St. Vincent & The Grenadines vacations

A long name to say when you’re trying to be lazy, St Vincent and the Grenadines – SVG for short – is where you’ll find the Caribbean at its most relaxed. St Vincent is the largest island by far, and the Grenadines scatter below it – just nine of them inhabited. Hard to reach from much of the world, it’s quiet and remote-feeling down here, a place for beach barbecues on uninhabited islands, and snorkelling in marine parks. Our Saint Vincent and the Grenadines vacations don’t just enjoy the quiet, lesser-visited areas, but they also strive to do so in a way that minimises harmful impact on nature, and benefits the communities you visit, too. Sail to the uninhabited Tobago Cays, fuelled by wind power and by locally-sourced food – an easy-breezy way to enjoy this chilled-out part of the world.

Part of the Windward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, this treasure chest archipelago contains 32 island gems. Working north to south in SVG, first you’ll find the biggest island, St Vincent, a good starting point for exploring – here you’ll find a rainforest interior crowned by a volcano, and the most amenities. St Vincent is by far the biggest island, host to over 90 percent of the population. Moving south into the Grenadines there’s Bequia, known for its quiet way of life, where local people and very few built up resort areas. Then there’s Mustique, famous as a privately-owned celebrity enclave. They join seven other inhabited islands among the 32 Grenadines in the country: Young Island, Canouan, Mayreau, Petit St Vincent, Palm Island, and Union Island. Further south you’ll find the Tobago Cays, uninhabited islands that are fantastic for swimming and relaxing. Petit St Vincent is the most southerly – by this point, you’re venturing very close to Grenada.

Banana growing is big business on St Vincent and the Grenadines, but away from the plantations you’ll find abundant nature. St Vincent, the largest island, has the massive Mount Soufriere, an active volcano, 1,235m high, in its center, and the volcano’s slopes and surroundings are home to rainforest wildlife including endemic birds. The St Vincent parrot – the ‘Vincie parrot’ is victim of its own beauty – so stunningly colourful that the pet trade threatened to obliterate it – but populations have bounced back in the island’s central mountain range. Elsewhere on the islands, Battowia and Petit Canouan in particular are known for their birdlife, and among a number of the islands that are designated as wildlife reserves. There is abundant life below the water, too. The Tobago Cays Marine Park is home to the country’s best coral reefs, and its sandy lagoon shelters everything from turtles to spiny lobsters.

Getting to know the Vincentians, or Vincies, is one of the pleasures of coming here. Visit the street markets around Heritage Square in Kingstown, the capital, to try and buy local produce, including buckets and buckets of bananas. Look out for traditional roasted breadfruit on the menus, and for roadside barbecues, which usually take place over the weekend. There are a mix of cultural influences on St Vincent and the Grenadines, including Carib and Arawak, African – from enslaved peoples, and European, from colonisers to labourers. These cultures come together for Vincy Mas, summer carnival, which is the island’s biggest cultural celebration, a colourful multi-day festival alive with steel pan music and parades – many people return from abroad so they don’t miss it.

For vacations, St Vincent and the Grenadines are relaxation central. Known for their secluded, prestigious resorts and undeveloped islands, it doesn’t take much effort to find a quiet bay, with perhaps a couple of yachts bobbing at anchor, and very little else. The beaches in St Vincent and the Grenadines are known for being some of the most beautiful in the Caribbean – the Grenadines beaches have yellow sand, but volcanic St Vincent’s shores are black. Crack open a local beer or some Sunset-brand rum and enjoy. Once you get bored of sitting on the sand, consider the water. Sailing is a very popular activity due to the trade winds. Diving is especially special, as the islands’ coral reefs are in a good state for the Caribbean. You might hear people referring to SVG as the ‘critter capital of the Caribbean’ due to the high variety of marine life.

A Caribbean destination with far more yachts than cruise ships, St Vincent and the Grenadines is a very popular boating destination. You’ll find keen sailors here in their droves, and white sails a frequent feature on the horizon. Experienced sailors make use of the trade winds to hop between the islands. For a taste of the action, our sailing vacations take you with on an island-hopping odyssey supported by a skipper and crew. Going by small boat allows you to stop in places others can’t, find secluded bays, enjoy picnics on uninhabited islands and swim at every opportunity. You will fuel up, pay mooring fees and buy supplies locally, providing tourism income across the islands.