Caribbean Snapshots: Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau, Grenadines

This exotic beauty is off the charts for most

 

The smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines chain, Mayreau is home to just 300 people, and one of the most idyllic anchorages in the entire Caribbean. Salt Whistle Bay is a crescent moon-shaped body of water on the island’s northeast coast that offers calm, crystal clear waters for snorkelers, white sand beaches for sun worshipers and secure holding ground for the yachtsmen who drop anchor during a cruise through the islands.

Shore leave usually centers around the Salt Whistle Bay Beach Club, along with a smattering of local restaurants and open-aIr bars scattered along the beach. The island’s only settlement is just a short walk away, and the views from atop Station Hill take in the Tobago Cays, Canouan and Union Island.

Mayreau is served by an island ferry, but most visitors arrive by private boat, often during the course of a yacht charter originating in St. Vincent or Grenada. This relative isolation ensures that Salt Whistle Bay will never see cruise ship crowds, and will remain one of the Caribbean’s most memorable stopovers for those who do make landfall.