Cash or card at hostels in Grenada

Here’s how I’d plan it: book a hostel like Blue Star Apartments or SeaBreeze, because both accept cards and will save you carrying a wad of EC dollars. Use your card for the hotel, but bring about 100-200 EC in small notes for taxis, buses, and the food markets. ATMs are in St. George’s and Grand Anse, but lines can be long, so it’s easier to pull some cash right after landing. That balance of card plus cash made my Grenada trip super stress-free.

I checked into a small guesthouse near Morne Rouge Beach and they ran my card without blinking. Later, when I hopped to a place closer to Gouyave for Fish Friday, that one was also card-friendly, though their machine was a bit slow. What tripped me up was taxis and roadside snacks-definitely cash only. My mix was card for lodging, cash for daily runs. It worked out fine, but I’d say don’t arrive expecting to pay every single thing with plastic.

Grenada was such an easy island for me when it came to paying at hostels. I stayed at SeaBreeze in St. George’s and used my Mastercard with zero drama. The staff even said they prefer it since it’s safer than handling cash. I loved not worrying about carrying big bills, just kept a bit of EC dollars for fruit stalls and minibuses. Honestly, the whole system worked smoothly, and I could focus on the beaches and waterfalls instead of stressing about payment.

I stayed at SeaBreeze Hotel & Hostel in Grand Anse recently, and they had no issue taking my Visa card at check-in. Same with Blue Star Apartments down in Lance aux Epines. Both were properly set up for card payments. That being said, I still carried some EC dollars for local buses and food shacks, because those places never take cards. For your actual hotel though, most hostels and guesthouses around St. George’s are fine with cards, as long as it’s Visa or Mastercard.