About Carriacou
Authentic Caribbean living
Carriacou is the largest of the Grenadines, a necklace of islands scattered between St. Vincent and Grenada. The sister isle of Grenada, it is a peaceful, beautiful, and small island – just 13 square miles in size and with only 8,000 inhabitants.
Carriacou is an unspoiled Caribbean island that has retained its original charm and authenticity while possessing some (modest) tourism infrastructure and services. People in Carriacou are remarkably friendly and there is a strong family feeling about the place. With no large resorts, no cruise ships and no souvenir shops, Carriacou is an idyllic get-away-from-it-all destination offering a slower-paced Caribbean lifestyle that is hard to find elsewhere.
As the name Carriacou means “isle of reefs”, it is not surprising that the ocean is teeming with colourful life, and the island is surrounded by spectacular sandy beaches. The endangered Hawksbill and Leatherback sea turtles nest on these beaches between March and August.
There are many hiking trails on the island, revealing breathtaking vistas and interesting sightings for bird watchers and wildlife spotters. Out to sea, there are several beautiful offshore cays, only a few minutes boat ride away. Carriacou is also a popular starting point for tours to the Tobago Cays Marine Park – a famous turtle sanctuary which attracts visitors from all over the world.
The Beaches
There are plenty of beautiful beaches wrapping around the perimeter of Carriacou and the surrounding Islands.
There are plenty of beautiful beaches wrapping around the perimeter of Carriacou and the surrounding Islands.
Useful Information
Tips to make your experience even more enjoyable
Language: English; though some local patois derived from French and African languages may also be heard.
Currency: The eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$) is the official currency. It is tied to the US dollar at approx. USD$1.00 = EC$2.67.
- US dollars are widely accepted, but it is better value to pay in EC$. We recommend bringing enough local currency on island as credit cards are not widely accepted and banks keep short opening hours.
Banking: Republic Bank and Cooperative Bank in Hillsborough will exchange money or allow you to get cash (max. EC$500/day on your credit card). Each bank also has an ATM.
Temperature: The year-round average is 80-85F; 27-32C. The sea is always warm for swimming.
Seasons: The dry season usually runs from January to May. The rainy season, or “green season”, arrives in patches throughout the other months, though prolonged rain is unusual. Hurricane season in the Caribbean is between June and October, but they very rarely affect the Grenadines.
Electricity: 220 volts/50 Hz. AC transformers/adapters may be needed to fit the British type 13 amp, 3 pin sockets.
Dining: From eclectic beach bars to gourmet beachfront dining, Carriacou has a variety of bars and restaurants to suit every taste and budget. Guests will receive a guide with all the dining options upon booking.
History of Carriacou
A long and exciting history awaits you in Carriacou
Archaeological studies indicate that the first inhabitants of Carriacou settled centuries before Christopher Columbus “discovered” Grenada in 1498.
The Cibony Indians, cave dwellers who survived by fishing, hunting and living off fruits, migrated to Carriacou from the Amazon over 2000 years ago. The first settlers, the peaceful Arawaks, moved to the island from what is now Venezuela around 1 A.D. They were multi-crop cultivators of vegetables, shrubs and fruits, and fished using nets and hooks. Excellent artists, they produced some of the finest pottery of the time – discoveries of which can be found in Carriacou’s tiny museum along with some of their tools.
The Arawaks were followed by the Kalinago (Caribs) around 1000 A.D who destroyed the Arawak settlements – often capturing the Arawak women and children but killing the adult men. The Caribs were a seafaring people who, according to the earliest written records of 1656, named the island Kayryaouacou meaning “land of (many) reefs.” The Caribs who inhabited the island drove off all new settlers, both English and French, for more than one hundred and fifty years.
In 1650, the French succeeded in acquiring Grenada (and Carriacou) from the Caribs in exchange for knives, trinkets, and brandy. Having gained a foothold, they systematically killed most of the native population. Grenada became a British possession under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.
Under colonial rule, Carriacou was transformed into a plantation colony that produced cotton, indigo, sugar, limes, coffee and cocoa with the labour of an ever-growing enslaved population from West Africa. In 1833 one plantation owner in Carriacou, John MacLean, owned five estates and 3,200 of Carriacou’s 4,000 enslaved people. Slavery in Grenada was finally abolished by British law in 1834, and all enslaved people were freed by 1 August 1838. Grenada (and Carriacou) gained its independence from Great Britain in 1974.
Carriacouians today earn their living through rearing their own livestock, farming, growing corn and mainly fishing.
Festivals
Local festivals teeming with history
While the majority of Carriacou’s current 8000 inhabitants are of African descent, European influences can still be found in Carriacouian life. Carriacou boasts a dynamic culture, steeped in ancestral traditions – all of which reflect the rich African and Scottish ancestry of its inhabitants.
The people of Carriacou celebrate the African tribes they originated from through music and dance. The ‘Big Drum Dance’ or ‘Nation Dance’ of Carriacou is widely celebrated at weddings, boat launchings, tombstone feasts and Maroons. The term Maroon is traced to the Spanish word cimarrón meaning “runaway” and applied to escaped slaves. In their hideouts, the Maroons preserved African languages, much of their culture and religion. They also retained the knowledge of medicinal herbs and practice of drumming and dancing when the herbs were administered. In Nation Dance, inter-African blending and borrowing is evident, illustrating the complex ways whereby enslaved Africans and their descendants forged neo-African ethnic identities and cultures in the Atlantic world.
The Maroon festival is an important aspect of life in Carriacou. Villagers come together, cook traditional foods and partake in the Nation Dance. The annual Maroon and String Band Music Festival is a three-day event at the end of April that showcase a display of local food, crafts, music and dance.
The island boasts a slew of other historic traditions; such as Saraca, Tombstone Feasts, the pre-Christmas Parang Festival, and Shakespeare Mas; the reenactment of plays by William Shakespeare during its pre-Lent Carnival celebrations. It is a masquerade that mimics and mocks the customs of plantation owners. Revellers dressed in brightly-coloured clothing, white facemasks and knee-length socks have face-offs by reciting passages from Shakespeare. Each reveller carries a bullwhip and if the passages are recited incorrectly, it results in a strike with the bullwhip.
The village of Windward was home to a group of Scottish boat builders who settled in Carriacou during the 19th century and passed down their practices, which continue to be used in boat building today. You can still witness large sloops and schooners being built according to traditional practices on the beaches of Carriacou. These boats are the feature of the island’s premier Regatta Festival (August), the longest-running in the Caribbean.
