moor up. Otherwise, call ahead and someone will pick you up in a dinghy from nearby Secret Harbour Marina for the two-minute crossing
