Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Thirty two islands and cays make up St. Vincent (approx. population 105,000 and 150 square miles) and the Grenadines (approx population 13,000 between all islands). St. Vincent itself is one of the least “touristy” islands in the Caribbean even though apparently there is lots to do, the island is very attractive, and the Vincentians (formal) or Vincy (informal) people are very welcoming and friendly. Many travel to St. Vincent just long enough to hop along to the Grenadines.

Tourists who do end up staying on St. Vincent are hiking lush jungle trails and amazing waterfall trails (with cool swimming holes), swimming in Owia salt ponds/lagoons, rivers and bays, or climbing the active volcano, La Soufriere. They are also exploring the exotic plants/flowers, birds, sea life, and the rich history (Petroglyph park, 19th century buildings, Cobblestone streets, Blackpoint Tunnel, etc.) that exists there.

St. Vincent appears to be very simple comparative to other islands. The inns/hotels are very basic and most are locally operated. The only resort is on a separate island about 600 feet off. Most restaurants are pretty casual, but beachwear is not acceptable – long pants/collared shirts are recommended for Rick, summer dresses recommended for us “miladies” (many women travelers here are referred to as “milady”). Many specialize in W. Indian Cuisine and serve local foods: curried/stewed chicken, grilled fish and seafood, rice, tropical fruits, and root veggies.

The nightlife is also pretty simple. They have a few dance clubs, but many know and participate in St. Vincent’s theme nights: Calliaqua Culture Pot (cal-uh-quah), is a community street party every Friday night at 8pm. They host a big local crowd serving up BBQ, beer, dancing to local music, arts, crafts, and cultural performers. Also, on both Wed. and Friday’s, karaoke accompanies dinner and drinks at some local pubs! Oh, and according to a couple sources, the St. Vincent Blues Fest is held in Mid-March-- while we will be there!

St. Vincent’s capitol, Kingstown (population 30,000) is a lively working city with lots of history where locals are busy going about their day to day business and have few concessions to tourists. Coastal Fishermen get up early to drop their nets, and the farmers spend their day working on their crops in the countryside. St. Vincent’s major export is bananas, banana plants, coconut palms and breadfruit trees. It also produces 90% of the worlds arrowroot (long ago used to flavor cookies and thicken sauces, but now used as a finish for computer paper). The movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” was filmed at Willilabou Bay and many of the buildings and docks built for the movie set, still remain.

The beaches on St. Vincent are mostly black sand and some are recommended to not swim in due to the water being unpredictable and rough. There are some nice dive spots on St. Vincent, but many resources noted better lush diving/snorkeling spots in the Grenadines just a hop away.

While St. Vincent is bustling and unpretentious, the Grenadines are very opposite with lots of glitzy/glamorous inns and resorts, white-sand beaches, awesome diving/snorkeling/swimming/sailing waters, and a very relaxing atmosphere. The Grenadine islands are all very close together, but each very unique.

Environmental concerns in St. Vincent and Grenadines: Irresponsible boating practices, littering in the ocean and on lands, and fresh water. Fresh water is one of their bigger concerns. On St. Vincent tap water comes from a reservoir and is generally safe to drink. On the outer islands of the Grenadines, water comes from rain collection, wells, or desalination plants, thus the taste and quality can vary. Bottled water is recommended.

The more popular Grenadines consist of:

• Bequia (beck-way) – largest of the Grenadines; 7 square miles, approx. pop. 5,000, hilly and green, a favored location for private and chartered yachts, clean un-crowded white sand beaches, has range of casual to fine cuisine rated consistently good service and food, huge yachting/boat building community, some of the best sailing in the world, great snorkeling and diving sites, fun little shops, Oldhegg turtle sanctuary.


• Canouan (can-no-wan) – has one of the islands largest and exquisite resorts (Trump), Jim Fazio championship golf course (Trump), world-class spa (Trump), and casino (Trump), claims one of the 5 most pristine white sand beaches in the Caribbean and busy port for yachting and diving. Twin Bay is supposedly a hidden gem.


• Mayreau (my-row) – tiny (1. 5 square miles), pop 500, single unnamed village, except for water sports and hiking not much to do, Saltwhistle Bay Beach is a fav and also popular anchorage for the yachting crowd.


• Mustique – 3 miles by 1.25 miles, pop 3,000, the rich and famous own or rent vacation homes here, hilly, green, surrounded by coral reefs, white sand beaches, upscale, very expensive, secluded, Basil’s Bar/Brittania Bay are favorites for yachters, only 2 hotels, the rest expensive villas rentals. Macaroni Beach is islands most famous white sand beach offers great swimming, moderate surf with different shades of blue, and palm huts


• Union Island – pop. 3000, popular with French vacationers, crossroads for others heading to surrounding islands, 1,000 ft Mt. Tabol, nice beaches, transportation center/major base for yacht charters/sailing trips


• Palm Island – used to be called Prune Island until a family cleaned up the beaches and killed the mosquitoes by irrigating the swamp with seawater, now a private island with an expensive luxury resort.


• Petit St. Vincent – (petty) – tiny 113 acres, also a private island with one luxury and very private resort (call the staff only when needed from your cottage by raising your flag) called Petit St. Vincent Resort, white sand beaches.
  
• Tobago Cays – small group of uninhabited islands declared a wildlife reserve, offering some of the best snorkeling in the WORLD! Different shades of blue/green water, all major dive operators/snorkeling, etc go here from other islands including St. Vincent! - Tobago Cays whether you are diving, snorkeling or boating is said to be a “MUST SEE”.