Anyone ever been? What about Carriacou? I hear it is beautiful.

We are looking very seriously about going there.

Fights from Texas all connect in MIA with a 45 min connection time going. An hour and a half coming back (clearing customs). Is this enough time? It should be, right?

I'll ask one of our pilots. He's a native of the island.

45 min is not enough time. I have had to steer clients in other directions because I refuse to book at 45 min layover.

95 min coming back should be doable but I really prefer 2 hours. Any delays and you won't make it.

I've been telling my clients if they want to go I would go to Miami the night before, then get up and take the flight. Many of the flights on AA website should have this as an option (just have to pay for the hotel).

I've had clients stay at Sandals and like it.

We did our honeymoon there at the sandals resort. When we went it was brand new and they had the grand opening party the 1st night we were there. We flew united and had an overnight layover in Trinidad

We just got back from the Maldives last Friday and nothing comes close to the hospitality you get at a Sandals

JMac03 said:

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45 min is not enough time. I have had to steer clients in other directions because I refuse to book at 45 min layover.

95 min coming back should be doable but I really prefer 2 hours. Any delays and you won't make it.

I've been telling my clients if they want to go I would go to Miami the night before, then get up and take the flight. Many of the flights on AA website should have this as an option (just have to pay for the hotel).

I've had clients stay at Sandals and like it.

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I know it's a tight connection, however, the connections through either SAT or IAH through MIA that leave at 5:30 and 5:45 am respectively on the AA website show an 87% on time rate. The flights leaving around 6pm (adding AUS) as an option all have a ~60% or less on time rate, and you still have to overnight in Miami. Do you just suck it up and not worry about that Friday night flight being late?

If you flew out the night before, overnighting in MIA, do you check your bags all the way though? Even thought they sit somewhere at MIA for 12 hours? That's sounds like a disaster waiting to happen also.

However, we may simply be best to fly out the night before.

We are defiantly not Sandals people. We like small places to stay with a dive shop. Ultimately on this trip we will end up in Carriacou.

Ag with kids said:

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I'll ask one of our pilots. He's a native of the island.

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Thanks! I think it's the best option. Buy trip insurance, and there is a daily flight from MIA to GND.

I think you have the option to check through or pick up. You would need to confirm with the airline though.

Thank you JMac! We are following your advice. There is a hotel at MIA on premises that seems to be made for these connections.

We are going to take the evening flight out of SAT, and not worry about it being late or not.

TexAgs knows stuff!

JMac, do you ever use Charlotte as an alternate gateway vs Miami on AA? It seems to be pricing better, and has a Saturday flight for "going." We would still return through Miami as we are returning on a weekday.

Just curious on your experience with Charlotte vs Miami.

Back in June I had a long work trip that lasted about 21 days. We started in Guyana, made our way through Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and ended with St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Even though it was mostly work, I enjoyed Grenada and St. Vincent the most. It doesn't have the touristy feel that places like Bahamas / Jamaica have. We passed along most of the islands from Ronde Island to St. Vincent by boat to collect some field data. Had a little time to fish but luck wasn't on our side but we still had a good time.

What did you think of Carriacou? At first, I wanted to fly to SVG, spend some time in Bequia, and work our way down. But I simply didn't have enough time.

Someday, I will!

The Chicken Ranch said:

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JMac, do you ever use Charlotte as an alternate gateway vs Miami on AA? It seems to be pricing better, and has a Saturday flight for "going." We would still return through Miami as we are returning on a weekday.

Just curious on your experience with Charlotte vs Miami.

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Yep! I use both airports equally. Just comes down to the better layover options for my clients.

We only passed by Carriacou by boat but it looked beautiful and our boat captain recommended it as well.

I'd love to just stay on a sailboat in SVG for a couple of weeks. We did spend 2 nights on Union Island at an old rustic hotel where our boat captain put us up.

If I had time, I'd spend a week on Union and dive the Tobago Cayes, then do a transfer to Carriacou and spend a week there.

Instead, we are flying to Grenada, overnighting then going to Carriacou for a week. Then returning through Grenada.

I'll have to do SVG and Union on another trip.

So we did this trip in June/July 2023. Sorry for my delayed update.

We absolutely loved Carriacou and Grenada. The diving was ok, not the best we've ever done, but we loved the island and everyone there. We stayed at a place called The Mermaid, rented a car from Wayne, and dove with Deefer Diving. The folks at Deefer did everything for us. It was the old Caribbean - rustic but authentic. I think within two days, everyone on Carriacou knew we were there. It was absolutely beautiful and everyone took care of us.

To get there we flew from IAH to MIA to GND on American. We overnighted at MIA (but we didn't need to) on the way and also in Grenada at True Blue. We flew SVG Air to and from Carriacou from Grenada. We also overnighted at True Blue on the way home, but you can fly all the way from Careiacou to Houston in a day on the way home. But all the connections need to run on time. I'd do it just the way we did it again.

Here are some pictures…but you must read the follow up post also. Because our paradise is gone now.

Then Beryl happened this past summer. It broke our heart.

The first part of this video is where we stayed. The first guy interviewed was our cab driver all week. The lady talking at the beginning of the video worked at The Mermaid and cooked breakfast for us each day. I recognize most of everything in the video. The dive shop made it and they've been giving updates. Most every structure on the island lost its roof. And we walked down that waterfront street each day to the dive shop. I wish I was retired, because I'd have gone there immediately to help rebuild.



And more:



I know I'll go back. I have to.

Wife & I celebrated our 30th anniversary at the Sandals in Grenada in late July/earl August & really enjoyed it. First time in Grenada & first time at a Sandals. Hope to go back some day.