St. Vincent & the Grenadines

This archipelago sits north of Grenada and south of St. Lucia. The collection includes charming Bequia with its art community and ties to the sea, boasting the best sailors and boat builders in the Grenadines.  Upscale Mustique showcases palm-lined beaches and luxe private villas overlooking the sand that sit behind closed gates. Union Island, outlined by jagged peaks boasts a brightly painted seaside town with several shops, boutiques and restaurants.  And the Tobago Cays, every boater’s darling is a collection of five uninhabited islands where Johnny Deep set foot when he filmed Pirates of the Caribbean.

The mother island, St. Vincent offers a taste of the real Caribbean. Rugged winding roads, fishing villages from another time and remnants of colonial charm loom throughout the island. The air in Kingston is smokey and sweet with aromas of fresh pineapple, nutmeg and boiling pots of callaloo soup. Beyond the town, the island is carpeted with a wild lush green interior and an active volcano. Visitors come to hike the challenging full-day climb at La Soufrière which looms at 4,000 feet and covers nearly the entire northern third of the island.  A gentler outing to Vermont Nature Trail passes through bamboo and evergreen rainforest where a sighting of the rare St. Vincent parrot is a possibility.