> About St Vincent & The Grenadines
The Grenadines are a stunning string of thirty two islands stretching down from St Vincent in the north through to Carriacou in the south. They include such evocative and romantic names as Bequia, Palm and Union Islands, Petit St Vincent, Canouan, and our featured island, Mustique. This is picture book Caribbean, stunning water contrasts, superb beaches and some of the very best swimming, snorkelling and diving found in the entire region. Total escapism and a real sense of style. This is casual, laid back, understated elegance at its best.
Traditional Caribbean resort hospitality, with most of the islands offering simple rustic hotels, although Cotton House on Mustique and Pink Sands on Canouan are right up there with the best. The pleasures are spontaneous and natural, deliberately shying away from commercialised tourism. The Grenadines are still the playground for the rich and famous, particularly in the winter and early spring months. The islands are also popular with the sailing fraternity from around the world and hosts several regattas. The islands are diminutive. Mustique is only three miles long and a mile wide and, discounting visitors, the resident population is around 500 people, most of whom are associated with the hotel or luxurious villas.
For travel to our featured island of Mustique we currently suggest travel via St Lucia, with direct daylight connections straight to the small landing strip. Or maybe spend a few days in St Lucia before continuing through to Mustique. We would suggest Le Sport the Body Holiday or maybe Sugar Beach in St Lucia.
Alternatively we can arrange travel via Barbados, which also can make an interesting twin centre – you would fly via St Vincent and then connect onto Mustique. The capital of St Vincent is Kingstown, a lively ramshackle place with some incredible old colonial buildings and a busy market. Unlike the Grenadines, St Vincent is a relatively large, lush island (18 miles long and 11 wide, with a population of 100,000 plus). Dense tropical forests, volcanoes & waterfalls, mainly dark sand beaches. Our suggested hotel in Kingstown would be the centrally located Cobblestone Inn, originally built in 1814 and lovingly restored. Perfect for a one or two night stop-over en route.
