Discover St. Vincent

Discover an enchanting Caribbean island that is brimming with exciting adventures, captivating land and water activities, outstanding natural beauty and very friendly and welcoming people.

Often overlooked by visitors to the Grenadines, St. Vincent is full of wonderful surprises.

WHAT TO DO IN ST. VINCENT
Nature lovers, scuba divers and hikers will all love St Vincent. From the comfort of a bus tour to the challenge of hiking to the top of La Soufriere volcano, there are fabulous activities for everyone to enjoy at this world class island destination. Visit tropical gardens, go bird watching, take in a cricket match or replay scenes from Pirates of The Caribbean. The possibilities are endless.

ST. VINCENT BEACHES
St. Vincent’s volcanic legacy is a stunning coastline of alluring black sand – come and explore our unique black sand beaches. We have our fair share of white sand beaches too, ideal for relaxing, digging your toes into the sand, and soaking up the sun.

Excellent leeward coast beaches include Mt Wynne, Petit Byahaut, Buccament Bay, Richmond Bay and Cumberland Bay.

On the south coast, Indian Bay Beach and Villa Beach are very popular. Across the water, the powder white sands of Young Island can be reached and enjoyed by ferry or water taxi.

Argyle Beach and Brighton Beach are popular in the south, and the beautiful Mt. Young Beach at Black Point is one of the longest stretches of sand in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

In the north, Sandy Bay is a delightful beach.

ISLAND TOURS

Land Tours
Organised bus excursions are a great way to discover St Vincent. Most operators offer a range of tours to suit your interest. Look out for trips that take you to the Mesopotamia Valley, Owia Salt Pond, Dark View Falls, Vermont Nature Trail, or Fort Charlotte. Many tours will also incorporate locations that were used for the filming of the blockbuster movie Pirates of The Caribbean Curse of The Black Pearl. Sites and film sets can be enjoyed at Wallilabou and Black Point.

Boat Tours
A Boat Tour is a wonderful way to explore the coast of St Vincent and to experience some of our more secluded beaches, bays and shallow snorkeling sites. An unforgettable trip is to the Falls of Baleine in the very north of the island. This 35 foot waterfall tumbles into a rock-lined pool and is a unique natural attraction. Another very pretty natural site is Petit Byahaut. This lovely leeward coast beach can only be accessed by boat and is the perfect place for a romantic picnic.

DIVING AND SNORKELING IN ST. VINCENT
Take a journey under the waves and discover why St Vincent & the Grenadines is known as the ‘Critter Capital of the Caribbean’.

Expansive shallow reef diving, wall diving, drift diving, wreck diving and even cave diving are just some of the opportunities available to both novices and the more experienced.

The leeward coast of St Vincent has some fantastic dive sites:
– The Bat Cave is a challenging cave dive, on the wish list of many visiting divers.
– Anchor Reef has been voted one of the top 100 dive sites in the world.

Divers can expect to see hard and soft corals, sponges, sea fans and a wealth of colourful reef fish as well as the occasional shark and passing squadron of eagle rays.

Dive sites are never crowded and visibility is usually excellent.

SPORTS IN ST. VINCENT
The Arnos Vale Sports Complex located at Arnos Vale hosts cricket matches, the traditional sport of the Caribbean, in one of the most picturesque settings in the region.

In Kingstown the Victoria Park stadium also hosts sporting events such as athletics and soccer. Our national soccer team is known as ‘Vincy Heat’ and if they are playing, you should definitely try to catch a game. Other major sports in St Vincent include basketball, netball, tennis and squash. We compete regularly in regional competitions. Increasingly popular on the island is cycling. You will often see cycling enthusiasts making circuits in Kingstown, especially at weekends when the roads are quiet.

TROPICAL GARDENS IN ST. VINCENT
For gardening and natural history enthusiasts St Vincent has so much to offer. Take a trip to the wonderful Mesopotamia Valley, a beautiful landscape of farmlands and gardens. Stroll through lush 20 acres of the oldest Botanical Gardens in the western hemisphere. And experience the diversity of our habitats at the Vermont Nature Trail.

Botanical Gardens
Located on the northern outskirts of Kingstown are the Botanical Gardens. Peaceful, lush, green and colourful, the gardens are home to a wealth of tropical plants, flowers, trees and birds.

Occupying 20 acres, the Gardens were created in 1765 by General Robert Melville, governor of the British Caribbean islands, as a plant breeding centre and ‘to provide medicinal plants for the military and improve the life and economy of the colony’. Three acres were set aside for the established of a Government House. The Botanical Gardens is the oldest of its kind in the western hemisphere, and celebrated its 240th anniversary in 2005. On February 6th 2012 preparations for the restoration of the site were unveiled as part of the celebration of its 250th anniversary in 2015.

They are famous for being the destination of Captain Bligh’s second visit to the Caribbean in 1798 (his first ended in the infamous mutiny on the Bounty) when he introduced breadfruit to the island. A descendant of one of his original breadfruit trees thrives in today’s gardens.

Promoting the conservation of rare species, the Botanical Gardens aviaries are where visitors can see the beautiful St. Vincent Parrot (Amazona guildingii), our national bird.

There is a paid entrance free, and a friendly optional guide will take you on an informative tour for a small fee. The Gardens is opened from 6am to 6pm daily.

 

St. Vincent’s Vermont Nature Trail
These awe-inspiring hikes take you through lush rainforest with an amazing variety of tropical flora, ending up with beautiful scenery and a chance to see the famous St. Vincent Parrot in its natural habitat.

Located in St. Vincent’s southern interior, the Vermont Nature Trail offers great hiking for all ages and abilities. In this 10,870 acre reserve, you can enjoy 2 miles of clearly marked hiking trails through a variety of forest habitats including rainforest and plantation forest. Informative signs describe the fauna and flora you may encounter as you make your way through lush woodlands to the St. Vincent Parrot Look-Out on the far side of the reserve.

Sightings of the rare St. Vincent Parrot are practically guaranteed. Listen for their unmistakable calls and then look out from the view point as they fly above the forest canopy in front of you.

This is also the habitat for the Whistling Warbler, Black Hawk, Cocoa Thrush, the Crested Hummingbird, Redcapped Green Tanager, Green Heron and several other interesting species.

Trekking the Vermont Nature Trail is a fun and educational hiking experience as well as a wonderful destination for bird watching.

Located just 9 miles from Kingstown, driving time is approximately half an hour.

ST. VINCENT HIKING
Whether you feel like a short, easy stroll or want the challenge of a more strenuous treks, St.Vincent has something for you. Rewarding destinations include picturesque rivers and waterfalls such as Dark View Falls and Trinity Falls, as well as forest hikes such as the Vermont Nature Trail and the Cumberland Nature Trail.

For many, a hiking trip to St Vincent would not be complete without a visit to the summit of the awe-inspiring La Soufriere volcano.

 

WATERSPORTS
Hobie Cat sailing, windsurfing and snorkeling are all possible in St. Vincent. For the more adventurous, a kayaking trip into the Bat Cave on the leeward coast makes for an unforgettable adventure.

 

SAILING IN ST. VINCENT
St. Vincent has excellent natural anchorages as well as marinas offering yacht services and provisioning.

Along the south coast, Blue Lagoon and Young Island Cut present mariners with some of our most popular anchorages and managed moorings. Natural anchorages along the leeward coast include Chateaubelair Bay, Cumberland Bay, Troumaka Bay, Wallilabou Bay, Mt Wynne Bay, Buccament Bay and Petit Byahaut. Kingstown, Wallilabou and Chateubelair are ports of entry and provide customs clearance.