Saint-VincentGrenadines Travel Guide
One of the major British Windward Islands, sleepy St. Vincent is just beginning to awaken to tourism. Sailors and the yachting set have long known of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and until recently it was a well-kept vacation secret.
You visit St. Vincent for its lush beauty, and the Grenadines for the best sailing waters in the Caribbean. Don't come for nightlife, grand cuisine, or spectacular beaches. There are some white-sand beaches near Kingstown on St. Vincent, but most of the other beaches ringing the island are black sand. The yachting crowd seems to view St. Vincent merely as a launching pad for the 64km (40-plus-mile) string of the Grenadines, but the island still has a few attractions that make it worth exploring on its own.
Unspoiled by the fallout that mass tourism sometimes brings, islanders treat visitors courteously. British customs predominate, along with traces of Gallic cultural influences, but all with a distinct West Indian flair.
South of St. Vincent, the small chain of islands called the Grenadines extends for more than 64km (40 miles). The islands have such romantic-sounding names as Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Petit St. Vincent. We'll explore Union and Palm Islands, and Mayreau as well. A few of the islands have accommodations, but many are so small and undeveloped that they attract only beachcombers and stray boaters.
Populated by the descendants of African slaves and administered by St. Vincent, the Grenadines collectively add up to a landmass of 78 sq. km (30 sq. miles). These specks of land may lack natural resources, but they're blessed with white-sand beaches, coral reefs, and their own sleepy beauty. If you don't stay overnight in the Grenadines, at least try to visit one on a day trip, and enjoy a picnic lunch (which your hotel will pack for you) on your own quiet stretch of sand.
