Carriacou is one of three islands in the Caribbean nation of Grenada; its largest town, Hillsborough, lies on the island’s western side. Since most cruise ships call on Grenada’s main island, Seabourn guests get to experience the quiet, laidback island lifestyle of years ago. Days here are spent lazing on aptly named Paradise Beach or exploring spectacular coral gardens and shoals of tropical fish around White Island and tiny Sandy Island. Belair National Park encompasses a former sugar cane plantation, with remains of the 18th-century great house and a windmill used to cultivate the cane; it also offers stunning views across the north end of the island to Petite Martinique. The Carriacou Museum, housed in a renovated cotton gin mill, features exhibits on the island’s indigenous Amerindians and colonial-era artifacts. Follow the path from Petite Carenage Beach to one of the Caribbean’s most intact mangrove ecosystems, which attracts numerous migratory and shorebirds; or head to Tyrell Bay to view its unique oyster beds where “tree oysters” grow on the mangrove roots.
