Caribbean · The Windward Islands
Bequia, Mustique and the Tobago Cays: the reason to come this far south
Thirty small islands strung between St Vincent and Grenada, with the best sailing water in the Caribbean and anchorages where yours is the only boat. Bequia for the harbour, Mustique for the names, the Tobago Cays for the turtles. The heart of our week from St Lucia to Grenada.
Where
Windward Islands, between St Vincent and Grenada
Fly to
St Lucia (UVF) or Grenada (GND); Canouan and Bequia have strips
Best months
December to April
Give it
Four or five nights of a Windwards week
Known for
Bequia, Mustique, the Tobago Cays, Mayreau’s Saltwhistle Bay
Water
Steady trades and short hops: the best sailing in the Caribbean
Why go
The Grenadines, honestly
The Grenadines are what people picture when they say Caribbean and have not been: small green islands an hour apart, a reef with turtles behind it, a beach bar with sand on the floor, and a sky full of stars because there is nothing to light it. Rawer and more rustic than the Leewards, and far less visited.
Each island is different. Bequia is a working harbour with boat builders and the friendliest town in the chain. Mustique is the private island with the famous houses, Macaroni Beach and Basil’s Bar. Canouan has the one big resort. Mayreau has Saltwhistle Bay, a perfect curve of sand on a spit between two seas. And the Tobago Cays are five uninhabited islands behind a horseshoe reef with turtles grazing under the boat: the best water in the Windwards.
We run them inside a week from St Lucia to Grenada, one way and downwind, with the Pitons at the start and the Spice Island at the finish. They are also the last four nights of the fourteen-night route down both chains.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Bequia, Admiralty BayAnchorage, overnightThe friendliest harbour in the chain. Port Elizabeth, the waterfront path, Jack’s on Princess Margaret Beach.
- Mustique, Britannia BayMooringThe private island. Macaroni Beach by mule, lunch at the Cotton House, Basil’s at sunset.
- The Tobago CaysAnchorage, overnightBehind Horseshoe Reef, with turtles at Baradal. The lobster barbecue on Petit Bateau with the local boatmen.
- Mayreau, Saltwhistle BayAnchorageThe postcard: a curve of sand with palms on a spit between the Caribbean and the Atlantic.
- Petit St VincentAnchorageThe private-island resort at the bottom of the chain. A massage in the trees, the beach bar, then Grenada.
Ashore
The Grenadines off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
Beach shacks and one or two resort tables.
- The Cotton House, MustiqueLunch on the veranda of the island’s hotel, a mule ride from the bay.
- Jack’s, BequiaPrincess Margaret Beach, lunch into sunset.
- The lobster barbecue, Tobago CaysThe boatmen grill lobster on the beach at Petit Bateau at sunset. The crew set the table.
- Mac’s Pizzeria, BequiaLobster pizza on the harbour, a Bequia institution since the seventies.
Drink and dance
Basil’s is the night. Everything else is a rum punch at sunset.
- Basil’s Bar, MustiqueOn stilts over the water. Wednesday is jump-up night.
- The Frangipani, BequiaThursday jump-up with a steel band on the waterfront.
- Happy Island, UnionA bar built on a pile of conch shells in the lagoon. Tender over for a rum punch.
Do
Snorkel, swim, sail. The islands do the rest.
- Turtles at BaradalThe Tobago Cays’ turtle sanctuary, waist-deep water, green turtles grazing.
- Macaroni BeachMustique’s Atlantic beach, by island mule.
- The walk up MayreauTo the stone church at the top for the view over the whole chain.
Where it sits
The Grenadines on the chart
The Grenadines run thirty miles from Bequia south to Petit St Vincent, with St Lucia five hours north and Grenada four hours south. A week from St Lucia to Grenada gives them four or five nights.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in The Grenadines
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, with the trades at their steadiest. The best sailing weeks of the year.
- Late January: the Mustique Blues Festival at Basil’s.
- Easter: the Bequia Easter Regatta, the chain’s big weekend.
- May to November: quiet and hot. The Grenadines sit south of most hurricane tracks, but the fleet has gone north.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at The Grenadines
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
A week in the Grenadines
St Lucia7 stopsGrenada
The Windward Islands, St Lucia to Grenada one way: the Pitons, Bequia, Mustique, the Tobago Cays and the Spice Island. Greener, wilder and far less spoken about.
Open
The Leeward and Windward Islands in 14 nights
St Barths13 stopsGrenada
St Maarten to Grenada, all the way down: St Barths, Nevis and St Kitts, Barbuda and Antigua, the French islands, Dominica, the Pitons and the Grenadines.
OpenYachts
Yachts in the Caribbean now
Sailing yachts come into their own here; the motor yachts anchor in the Cays all the same.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
HOUBARA
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2012, refit 2026
7 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
€34k – 45k
VAGATOR
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€38k – 57k
REVE BLEU
Lagoon · 21m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€45k – 60k
RAY
Sunreef Yachts · 22m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€70k – 77k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
$199k – 225k
Avanti
Privilege · 22m · 2005, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$51k – 55k
BETH ANN
Westport · 34m · 2012, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
$65k – 75k
MINE GAMES
Benetti · 50m · 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
$330k – 350k
ALEXA OF LONDON
38m · 1992, refit 2025
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€65k – 70k
QARA
Horizon · 25m · 2001, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$37k – 42k
NORTHERN STAR
Hinckley · 23m · 1993, refit 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
$52k – 60k
Louder
Horizon · 27m · 2020, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$85k – 95k
The Peddler
Custom Line · 26m · 2019
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$69k – 74k
OKINAWA
Fountaine Pajot · 18m · 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 3 crew
$29k – 63k
YKNOT NOW
YYachts · 23m · 2020
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
€24k – 38k
Just Enough
43m · 2012, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
$119k – 139k
GRAND ILLUSION
Palmer Johnson · 44m · 1994, refit 2017
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$115k – 125k
TANZANITE
Westship · 44m · 2004, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$145k – 160k
YOLO
Sunreef Yachts · 22m · 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€59k – 70k
IL MIO CANTO LIBERO
Nautor's Swan · 32m · 2014, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€85k – 102k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$175k – 195k
MISS CHRISTINE
Trinity Yachts · 48m · 2006, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$165k – 190k
FRENCH WEST
Lagoon · 24m · 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$55k – 72k
OCEAN CLUB
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2009, refit 2025
12 guests | 5 cabins | 10 crew
$195k – 250k
ARAOK
Fountaine Pajot · 18m · 2018, refit 2024
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
€25k – 29k
PERSEVERANCE 1
Baltic · 40m · 2021, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
€100k – 110k
CALYPSO
Feadship · 38m · 1978, refit 2025
11 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
$120k – 135k
SHADES OF GREY
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2024
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€70k – 100k
SEA BLISS
Sunreef Yachts · 23m · 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€63k – 70k
SWEET CAROLINE II
Trinity Yachts · 50m · 2009, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
$19k – 230k
TOP FIVE II
Royal Hakvoort · 61m · 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 19 crew
$600k – 650k
Chakra
Devonport · 86m · 1998, refit 2025
24 guests | 19 cabins | 30 crew
€495k
ENCORE
Sunreef Yachts · 18m · 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$56k – 62k
Aurelius 111
DUTCH YACHT BUILDERS · 34m · 2011, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
Price on request
LOOMA
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
$34k – 65k
ELVIS MAGIC
Oyster Marine · 20m · 2003, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
$25k – 26k
NO SURRENDER
Custom Line · 37m · 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$140k – 155k
ARKTOS
Lagoon · 24m · 2026
9 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€70k – 96k
SIETE MARES
Lagoon · 24m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€65k – 69k
UTOPIA IV
Rossinavi · 63m · 2018, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 12 crew
$475k – 505k
WHISPER
Holland Jachtbouw · 35m · 2003, refit 2019
6 guests | 3 cabins | 5 crew
Price on request
VALINOR
Lagoon · 17m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€27k – 31k
LE PONANT
Société Française de Construction Navale (SFCN) · 84m · 1990, refit 2022
32 guests | 16 cabins | 34 crew
€540k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
$110k – 127k
KASKAZI FOUR
Lagoon · 19m · 2016, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€23k – 30k
BELLA
Feadship · 45m · 2008, refit 2014
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
€245k – 255k
Southern Belle
Johnson · 27m · 2006
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
$54k – 59k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
The Grenadines, answered
Common questions
How do we get to the Grenadines?
Fly to St Lucia and board there, running south one way to Grenada, which is how our week does it. Canouan and Bequia have airstrips for anyone joining mid-charter, and Barbados connects to both.
What is the one stop not to miss?
The Tobago Cays. Five uninhabited islands behind a reef, turtles under the boat and a lobster barbecue on the beach at sunset. Give them two nights if you can.
Is Mustique open to yachts?
Yes. The moorings in Britannia Bay are open to visiting yachts, and Basil’s, the Cotton House and Macaroni Beach are all reachable from them.
Grenadines or Leewards?
The Leewards are St Barths, beach clubs and short hops; the Grenadines are sailing, reef and beach shacks. People who have done one usually want the other next. Two weeks does both.
Want The Grenadines in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.