Le Phare Bleu Marina Review – 20 Incredible Reasons To Visit

If you’re sailing to Grenada, the Le Phare Bleu Marina is a must-stop destination. One location ticks all the boxes—it’s beautiful, inexpensive, provides access to shops and amenities, has the kindest people, and much more.

Watch the video below to get a glimpse into one of Grenada’s hidden gems for sailors, and then continue reading below to get the full scoop.

Le Phare Bleu Marina In Grenada – Video

So…have you heard of Grenada before?

I can’t tell you how often I tell people we’re happily sailing in Grenada, and they quietly mumble, ‘Where’s Grenada?’ Or they correct me and say, ‘Oh, you’re in Granada (Spain)?!’ Why have people heard of Antigua, St Lucia, and St Vincent but not Grenada?!

Grenada is located near the bottom of the Caribbean Island Chain. The only other countries below it are Trinidad and Tobago. After that, you hit South America.

Hurricanes rarely blow this far south, making Grenada a popular cruiser layup destination. From June through November, most sailors pick a place and stay put until the season is over.

In Grenada, several protected bays on the south coast make it home to hundreds of sailing singles, couples, and boat kids. Every morning, there’s a VHF net that can sometimes last up to an hour.

Boaties in all the bays discuss emergencies, the weather, social activities, cruiser-dedicated buses to the stores, treasures of the bilge, and local business specials.

There’s also a kid’s net where the children of the bay discuss playdates, excursions, game swaps, and more.

Some bays are known for having more kid boats, and others are known for having a large number of South Africans. Other bays are quiet, and others are prone to very nasty swells. Some areas are good for swimming, and others are great for getting off the boat to do Yoga or go for a hike.

For us, we move around all the bays often and pop up to Carriacou, a neighboring island north, or even go into St Vincent and the Grenadines. As long as there’s no threat of a hurricane, we move around quite a bit.

However, there’s one place that we return to repeatedly. We anchor in Calvigny Cut outside of Le Phare Bleu Marina or enter the marina itself.

I have no idea why more boaties don’t visit this slice of paradise. I call it a ‘hidden gem’ because we’re often the only people in the marina. Let me tell you the 20 reasons why Le Phare Bleu Marina is top of Britican’s Destination list.

20 Reasons to Visit Le Phare Bleu Marina

The video above showcases the top 10 reasons to visit Le Phare Bleu Marina. Continue reading to discover ten more reasons.

1. The marina is the least expensive in the area. It’s around 1 USD/foot and far cheaper for longer-term stays.

2. Water is free and potable (drinkable).

3. The dock staff are incredibly kind, courteous, and very helpful.

4. We have free access to the swimming pool and beautiful beach and can use the Hobbie Cats and other sailboats at any time.

5. There is a happy hour at the bar/restaurant between 4 and 6 every day.

6. The bar and restaurant staff are AMAZING. Every time we return, we are welcomed back as if we’re part of the family. 

7. There’s an amazing piece of history at the dock. You’ll find a big, huge red 1900 lightship from Sweden. These ships were sent out and anchored in place of lighthouses to ensure boats could avoid dangerous waters. Inside the ship is a cute museum outlining the history of the ship. The ship also has four showers for marina guests.

The water is hot, and the pressure is great! Every Friday, the resort owners open the ship’s bar and restaurant and provide live music. During the week, I often use the bow of the lightship as my office.

8. Family and friends can visit marina guests and stay at one of the cute cottages on site.  A few lower-cost AirBnB rental options are also located on the hill above the resort.

9. Customs & Immigration are on sight. If Le Phare Bleu Marina is your first port of call, there’s no need to go far to book. We often book out from Le Phare Bleu when sailing up to St Vincent & The Grenadines. Like the dock staff and the bar/restaurant employees, the Customs Officials are great people.

10. It’s beautiful. The marina is set in a cove offering a beautiful beach, amazingly colorful flowers, and stunning palm trees. It truly is paradise. There are no roads, so you’ll never hear a car go by. Instead, you’ll hear birds chirping, waves lapping on the beach, and perhaps me typing on my laptop 😉

10 More Reasons To Visit Le Phare Bleu

11. Every Friday, you can get a taxi from the resort to the grocery store for only 20 EC per person (kids are free). Normally, it’s 80 EC one way! Grocery buses are on offer for cruisers in all of the southern bays in Grenada. The difference between the other bays/busses and Le Phare Bleu Marina is that we’re the only ones on the bus!

Instead of heading into the city with 20 other cruisers, Simon, Sienna, and I always have the bus all to ourselves. Furthermore, the driver is often happy to take us wherever we want if other stops like Ace Hardware or a Chandlery are required.

12. Le Phare Bleu Marina has the best wifi we’ve ever encountered in our 30,000 nautical miles and hundreds of stays in different marinas. There’s a solid, strong Wi-Fi single from every part of the marina and the grounds. It’s where I upload most of my videos from 🙂

13. Walking distance in any direction offers incredible hikes of quiet residential lanes curving along the south coast’s rocky terrain. Every view is of hills, the coast, the deep blue Atlantic Ocean, and many incredibly colorful flowers.

14. If you get tired of Le Phare Bleu Marina’s peaceful quiet, it’s only a dinghy ride to a few neighboring restaurants and bars. You’ll find French cuisine, a beach bar serving lobster, a British bar offering Sunday Lunch, and always pizza.

15. Throughout the year, Le Phare Bleu Marina puts a floating dock out into the middle of the bay and invites cruisers from all around to come by dinghy to raft up and enjoy live music. There’s also a floating bar!

16. The marina has a hurricane policy with one dock set with pylons.

17. There’s a full-time security guard on the premises, and he walks around all night long to ensure quiet and peace. As a side note, I don’t think security guards are necessary in Grenada. I think they’re just a norm. I’ve never felt safer on any Caribbean island than in Grenada.

18. The docks have potable water, electricity (EU only), and garbage pickup. With the great wifi, you can even stream Netflix!

19. A hefty barge is stationed on the dock. If anyone gets in trouble, this barge will surely benefit those in need.

20. You can swim off the beach. There are quite a few places on the south coast of Grenada that are not great for swimming – too murky and muddy. At Le Phare Blue Marina, you have a beautiful beach and a lovely pool, both of which we enjoy.

Check Out Le Phare Bleu Marina – Join Us On A Week-Long Britican Experience

Click here for information on our Britican Experience!

Other Articles You Might Be Interested In

If you’d like an overview of all the places we’ve visited in the Caribbean, please read our destination overview: Caribbean

• 10 Reasons To Spend Hurricane Season In Grenada
• The Caribbean Carnival in Grenada
• Trinidad & Tobago
• St Vincent & The Grenadines

Credit to Chiara Magi for the photos in this post.