One country in the southern Lesser Antilles, and two entirely different holidays. The main island is green, steep and working, with rainforest, black sand and an active volcano at its northern end, while the chain strung south of it is pale sand and famous sailing. Most people see only the second half and treat the first as a stopover with a runway. Bequia still builds boats by hand and once hunted whales under licence, and that sailing culture is the thread holding the country together.
The main airport sits on Saint Vincent, with regional connections through Barbados and other hubs alongside a few longer routes, while the airstrips on Bequia, Canouan, Mustique and Union Island take inter-island hops. Boats matter as much as planes here, and they do not all run alike. The Bequia crossing goes several times a day and takes about an hour, less on the faster boat, while the legs further south towards Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island sail only on certain days, and the operators running them change, so confirm the current timetable rather than assuming one. The Tobago Cays have no airstrip at all and are reached only by boat. It is worth comparing flights and rooms across the chain before fixing any of it, because the boat timetable decides the shape of the trip.
Entry is light on paperwork and worth getting straight. Most nationalities need no visa in advance, though a short list of countries must apply to the Ministry of National Security before travelling, so check where your own passport stands. Bring a passport with plenty of validity left, a return or onward ticket and your address on the islands, and expect an arrival card and a few questions at the desk. The length of stay granted varies by nationality and published figures disagree, with Commonwealth citizens generally getting longer, so read the stamp before you walk away. The currency is the East Caribbean dollar, pegged to the United States dollar, which is widely accepted. There is also an airport service charge on departures by air, normally built into an international ticket but sometimes collected in person on regional and charter flights, and quoted at different amounts by different sources, so keep cash aside for it.
Where you stay is really a choice of island. On Saint Vincent, small hotels and guesthouses gather along the Villa Beach strip, across a narrow channel from Young Island and a short drive from Kingstown. On Bequia, family-run inns and cottages sit above Admiralty Bay along the Belmont Walkway, the seafront path running from Port Elizabeth round to Princess Margaret Beach. On Canouan, resort hotels and villas spread near Glossy Bay Marina at the southern end of the island. On Union Island, simple guesthouses cluster at Clifton below the ridge of Mount Taboi, handy for the yacht anchorage, while Mustique stays private and exceptionally expensive.
Skip the hire car unless you are exploring Saint Vincent itself, where driving is on the left and the coast roads twist, because everywhere else the boat is the vehicle: scheduled ferries, a day charter out to the Tobago Cays, dive trips, or a crewed or bareboat yacht week. The Cays sit inside a marine park with a per-person entry fee, payable online or to the wardens on arrival and usually folded into the price of an organised trip, with separate mooring charges for boats. The volcano needs a note of its own. The windward trail from Rabacca reopened after the eruptions that shut it for years, but the national parks authority requires foreign visitors not in the company of a Vincentian to take a certified guide, which is a rule rather than a suggestion, arranged through the authority or a tour operator. The leeward approach from Richmond and the cross-country traverse are not reliably open, and the summit is often buried in cloud by late morning. You can check boat charter and tour options for the islands and book the guided climb before you arrive.
Season sets the sailing more than the swimming. The dry winter and spring months bring the steadiest weather, the fullest anchorages and the busiest boats, and that is when the chain works best. Late summer and autumn are quieter and cheaper but sit inside the Atlantic hurricane season, when charters thin out and any plan wants slack in it. Rain falls harder on the main island than out on the cays in any month, because the mountains catch it. Personally, I would give Saint Vincent two days before sailing south rather than treating it as an airport with a view, because the interior is genuinely wild and arriving in the Grenadines afterwards makes the contrast land properly.
Q: Do you need a guide to hike La Soufriere?
A: Foreign visitors who are not in the company of a Vincentian must be accompanied by a certified guide on the volcano trail. The windward route from Rabacca has reopened since the eruptions, while the leeward approach and the cross-country traverse are not reliably open.
Q: How do you travel between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines?
A: By ferry down the chain or by small aircraft to the islands with airstrips. The Bequia crossing runs several times a day, while the legs further south sail only on certain days. The Tobago Cays have no airport and are reached by boat.
Q: Do you need a visa for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines?
A: Most nationalities do not, though a short list of countries must apply in advance. Carry a passport with plenty of validity, a return or onward ticket and your address on the islands, and check the length of stay written on your entry stamp.
Q: Which Grenadine island should you choose?
A: Bequia for character and value, Canouan for resorts and the marina, Union Island as a sailing base, and Mustique only if the budget is exceptional.
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