The Grenadines

Typical of the local boats used for fishing and other purposes

Click on this icon for an enlarged map of The Grenadines

The Grenadines to the south between St. Vincent and Grenada form a magical cruising ground for novice and initiates alike. One of our favorite cruising areas, the header photograph for our web site is from picture perfect Salt Whistle Bay at the northern end of Mayru island, a place of immense charm and magnetic personality that draws us back time after time. On the way between St. Vincent and Mayreau is Bequia, an island with glorious scenery, gingerbread architecture and old-Caribbean charm.

Click on the following links to view brief descriptions of the smorgasbord of island delights available for visiting during your dream vacation through St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

• Bequia

• Mustique

• Canouan

• Mayreau

• Tobago Cays

• Union Island and Palm Island

• Petit St. Vincent & Petit Martinique

Bequia

The Gingerbread Bequia Restaurant, Bar and Suites in Port Elizabeth symbolize Admiralty Bay on this, one of the three largest islands in the Grenadines, with its ornate but not overdone latticework on a structure known for its comfortable elegance. Bequia is also known as the home of eyeball ship building in the Caribbean and Bequian boats can be found as far west as Puerto Rico and as far south as Trinidad.

Ferry boats run frequently from Admiralty Bay to St. Vincent as well as to other neighboring islands although an airport provides quicker, if more expensive, service. This part of the world is known for its winter whale mating and child bearing and Bequia still acts as the center for occasional forays for open-boat whaling in the old style. The small capital city sports numerous restaurants, book shops selling nautical charts, t-shirt vendors, craftsmen selling model boats and hulls, the latter being a specialty of the island. You will also find a gallery and ice cream emporiums as well as suppliers of local crafts. An afternoon walk through the town around the bay will take you past a combination of open air markets and more formal purveyors of goods of all kinds.

Hikes and tours will provide you with panoramic views of the lower Grenadines as well as a visit to Moonhole, a somewhat isolated and whimsical community on the southwestern point of the island where no wall is either vertical or parallel to another. To the southeast, Friendship Bay is home to a number of local, hand-crafted boats with a lovely beach and several beachside restaurants and bars.

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Mustique

Mustique is a private island for the wealthy. Expensive to visit, expensive to purchase goods, Mustique also sports gingerbread abodes and establishments common to this area of the Caribbean. The island does not encourage visitors.

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Canouan

The highest point of this, one of the larger islands in the Grenadines, is a little over 500 feet elevation. Charlestown Bay is the main anchorage on the island that has only a few, somewhat inaccessible beaches. Ashore are several restaurant/bar combinations serving local cuisine.

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Mayreau

From Canouan, we sail south to the island of Mayreau, the Tobago Cays and Union Island to travel the extent of the Grenadine islands. Mayreau, with a population of some 200 souls, has only one road traveling from Saline Bay on the west side of the island to the south, up over the top of the main hill. Here breathtaking vistas of the entire Grenadine group await you looking back down to Salt Whistle Bay to the north. It's good exercise to walk from the beach up to the top and over to the other side. On the other hand, Dennis will pick you up at the beach at either end of the road and transport you to his house of Creole and seafood, including the local conch (lambi from Neptune's horns). Joseph Ford, a proud but quiet member of one of the six major families on the island, will be glad to prepare a lobster dinner on the beach done to perfection.

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Tobago Cays

This uninhabited, low-lying group of islands form a national park just a little over one mile east of Mayreau are one of the most peaceful places in the world to drop the hook and enjoy a lunch and an afternoon swim and snorkel. You will be sure to be approached by local vendors from Bequia, Union Island and Mayreau in fast, outboard-powered open boats that seem to come in a multitude of colors.

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Union Island and Palm Island

This dramatic little island of volcanic origin is a little over 1000 feet high, having a volcanic core visible from the east. Its center, the town of Clifton, is protected and almost completely surrounded by reefs to provide the perfect anchorage. The cosmopolitan little village has a number of restaurants serving anything from continental to local cuisine. There are also local art galleries, shops selling local crafts and clothing, and several internet cafe's each having high speed capabilities.

Immediately adjacent to, and southeast of Clifton Harbor, lies private Palm Island where the resort is the main attraction. However, the anchorage is fine in reasonable weather and the eating ashore both allowed and excellent in quality. During the day, swimming on the beach is as near perfect as the Caribbean can be while snorkeling on the nearby reefs is every bit as good as any.

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Petit St. Vincent

Petit St. Vincent & Petit Martinique

Not a place to stay over night, Petit St. Vincent, a "private resort island hideaway for special people," provides excellent daytime anchorage with spectacularly beautiful scenery and waters. A few dinner tables are reserved for visiting yachtsmen but otherwise, no cruise ships, crowds or calypso fire-eaters. Nearby Petit Martinique, northernmost part of Grenada but only a half mile from Petit St. Vincent, offers a small, seafaring community with a restaurant in a picture-perfect setting with a sunset view on the beach.

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