the Grenadines Archives - Mimi's Travel File

(photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

(photo courtesy of The Cotton House, Mustique)

Oh, so pretty!!!! (photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

My husband has been sailing the deep, blue seas of the Caribbean for the past 30 years. He and his sailing friends have been to 95% of the islands…several times. So who better to ask, “Which are the best islands in the Caribbean?” Below is the second of three posts describing the Caribbean’s best…from one who knows!

The Grenadines

The Grenadines are a chain of 32 islands, nine of which are inhabited.

Mustique—The Sophisticate with little Retail or Restaurants

Mustique’s small, international airport is the prettiest I have ever seen: it is all bamboo! The island is dotted with some BIG, attractive rental “villas” scattered discreetly about, two really nice small hotels (the 15-room Cotton House and the Firefly, my fav with seven rooms), three tiny villages, and beaches with palm trees. No cars, just high-powered golf carts, called mules. Sooo relaxing! Click here for its history. Mustique became a jet-setter destination after Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, purchased it in 1958, began developing it, and then–cleverly–gave a 10-acre plot of land to Princess Margaret (QE2’s sister) as a wedding present, where she built a house, called Les Jolies Eaux. Let’s look at some pic’s of it:

Les Jolies Eaux, from afar (photo courtesy of @mustiqueisland)

Les Jolies Eaux (photo courtesy of @mustiqueisland)

Soon, QE2 came to visit. After that, word got out. Since then, Mick Jagger built a house on Mustique, as did Tommy Hilfiger and David Bowie. Kate and Wills vacation here, too. A must: Basil’s Bar on the beach.

Cotton House on Mustique

Cotton House’s veranda

lovely bedroom open to the ocean at The Firefly

Sit in these elegant, comfortable chairs and view the bright blue ocean from your bedroom at The Firefly

We stayed in the Hummingbird bedroom. So lovely to gaze at the ocean from bed!

view from The Firefly

Magical entrance to The Firefly, a small, stylish hidden gem built into the side of the mountain, with big water views and twinkling lights. You expect Mick Jagger to walk in at any minute!

Bequia–Old-World Charm

Bequai is “Part of the Grenadine Island chain, 9 miles west of Mustique and just 7 sq. miles in size. With it’s warm climate and average temperature range of 75 to 85 degrees throughout the year, Bequia is the perfect small Caribbean Island we all dream of. Friendly and welcoming people, simple unhurried lifestyle, beautiful beaches…one of the few Caribbean Islands to have retained it’s original character and old world charm. ..There is no bad time to visit being far enough south to avoid hurricanes,” per the Firefly Plantation Hotel’s website.

pool at The Firefly Plantation Hotel with the ocean beyond

Bequia’s waterfront has tremendous, small interesting restaurants, e.g. Frangiapani’s and Mac’s Pizza. The island has small guest houses and hotels but the Firefly Plantation Hotel is the best (4 attractive rooms, a two-bedroom cottage, and attractive restaurant with good food; the Firefly is up in the hills).

Firefly Plantation bedroom: Great views from this hotel!

restaurant at Firefly Plantation Hotel with bar in the background

The island’s ambience is laid back, relaxed and nice. Doris’ Fresh Food and Yacht Provisioning sells wonderful imported gourmet food (cheese, pickles, teas, coffees, wine), though expensive but understandable, as this type of food is hard to find in this part of the world. Sailors love Bequai because of its great harbor with yachting services and calm anchorage. Bequai is an excellent place to go if you want to get away from it all.

Petit St. Vincent–Tiny, beautiful, rustic-chic

Gorgeous location with a big reef off its coast. You can only reach this private island by boat, provided by Petit St. Vincent Private Island, the resort that owns the whole island. You can walk around this 115-acre island in less than an hour, if the tide is right. The rooms consist of 22 villas, dotted around the island. If you want anything, you raise a flag: flags of varying colors communicate your needs. Consistently good food here. Some nights, the hotel shows movies under the stars on the beach! Andrew Harper and National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World also like Petit St. Vincent. Petit St. Vincent is wonderful for those who want to be away from it all, as it’s quiet.

(photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

Love this dining room! (photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

(photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

(photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

Petit St. Vincent has a great beach bar!

Mayreau–Caribbean the way it was 30 years ago

Mayreau has beautiful beaches, no crime, no crowds (pop. 270) and is very, very rustic. Mayreau is the Caribbean before the onslaught of tourism. But, my husband does not recommend staying here because it is not set up for tourists: no hotels, just places with 2-3 rooms; no gourmet food though fish, chicken and goat dishes abound; no public drinking water; intermittent electricity; and no airport. Be sure to go to Dennis’ Hideaway: this bar/restaurant/hotel hotel is an institution (been there a long time) on the island, good place for lunch or dinner, with basic food. You can only get Mayreau by boat: day-trip from nearby Petit St. Vincent (the hotel will arrange transportation), Canouan (the Four Seasons hotel there will arrange transport), Little Palm Island and Union Island (water taxi). You will see a totally unspoiled island!

(photo courtesy of Petit St. Vincent Private Island)

Tobago Keys–idyllic trio of small, uninhabited islands

The Tobago Keys are surrounded by a protective reef system that is part of St. Vincent National Park. It is truly worth a visit to see the water, snorkel the reef, walk on the beautiful beaches or climb the small hills on the islands. No accommodations but a water taxi will take you there from most of the surrounding islands. It is well worth the minimal effort!

(photo courtesy of The Firefly)

(photo courtesy of The Firefly)

Stay tuned for the Caribbean’s Best Islands: Part 3 of 3!

St. Lucia (photo courtesy of Ladera Resort)

AnseChastanet-ScubaStLucia-004

Mustique (photo courtesy of The Firefly): Please note how undeveloped this is!

My husband has been sailing the deep, blue seas of the Caribbean for the past 30 years. He and his sailing friends have been to 95% of the islands…several times. So who better to ask, “Which are the best islands in the Caribbean?” By “best,” I mean no large cruise ships, no water slides, nothing resembling Cancun, no high-rise hotels, little-to-no pretense, relaxing and transporting. So here are the best, from one who knows!

Top Five, in no particular order

St. Barth’s—The Sophisticate with Retail and Restaurants

St. Barth’s charming small capital city, Gustavia, has narrow, old streets lined with sophisticated little boutiques, charming Caribbean cottage architecture, and nice little restaurants around the harbor. BUT St. Barth’s is mostly a wild, windswept island with some lovely hotels, beaches, and houses tucked here and there, i.e., not overly developed. St. Barth’s has some great restaurants (like Maya’s and Tamarin). St. Barth’s has it all…with just the tiniest bit of pretense here and there, but you really have to look for it.

beach from Hotel Le Toiny

You can stay at a hotel or rent a “villa.” If you want to be in a town, check out Eden Rock-St. Barths (charming, fun; Conde Nast Traveler 2017 likes it, too). To get away from it all and experience St. Barth’s wild wonderfulness, go to Hotel Le Toiny St. Barth (in a beautiful natural setting and very stylish; 14 villas on 42 acres; Architectural Digest 2016 also endorses it). Hotel Le Toiny’s DR overlooks the pools which overlooks a big sweep of green on a big crescent of beach…

Most restaurants on St. Barth’s are smaller and less formal than this dreamy one (photo courtesy of Hotel Le Toiny)

Love the bar at Hotel Le Toiny!

If you’d prefer to rent a house, WIMCO will take good care of you. Below is Cap au Vent, the house we rented several times via WIMCO. Upon our arrival, the charming caretaker couple (they live on the property but stay to themselves at the far end) had made dinner for us and left it in the fridge to warm up at our convenience, along with a good bottle of champagne. In the morning before we woke up, they delivered just-made croissants from the local bakery…and left us alone for the day. Houses w/out live-in caretakers are available, too, and WIMCO provides on-island help should you have questions about your “villa.”

Cap au Vent (photo courtesy of WIMCO)

Note: Most houses and hotels on St. Barth’s are not on the beaches. They are in the hills where the views are spectacular and the breezes are cooling. This island is very small, so you are never far away from one of the beautiful, unspoiled beaches. You will need to rent car. The roads are narrow and steep but you will get the hand of it quickly.

St. Lucia—Most Geographically Distinctive

Thanks to the Pitons, its twin-pointed mountain peaks, St. Lucia is the most geographically distinctive island in the Caribbean. This lush, jungle-y island has good scuba diving, beaches, hiking and some really nice hotels. Stay at Ladera! It is spectacularly situated in the saddle between the two Pitons (not on the beach but it has an arrangement with a beachfront hotel for use of its beach), with sweeping views down the verdant mountains to the beach. If you don’t stay here, definitely go for drinks and dinn. It’s the most dramatically beautiful place I’ve ever dined in the Caribbean…and, bonus, the food it good!

The view from Ladera for sunset drinks and dinn!

If you would rather stay on the beach, book Anse Chastanet because it has a fun beach bar and cheery open cottages built up the mountain.

Caribbean St. Lucia Anse ChastanetPremium Room (7f) & Pitons view

Anse Chastenet guest room: Ignore the painting and focus on this VIEW!

Anse Chastenet on St. Lucia

Saba—Old-Time Caribbean Loaded with Charm

Saba is the most unusual island in the Caribbean. The island is a dormant volcano sticking straight up out of the water. Saba’s small villages are in the caldera, not on the water because the island is too vertical. They are picture-perfect, neat, clean, and quaint. The only road is called “The Road” and Saba’s capital is called The Bottom because it sits in the bottom of the caldera. While its population is under 2,000 people, a world-class, respected medical school was established on small Saba in 1992 and has 250 students. Unusual, in the best way!

Saba: Note the town in the caldera! (photo courtesy of Michael Walker at michaelwalkerphotos.com)

Check out this charming government building in The Bottom! (photo courtesy of Cees Timmers for Saba Tourist Bureau)

Though Saba has no beaches, it has good diving!

Dive from Saba’s harbor and the Saba Bank Reef (photo courtesy of Cees Timmers for Saba Tourism Bureau)

The hiking on Saba looks glorious: 14 trails through lush green forests with big ocean views, abundant wildlife, and fairly cool temp’s because everything here is up, up, up.

(photo courtesy of Cees Timmers for Saba Tourist Bureau)

While not designer-chic like those on St. Barth’s, Saba’s hotels are small, clean and nice. I haven’t stayed at any of them but Saba’s tourism website will get you started (Queens Garden Resort and Haiku House look promising). Saba is simple living at its best, where you dive, hike, explore the villages, and laze by the pool. Ahhh….

Saba-Queens_Garden20050308Cees_Timmers2104

Queens Garden Resort (photo courtesy of Cees Timmers for Saba Tourist Bureau)

Iles des Saintes—Laid Back, Authentic, Unspoiled…& Colorblind

Off the coast of Guadeloupe, the Saintes are a group of small islands, two of which are inhabited, Terre-de-Bas and Terre-de-Haute (referring to the winds). Take the 15-minute ferry from T-de-H to T-de-Bas, as it’s fun to explore them both. They are uncrowded, with lovely beaches and snorkeling, simple towns with charming little bars and cafes. Neither island has fancy restaurants or hotels. I recommend you stay at Auberge Les Petits Saints, as we stayed here and can report that it is perfectly nice and the best on the island (Conde Nast Traveler recommends it, too). The most unusual thing about the Saintes is that its small population (less than 4,000 people) is colorblind (no racial tension). The population is very mixed and it’s not unusual to see green-eyed, pale-skinned black French-speaking locals.

(photo courtesy of Auberge Les Petits Saints)

“Terre-de-Haut is known for Pain de Sucre Beach’s coral-rich waters and palm-lined Les Saintes Bay. Overlooking the bay is 19th-century Fort Napoléon, with a museum and cactus garden. Trails cross the volcanic landscape of Terre-de-Bas Island, home to tranquil Grand Anse Beach,” per Wikipedia.