Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a Windward Islands state made up of one mountainous volcanic island and a chain of smaller ones running south towards Grenada, among them Bequia, Mustique, Canouan and Union Island. La Soufriere, at the north of Saint Vincent, erupted explosively in 2021, 1979 and 1902.

Known for La Soufriere volcano, the Tobago Cays, arrowroot growing, Bequia boatbuilding and Garifuna heritage.

Highlights

  • La Soufriere, Charlotte Parish, Saint Vincent: An active stratovolcano of 1,234 metres, the highest point in the country and the source of the eruptions of 1902, 1979 and 2021. Trails from both coasts reach a crater rim that changes shape after each eruption.
  • Tobago Cays Marine Park, The Grenadines: Five uninhabited islands inside Horseshoe Reef, protected since the 1990s as a marine park, with turtle grass beds grazed by green turtles. There is no development on the cays; access is by boat.
  • Saint Vincent Botanic Gardens, Kingstown, Saint George Parish: Founded in 1765 to raise economic plants for the colonies, this is the oldest botanical garden in the western hemisphere. It still grows a breadfruit descended from the plants William Bligh landed in 1793.
  • Fort Charlotte, Kingstown, Saint George Parish: A British fort completed in 1806 on a ridge about 190 metres above Kingstown harbour. Most of its guns point inland rather than out to sea, built against attack from the island's interior rather than European fleets.

Places in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Getting around

Shared minibuses are how Saint Vincent moves, radiating from the terminal at the New Kingstown Fish Market. Cabinet sets the fares route by route, and the rates approved in September 2022 run from EC$2.00 for anything under a mile to EC$8.00 or EC$9.00 for the far north. Taxi fares are also government-set but unmetered, so agree the price first. Ferries run from Kingstown out to Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island. Driving is on the left, and visitors need a temporary licence costing EC$50.