Visit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: islands, sailing and a volcano

The main island climbs steeply: the active La Soufrière volcano rises to 1234 metres, roughly a 5-hour round trip from the northern trailheads, monitored daily since its last eruption on 9 April 2021. In Kingstown, the botanical gardens founded in 1765 are the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. The calmer leeward coast holds Wallilabou Bay, where a pirate-ship set from the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean still stands. Most international flights connect through Barbados or Antigua before reaching Argyle airport.

An hour's ferry from Kingstown, Bequia remains the easiest Grenadine to reach and the most populated after the main island. Port Elizabeth still holds a handful of traditional boatyards, among the last in the Caribbean to build sailboats by hand. The Old Hegg turtle sanctuary and Princess Margaret Beach each take about half a day to visit; two to three nights are enough to settle into the island's pace.

Leased since the 1960s by a handful of wealthy families, Mustique has only around a hundred residences but welcomes day visitors to Macaroni Beach and to Basil's Bar, a stilted beach bar that doubles as an informal meeting point for passing sailors. Further south, Canouan lines up a long, near-empty white-sand beach facing one of the archipelago's largest coral reefs, better suited to a multi-night stay than a day trip.

The Tobago Cays form a marine park of five uninhabited islets, reachable only by boat, where green turtles and rays swim in shallow water. Nearby, Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau curves into a crescent between two bays. Union Island, the logical end point, combines the lively port of Clifton, a hike up the Pinnacle for a view over the whole chain, and kitesurfing spots within an hour's boat ride of Grenada's waters.

Short crossings between islands, often under an hour, have made the archipelago one of the most popular cruising grounds in the Caribbean, whether bareboat or with a skipper. Charter companies based in Kingstown or Bequia run week-long routes south, extending the classic charter runs out of Saint Lucia. Hurricane season, June to November and peaking in August-October, is best avoided, and rooms during the Vincy Mas carnival in late June fill up early.