Welcome to St. Vincent

St. Vincent: Locally called "the mainland". A mountainous island covered in tropical greenery. There are no white sand beaches (which you will find further south in the Grenadines) but this makes the island unique as it is totally unspoiled by the more commercial style tourism. Even so, the you'll find some very interesting places on St. Vincent:

Dominating the island is the Soufriere volcano (3000feet high) which will make a great hike of about three hours for the willing and able. A taxi will take you along the windward coast until you reach Georgetown in the north. Then you'll walk a trail that leads through plantations, rainforest and finally to the mountaintop where you're above the tree line and on a clear day will be able to look straight down into a 900 ft crater!

Let your Yacht take you along the leeward coast to explore some deserted anchorages with their black sand beaches and nice walks into the rainforest. For a totally different experience check out Petit Byahaut!

Still want a white beach on St. Vincent? Young Island is a tiny island just 100 yards off the southern coast. This is the location of one of the most exclusive hotels in St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Young Island Resort.

Even more sights: The Botanical Gardens, the oldest in the Western Hemisphere where you'll find a direct descendant of the breadfruit tree Captain Bligh brought to the Caribbean and many more tropical plants. Knowledgeable guides will be able to explain everything about them.

Waterfalls: Take a speedboat to the Falls of Baleine in the north of St. Vincent or walk one of the many nature trails inland to the waterfalls there.

History of the island: for a long time the island was inhabited by Arawak and Carib indians until finally the latter, after fierce struggles, were defeated by the English in the late 18th century. Most of them were killed or deported to Mosquito Coast. After that the island has been alternately in the hands of the French and English who established plantations which used slave labor (abolished around 1840). It is now an independent country within the British Commonwealth. The Arawak name for St. Vincent was "Hairoun", meaning island of the blessed. Today that name still exists......