The capital city of Grenada Island, St George’s, is the West Indies’ most charming harbour town, with its inner harbour the caldera of an ancient volcano. Once a British colony and now a Crown Dependency, the town’s steep, narrow streets hold Georgian buildings, pretty homes with wrought iron balconies and 18th century warehouses. Bougainvillea bloom everywhere and brilliantly coloured flowering trees add to the charm of the streetscapes.

Ancient Fort George with its cells and guardrooms lies at the end of Church Street, protecting the bay, and the town’s 18th century Anglican church sits at the Market Square end of the street. The Carenage, the promenade around the inner port, is great for an evening stroll and the Grenada National Museum tells of the islands’ slave-owning colonial history and the native culture it sparked. Fort Frederic sits on a headland, with a spectacular views of both harbours.

The islands are heaven for ecotourists, with unspoilt interiors of great natural beauty, and are known as the Spice Islands for their nutmeg, mace, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. To the west of St George’s, the spice plantations and fishing villages lead to Gouyave town, the heart of the spice industry.

Levera National Park is a haven for hikers, as are Grand Etang National Park and its Forest Preserve. Grenville is the second largest town, with a vibrant street market, and the River Antoine Rum Distillery is the oldest in the world.

Hillsborough is the capital of Carriacou, a ferry trip or short hop by plane from St George’s. It’s as beautiful as Grenada, but far less touristy, and island life goes on as it has for centuries in the town and villages. Belair National Park has ruins of plantation buildings and several well-preserved windmills as well as hiking trails and a variety of bird and wildlife, including iguanas and turtles. Snorkelling and diving spots here are magnificent.

Grenada boasts a surprising number of manmade and natural landmarks, both in its towns and volcanic hinterlands. Visitors based in St George’s are well-placed to tour the island or take a boat or plane daytrip to nearby Carriacou. One of Grenada’s most famous attractions is Grenada’s main beach, Grand Anse Beach, three kilometres of pearl-white sand edged by azure waters. Protected from currents and strong winds, Grande Anse is a regular in the world’s top 10 beaches list.

The Belmont Estate is just an hour’s spectacular drive from the capital and is a totally authentic 17th century plantation, still fully functioning in the traditional manner. Its organic cocoa beans are the ingredient for the world’s most delicious dark chocolate. Grenada’s rugged interior is a land of rushing rivers and waterfalls, with Mount Carmel Waterfall the tallest and the Seven Sisters Waterfalls set on the edge of the Grand Etang Nature reserve. Honeymoon Waterfall, set in the dense rainforest, is close by.

The high cliffs of Carib’s Leap hold a tragic story from the island’s past, as they’re where the last remaining Carib Indians leapt to their deaths to avoid enslavement by the French colonial conquerors. The village of Harvey Vale is known for its ancient Amerindian Well containing health-giving mineral waters, believed to have been used in traditional Carib healing rituals. For more about the troubled history of the islands in colonial times, the museums in St George’s and Hillsborough make for an interesting visit.

Evening entertainment in Grenada is divided into events and watering holes in the resort hotels and local bars which feature the islands’ iconic musical and dance traditions of calypso, reggae, folk dancing, steel bands and limbo dancing. Both styles of venue present similar shows, with the difference in the environment, the audience and of course, the prices.

Grenada’s favourite nightspot is Fantazia 2001 on Mourne Rouge Beach, with its air-conditioning, fabulous light shows and state-of-the-art sound equipment operated by hot DJs. Live shows take place on weekends and the scene gets livelier as late evening becomes early morning.

For late-late night owls, Club Banana’s lively Friday and Saturday night disco stays open until 04:00 and is a popular choice for its diverse music styles. For sports fans who can’t bear to miss a match, the Owl Sports Pub and the Beachside Terrace both have wide-screen TVs showing football and cricket in conjunction with two happy hours, one in the early evening and the other between 11:00 and midnight.

Culture vultures should head for the Marryshow Folk Theatre for its Grenadian, European and American drama and folk music and iconic West Indian interpretive folk dance performances.

Open-air beach bars are a favourite for night-time fun on the island, with a good choice along the resort beaches offering live music and the occasional impromptu party. Pubs cater for all tastes, from conversation over a beer and a plate of pub grub Grenada-style to more boisterous evenings.

Carriacou Island is the perfect place for those wanting to get away from noisy dance clubs, casinos and suchlike, with its romantic beach bars peopled with like-minded souls happy to sunset-watch while sipping a rum cocktail and listening to local music. Occasional performances by West Indian musicians are a highlight.

Inspired over the centuries by a rich mix of traditional recipes, French and British colonial cuisine, and the gastronomy of other Caribbean islands, the indigenous dishes here are lively, spicy and prepared with the freshest of local produce.

Whether you’re dining in a resort hotel’s elegant eatery or in a bistro or beach bar, outdoor café or roadside barbecue, a taste thrill awaits. In St George’s and the resort hotels, there’s a good choice of international as well as local cuisine, and many of the bars serve delicious local snacks.

A don’t-miss foodie experience is the fishing town of Gouyave’s Fish Friday, an outdoor event featuring a huge traditional market full of stalls selling Grenadian seafood and fresh fish dishes. Side orders include breadfruit chips, local rum and beer, and traditional music tops the event.

The national dish, found on most menus, is the unattractively-named oildown, a rich and tasty combination of salted pigs’ tails, breadfruit, dasheen, onions, carrots, celery, bananas, green figs and peppers stewed in coconut milk. Served with dumplings, it often features chicken, mackerel or crab.

Roast pork Grenadian style is another treat, with the meat rubbed with a mix of shallots, bay leaves, allspice, ginger, slat and pepper, and served with an orange juice, brown sugar, ginger, allspice and bay leaf sauce along with a salad of sweet corn kernels and black beans.

A true taste of Grenada is nutmeg ice cream, cooling on steamy, hot days and available from street vendors as well as in eateries. Jerk chicken wings make great snacks, and sweet potatoes are a staple food on the islands. A favourite dessert is sweet potato pudding, made with coconut milk, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon, and oven-baked for an hour.