Bequia: a first-timer's guide to the Grenadines' friendliest island

Why go

Bequia is many travellers' favourite island in the country because it balances everything well. There are beautiful beaches, good food, easy walking, diving and day sails, but no big resorts or high rise hotels. You can walk from the ferry to your guesthouse, swim before breakfast and watch yachts drift in at sunset.

Port Elizabeth and Admiralty Bay

The ferry lands at **Port Elizabeth**, a small town of shops, cafés and a produce market. From here the **Belmont Walkway** runs along the water past restaurants, hotels and bars to the beaches. Look in at the **Bequia Bookshop** for charts and island history, and at the model boat workshops such as **Sargeant Brothers**, where craftsmen carve precise models of local boats and famous yachts.

The beaches

**Princess Margaret Beach** is a long sweep of soft sand along Admiralty Bay, reached by a short walk over the headland or by water taxi. Next to it, **Lower Bay** has calm swimming and beach restaurants that fill up at weekends. On the south coast, **Friendship Bay** is sheltered and peaceful, while **Industry Bay** and **Spring Bay** on the windward side are quiet and palm fringed.

Turtles and whaling heritage

At Park Bay, the **Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary** was founded by a local fisherman to raise young hawksbill turtles and release them into the sea. Bequia is also one of the few places in the world where a small Indigenous whaling quota is allowed, using traditional open sailing boats. You will see this history in the island's museums and stories, and at the old whaling station on **Petit Nevis**.

Walks and views

Climb to **Fort Hamilton** for a view over Admiralty Bay, or to **Mount Pleasant** for views down the chain of the Grenadines. At the far southwestern tip, **Moonhole** is an unusual community of stone houses built into the cliffs, some available for holiday stays.

On and under the water

Bequia has excellent diving, with reefs, walls and sites such as the **Devil's Table**, served by long established dive shops in Port Elizabeth. Day sails from Bequia visit Mustique, and longer trips head south to the Tobago Cays.

Food and drink

Eat fresh fish, lobster in season, conch and callaloo. Lunch on the sand at **Jack's Bar** on Princess Margaret Beach, have pizza at **Mac's** on the walkway, or eat by the water at **L'Auberge des Grenadines**. Simple local cook shops in Port Elizabeth serve rice and peas, stews and roti.

Festivals

The **Bequia Easter Regatta** fills Admiralty Bay with yachts and traditional double ended Bequia boats racing over the Easter weekend, with parties ashore. In January the **Bequia Music Fest** brings live music to bars around the island.

Where to stay

Choose the walkway around Port Elizabeth for convenience, with hotels such as the **Frangipani** and the **Gingerbread**, Lower Bay for the beach, or Friendship Bay for quiet, where the **Bequia Beach Hotel** sits on the sand. Guesthouses and villas cover every budget.

Getting there and around

Several ferries a day cross from Kingstown in about an hour; check the latest timetable. Small planes also land at J. F. Mitchell Airport. On the island, walk, take water taxis around the bay, or use the shared open backed taxi trucks. Agree fares before you set off.