St. Vincent & the Grenadines by Melanie Reffes

Strung like a necklace in the southeastern Caribbean – thirty minutes as the gull flies from Barbados- St Vincent and the Grenadines is a strand of thirty-two islands stretching across the sapphire sea. With short distances between them, they have been perennial favourites for sailors and yachties; however, savvy travelers are now catching on to the unspoiled splendour that is St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

St. Vincent

The heart of the archipelago is St. Vincent with lush mountains, flowered hillsides, black sandy shorelines created from volcanic ash and underwater life that rate amongst the best in the world with healthy reefs and a riotous array of marine species. With a movie-perfect landscape, it’s no wonder Hollywood filmed the swashbuckler trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean on the west coast.

The cobblestone capital of Kingstown is easy to navigate on foot although there are plenty of taxis available.  With cannons still pointed inland, Fort Charlotte is a must-see while centuries-old churches beckon history buffs. The Methodist Church was built by freed slaves and the nearby St. George’s Cathedral salutes the Georgian period with a galleried interior dating to 1880. 

Close to the ferry pier, the Market is a cornucopia of tropical treasures busiest on Friday and Saturday when fish, fruit and crafts are sold from bustling stalls that spill onto the sidewalk.  Nearby, Heritage Square comes alive when the sun sets with musicians providing a soundtrack of get-up-and-dance rhythms.

Without all-inclusives and swim-up bars, St. Vincent is all about Mother Nature at her finest. The best black sand beaches are on the west coast at Wallilabou (where Pirates was filmed), Cumberland Bay and Richmond Beach.   Brighton Salt Pond is a favourite for locals who come to take a dip and knock back a few at the beach bars.  

Founded in 1765 and the oldest in the western hemisphere, Botanical Gardens is a green wonderland with stately teak, mahogany and breadfruit trees that were brought from Tahiti by Captain Bligh after his Mutiny on the Bounty failed. With gentle currents and a unruffled surface, diving is best on the west and south coasts where impressive walls give way to a luminous kaleidoscope seen no where else on the planet.

A drive up the Leeward highway is a postcard-perfect mélange of waterfalls, sleepy fishing hamlets and greener than green rainforests chocked full of wildlife and rare bird species. La Soufriere Volcano, at more than 1200 meters high, is still active and popular with the hikers in the crowd while the photographers stick close to the Crater Lake.

On the leeward coast, Bat Cave is a crowd-pleasing adventure above and below the waves.  For divers, the adventure begins underwater in a darkened cave, traversing a long tunnel and swimming through a deep fissure in the rocks.  Explorers swim down to two enormous boulders where copious sponges and corals attract a riotous array of rainbow-coloured marine life.

A one-hour hike from Richmond Beach, Trinity Falls is smack in the middle of the rainforest with some of the best photo opportunities on the island. The three falls – hence the name Trinity – are warmed by hot springs with strong currents and the occasional loose boulder. And for clients who value environmental protection, former seaman Orton King is dedicated to the preservation of the endangered Hawksbill turtle at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary.  Tours are available and kids of all ages will be enthralled to see the gentle giants’ close-up.

Accommodations are quaint and include the Cobblestone Inn overlooking the harbour and Beachcombers Hotel with a seaside eatery specializing in a delectable Vincy salt cod. Perched on a hill with glorious views of the bay, Grenadine House gets rave reviews from foodies who swoon over Vancouver-born Chef Winston Ferguson’s honey truffle pasta.  “I infuse local ingredients with foreign techniques and creativity, “he says buzzing around his pristine kitchen. 

At the water’s edge, Mariner Hotel’s and its gourmet French Verandah Restaurant bustles till the last person leaves. A two-minute ferry away, Young Island is a chic retreat with sparkling beaches, hummingbirds flitting about the nutmeg trees , guava seed foot scrubs at the Spa Kalina and swishy cottages including  # 6  where Johnny Depp stayed while filming the Pirates movies.  Scrumptious fruity bread is the star attraction and according to Chef Christopher John, his loaves leave a lasting impression. “When our guests get home,   they tell me they miss my warm slices of cinnamon toast.”  Note to bread fans: A take-home loaf is USD 4.50.

The Grenadines

Measuring 18 square kilometers, Bequia is the largest atoll in the chain. Ferries pull into Port Elizabeth with its funky bars, restaurants and the market the Canadian government helped to build in 1991. Gingerbread houses shaded by almond trees and draped in bougainvillea are scattered about while golden sandy beaches disappear into coves. Steeped in maritime history, model boat builders like Corsini Pollard are delighted to offer tours of their studios. “It takes me three weeks to fashion a boat from the wood of a gum tree, “he says showing off one his delicate creations. 

Accommodations include Firefly, a plantation house set in coconut and banana groves and Frangipani Hotel, overlooking the yachts in Admiralty Bay. Not yet a year old, Bequia Beach Hotel & Villas is adding eleven swanky suites to open in December with an additional thirty-five suites that will open next year.

Sitting pretty on one of the island’s best beaches in Friendship Bay, the cozy hotel is surrounded by tropical gardens. The Blue Tropic Café dishes up a plethora of Caribbean specialties peppered with Mediterranean charm with the picturesque sunset on the house.  Breakfast on the terrace kick starts another day in Paradise but for those enjoying the privacy of their suites, room service is available until 10 am and included in the rate. A unique and very private development, Moonhole is a community of twenty free-form homes that cling to the natural curves of the hillside. Without windows or doors, the imaginative structures have no straight lines – some even have trees growing right in the living room.

As famous for its celebrity beachcombers as it is for its sultry sunsets, Mustique is coveted for its lack of crowds and traffic lights. Mick Jagger owns a villa, so does Tommy Hilfiger and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. Herons and sandpipers strut in the sun and frigate birds glide overhead while the rest of us wile the day away in a swaying hammock strung between two coconut palms or on one of the nine white coral beaches. Cotton House impresses with a pillow menu, sorbet on the beach and vistas of the sea from the Spa. Sitting on stilts over Brittania Bay, Basil’s bar is lorded over by Basil Charles and his partner, Dianne Wilson who moved from Ottawa in 2002. “Wednesday night is our “jump-up” and if Mick is in the mood, you may hear the concert of a lifetime,” she smiles.

A fifteen minute flight from St. Vincent , Canouan is home to the uber-luxe Trump International Golf Club and  Raffles Resort with the Amrita Spa that welcomes travelers with a lemon and ginger salt glow or a sea crystal body polish. 

No airport and a tiny unnamed village, Mayreau sits on a perfectly half-moon shaped beach and is one of the smallest inhabited Grenadine Islands. Accessible only by boat, this tiny sliver of tranquility received electricity only a year ago. Chocked full of Marley memorabilia, Robert Righteous’ & de Youths Seafood Restaurant is legendary for both the sumptuous fish menu and the chilled-out vibe.

Petit St. Vincent is a sliver of Shangri-la with just twenty-two cottages and one restaurant serving seafood so fresh it’s still mad. With a bamboo flag pole as the main means of communication (yellow flag brings cocktails to the beach and a red flag means total privacy); the biggest decision will be a lobster picnic or an apple-rubbed turkey dinner under the stars.

Pam Duffield spends her days marketing the island to those hatching winter escape plans and says privacy is the big allure. “Guests immediately disconnect from the worries of everyday, beginning from the moment they arrive, they are whisked away to their privately situated cottage which has no TV, phone or Internet.”  Although such a sunny paradise doesn’t come cheap with nightly rates from USD675.00 to USD1,020.00, it’s well worth the splurge.

Union Island is a mecca for scuba excursions; Palm Island suits seclusion- seekers, and the five islets protected by a rainbow-coloured reef are the Tobago Cays, one of the finest snorkeling spots in the world. From traversing nature trails and sailing the high seas to fine dining and a massage on the beach, there is something for every vacationer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.