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St Vincent and the Grenadines / Island Hopping

As a string of islands, many of them linked by ferry, the Grenadines are ideal territory for island-hopping. Each island has a different feel, ranging from the near supernatural prettiness of Bequia to the slumber-struck tropical perfection of Mayreau, and the sophistication of Mustique to the occasional desert-island tranquillity of the Tobago Cays. There are day trips to many of the Grenadines, but there are also good options of travelling by boat. You can, of course, fly to a number of the islands, see Getting There.

If you would like to travel farther afield, to mix small island life in the Grenadines with a larger island than (the characterful but pretty undeveloped) St Vincent, then there are plenty of options at hand. Barbados is well connected to the Grenadines (in fact you may fly via there anyway, so you could stop off for a few days on the way out or way home) and it has plenty that the Grenadines do not really have, including very good dining and an interesting social life. Other options include Grenada, easily reached at the southern end of the Grenadine chain, or St Lucia, which also has an interesting French Creole aspect. For a full-on French Caribbean experience, Martinique is not far to the north too.

Most of the local scheduled flights will be out of St Vincent itself, and these will only be convenient if you are on the mainland or in Bequia. If you are staying elsewhere in the Grenadines you can take a shared charter to Barbados, from where the largest number of local services emanate. There is also a daily SVG Air service between St Lucia (Hewanorra) and St Vincent, Bequia and Canouan, which is particularly useful for international travellers.

St Vincent and the Grenadines – A Photo Essay
The Grenadines, a string of outcrops, cays and sandbars scattered over the 60 miles between St Vincent and Grenada, are some of the prettiest islands in the Caribbean. In a new type of article on Definitive Caribbean, we present a photo essay of the Grenadines as seen by the pilot of a small plane. Pilots are lucky, it seems. They have a fantastic view from their cockpit. Oh, they have a few responsibilities too, but from 5,000 feet they can see for 50 miles or more. This is living geography – every tidal pattern is visible around an island, every breaking wave, even fish moving underwater at times. At Kick ‘em Jenny, a submarine volcano nearer Grenada, pilots have seen the results of seismic activity beneath the sea. All the photographs in the following series are courtesy of Paul Gravel, owner of SVG Air, a Caribbean airline based in St Vincent. We hope you enjoy them.

Please see our St Vincent and the Grenadines Photo Essay.

Regional Airlines serving St Vincent and the Grenadines include :

American Eagle - Direct service from Puerto Rico to Canouan.  Air Caraibes - Flights from Martinique to Canouan and Union Island. LIAT - Serves the “mainland” of St Vincent with direct flights from Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada.

Charter airlines include:

St Barth Commuter - A local airline based in St Barths, which offers scheduled flights from there to St Martin/St Maarten and private aircraft charters to islands all over the Eastern Caribbean.

SVG Air - A local airline based in St Vincent that offers shared and private charters to the Grenadines from around the region, mostly from Barbados, but also from St Lucia and Grenada, even from as far as Puerto Rico.

 

By ferry

St Vincent is a great starting point for an island-hopping adventure by boat and the Grenadines are well connected by ferry. These boats are the lifeline of the Grenadine islanders and they have great character. You will travel with every crate of fizzy drinks, box of plantains, breezeblock, car and goat that needs to make the journey up and down the small islands in the chain. Trips can take a while, with all the activity around the loading and unloading, but it is always an entertaining journey.

The Grenadine ferries start their journeys at the Grenadines Dock on the waterfront in Kingstown, from where it is possible to make the journey down through the islands by boat all the way to Grenada. There are many ferries each day for Bequia but no ferries put in at Mustique. Ferries are reasonably priced and fairly regular. Do make sure you check the exact times of departure as they can change without warning.

All the main islands below, with the exception of Mustique, can be reached by the ferry services that run nearly every day up and down the island chain.

Bequia
There are several daily ferry services between St Vincent and Bequia. A couple of days a week the main ferry service drops in at Bequia, enabling you to travel direct to Canouan, Mayreau and then Union Island.

Mustique
Getting to Mustique is not that easy by boat, however, you may be able to get a yacht from Bequia to take you over for the day. A supply boat makes the run from Kingstown to the island on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 9.30am. It’s not the most dignified way to arrive in an island this expensive, but you should be able to get a ride. The easiest (and absolutely the most normal) way is to go by plane.

Canouan
Two ferry companies operate during the week, putting in to Charlestown on both north and southward journeys.

Mayreau
Mayreau is a lovely stop for a dozy couple of days on a trip through the Grenadines and there are plenty of possibilities for island-hopping both north and south, both by yacht and by ferry, or by water taxi from Union Island.

Union Island
There are plenty of possibilities for island-hopping north from Union Island to the other Grenadines, both by yacht to the neighbouring islands and by ferry. There is also a twice-weekly service south to the island of Carriacou (part of Grenada).

Tobago Cays
The Tobago Cays are one of the key ports of call on a trip through the Grenadines. They consist of five stunning uninhabited islands and a complex coral reef with excellent snorkelling.

The Tobago Cays have been a marine park since 1997 and are operating under government management. As such, all visitors are required to pay an entry fee of US$4 per person per 24 hours. Fees are payable at the Tobago Cays Marine Park office in Union Island, t 485 8191, the Customs office in Bequia or in the marine park itself.

As one of the most popular places to visit in the area, most people visit on a yacht tour. Please see Day Sails/Boat Trips and Sailing & Regattas.

Ferry service to Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island from Kingstown:

Two St Vincent based boats, MV Barracuda and MV Gem Star, have a regular service between Kingstown on St Vincent and the southern Grenadines. The trip to Union Island takes around 5 hours and costs EC$40. The ferries stop in Canouan (3 hours, EC$30) and Mayreau (4 hours, EC$35) on the way. Timings sometimes vary according to how long it takes to unload at each stop.

MV Barracuda, sails south from St Vincent on Mondays and Thursdays, and to the north, from Union Island to St Vincent, on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Saturdays it does a round trip from St Vincent.

MV Gemstar, makes the journey from St Vincent to Canouan and Union Island on Tuesdays and Fridays and the return from Union Island on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Jaden Sun Fast Ferry - New fast ferry services for passengers only. Operates between Kingston, Bequia, Canouan and Union Island with Mayreau on request. Fares from EC$30-75.

Ferry service to Bequia from Kingstown:

There are regular daily ferry services between Bequia and St Vincent on the MV Bequia Express and MV Admiral fleet. The journey takes an hour and costs around EC$20. The MV Barracuda also puts in at Bequia on its journey south to Mayreau and Union Island.

Ferry Service to Carriacou (part of Grenada):

It is possible to catch a ferry from Union Island to Carriacou. The MV Jasper leaves Union Island on a Monday and Thursday morning for the 45-minute journey. From Carriacou there are several daily sailings down to St George's in Grenada.

Browse Island Hopping on other islands

Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Barbados | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada & Carriacou | Jamaica | Nevis | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad

Or read our other island guides

Anguilla | Antigua | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Bonaire | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada and Carriacou | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Nevis | Puerto Rico | Saba | St Barthélemy | St Eustatius | St Kitts | St Lucia | St Martin/St Maarten | St Vincent and the Grenadines | Tobago | Trinidad | Turks & Caicos Islands | US Virgin Islands

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St Vincent and the Grenadines’s weather

St Vincent and the Grenadines weather chart

When to go and weather

Looking for inspiration?

  1. Hike up St Vincent's 4000ft volcano, La Soufriere
  2. Take the Barracuda Express to the pretty harbour of Port Elizabeth, Bequia, for a day's sightseeing
  3. Enjoy a day sail and snorkelling trip to the stunning Tobago Cays
  4. Join in the carnival atmosphere and jump-up during Vincy Mas
  5. Rub shoulders with the rich and famous on Mustique

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