Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Visited: November 2017

Duration of visit: 4 days

Capital city: Kingstown

Population: 112.000 (2017)

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

• Walking around Kingstown with Swedish backpackers, who were constantly harassed by drunk locals.
• Beautiful and tranquil white sand beaches are some of the top beaches in the Caribbean.
• Snorkeling with turtles and sailing in Tobago Keys.
• Bequia – where perfect sandy beaches and off shore banking walk hand in hand with whale hunting tradition.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are probably the most fantastic examples of what we imagine, when we envision the Caribbean islands.

Idyllic, white sand beaches, uncluttered by tourist exploitation, sky blue turquoise water and plenty opportunities for water sports: diving, snorkeling, sailing and wind surfing. No wonder that Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed here.

Why would I bother exploring anything else on this island at all?

I consider the Caribbean very limited in offering anything else apart from sea. A short stroll around the capital Kingstown, which reminds more on a banana town, exposed all misery and wealth of this tropical paradise.

Lazy locals, hiding in shadows waiting for anything to happen, playing domino or cards to kill the time. It was late afternoon, when I was walked the streets with a Swedish island-hoping friends Johan and Anna, who I just met at the airport. A blond-haired girl was the biggest attraction to local drunkards, who didn’t stop yelling and whistling at her.

The next day, I took a ferry to Bequia Island, known for gorgeous white-sand beaches. Just the right size waves on a beautiful beach called my attention and entertained me for some time. I didn’t have any intention to explore the island further of Port Elizabeth, where the ship docked.

After a nice swim, I sat down on the deck of a perfectly located bar with the view over the sandy beach in the bay and ordered a cocktail. This place in the middle of nowhere was so beautiful, tranquil and far away from all problems of daily life.

What called my attention was a bank in vicinity.

Bank of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is probably one of those banks, where off shores companies open their accounts and deposit savings from rich first world citizens that are willing to avoid paying high taxes in their own countries.

Another important feature of Bequia is whale hunting. Presently the whalers of Bequia carry out their historical and cultural activity of whale hunting with quota of four whales per year since 2013. This quota was reached only twice due to weather conditions, with traditional hunting methods and basic equipment (harpoons, lances, bombs, guns), which are identical to those used over 140 years ago.

Union Island was my base to explore Tobago Keys and catch a boat to Grenada. Tobago Keys are part of a national park and offer some of the Caribbean’s best diving and snorkeling. I booked a trip with an old wooden sailing boat. The captain picked me up at the airport, when I arrived early in the morning on a short flight from Kingstown.

I was the last passenger of a crew, which boarded the vessel that day. There was actually just an American family beside me and we had this tremendous, historic wooden sailboat for only seven of us the whole day.

Beautiful sandy beaches for swimming; clear blue water with high visibility was warm and calm for excellent snorkeling with turtles, colorful fishes and beautiful corals.

The area fills up with private sailboats for most part of the day, but it was still enjoyable. The father of American family that come to Barbados on holidays every year, narrated stories with strong Texan accent. They rented an airplane for a day trip to Tobago Keys, enjoyed the experience of sailing, snorkeling and exploring of surrounding bays before returning back to Barbados in the late afternoon.

In general, connecting to other Caribbean islands is only done by plane, exception being French Antilles and a connection between Union Islands in Grenadines and Carriacou in Grenada.

My next move was 2 hours ride on Troy’s boat with locals and some cargo towards Grenada. Troy was a nice guy and even arranged me a place to sleep before catching a boat early next morning.

I stayed on a non-touristic part of Union Island. No luxury, hotels or restaurants, just simple routine for villagers that work for survival every day. They didn’t bother with me either. I got a decent dinner in a local restaurant, had a short talk with local guys that were keen on rum and when their conversation became incomprehensible, it was time to go to bed.

The next day, I came to the pier at 7:00am, as agreed with Troy. Nobody else was around. Since his boat was moored for buoy, the only bad scenario could be that he would not be navigating to Grenada that day. But soon enough, other passengers and assistants started to show up and my doubts were cleared up. By 9:00am, the boat was fully loaded, the passengers were comfortably sited, the sky was clear and the water calm. It was a smooth two-hour ride to my new destination – Grenada.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are among the most popular Caribbean islands, offering real paradise beaches, snorkeling, diving and sailing. I met sailors, who were anchored in waters around Bequia island for months, without doing anything in particular; just enjoying the tranquility, clean water, peace and easy-going atmosphere.

The main island with the capital of Kingstown is not particularly pleasant, with the exception of St. Vincent’s highest peak, La Soufrière volcano.