For those who asked - another island option

[Ken]

My wife and I have fallen in love with St. John. We've been there 3 times in the past 24 months. But recently, we decided to try something new. We were looking for something similar to St. John - mountainous terrain, beautiful water, good snorkelling. We really wanted something that was what St. John "used to be."

After lots of research, we spent the past week in the Grenadines on the little island of Bequia. I think we found just what we were looking for.

Here are some pictures from our trip. I'd be happy to answer any questions:

http://www.pbase.com/rcplanefan/bequia

Sorry to hijack the forum, but I know this question comes up time and again...

Ken

[Pete (Mr. Marcia)]

The first thing that I noticed from your photos is that there don't seem to be many of the white sand beaches that spoil us on STJ. Am I wrong about that?

I'm no marine biologist, but I have read that the white beaches are a product of the reefs. And, the reefs, for us touristos, means great snorkeling, etc. How do the two islands compare in that regard?

Any information you may have would be appreciated.

[BillVT]

After ten some-odd years of visiting St Johns we've talked frequently about going to Bequia, but circumstances have always brought us back to St Johns. Please tell more. We have friends who've sailed into there and loved it. Did you stay at a guest house, hotel or villa? Did you rent a vehicle? How was the snorkeling? I realize also that this may not be the forum for it, but I would love to read a trip report.

[Ken]

The beaches are not as white as St. John. I noticed this on all of the beaches in the Grenadines compared to the Virgin Islands - not sure why. They were just as soft on the feet, though.

We loved Bequia and will be returning. We stayed at the Gingerbread Hotel in Port Elizabeth. Fantastic location. The town is WONDERFUL. Right on the water, clean, fun, full of wonderful people. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. No car - just used land and water taxis (cheap!). Snorkelling wasn't as good as St. John except in the Tobago Cays. But honestly, you won't find snorkelling as good as St. John most places.

We really felt like we stepped back in time 40 years. Completely disconnected from life and loved it. Cost (once you get there) was much lower than St. John. Dinner was typically $40 for two people including drinks. Fish is plentiful to eat as this is a fishing island. Lodging is much less expensive, and transportation is cheap - a taxi across the island will cost you $8.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions. If they get detailed, please email me at:

rcplanefan@excite.com

Don't want to clutter the VI forum up!

Ken

[silverheels]

I have to agree with you, Ken. I absolutley loved Bequia and some of the other islands in the Grenadines. Palm Island is also very nice. My least favorite was Union Island. Carriacou seems to be a favorite destination also that I have been reading about but when I was there I wasn't too impressed. Things may have changed though.

[islandgirl]

hmmmmmmmm i would like to go back 40 years. lol lol this might be an option, but stj is always number one in my heart!!

[iowaguy]

Thanks Ken. Your photos are gorgeous! I've always been interested in Bequia, and the Grenadines in general. Looks like you got around quite a bit while you were there---pictures of Mustique and Tobago Cays were great.

[Jost Kidding]

Excellent photos! The one with the reflection in your sunglasses is really cool. Thanks for sharing info about Grenadines/Bequia.

[JT]

Ken, 1st off thanks for the pics. I seem to remember a terrific bunch that you posted a while back of STJ. As to Bequia and Carricou, several of my friends in Coral Bay say that they really are as close as it gets to STJ of 25 years ago. Many sailboat/yacht owners cannot get insurance if they moor their vessles in the USVI's during hurricane season. They must move them down towards Grenada. A few of my friends supplement their incomes my transporting these boats back and forth at the beginning and end of each storm season. It usually takes much longer to sail down then back up.

[California Girl]

Ken, I love every single one of your pictures. There certainly seems to be no lack of something beautiful at every turn of your head! The sunglasses pic is great and the ones with brightly colored boats are just gorgeous!

Who cares if this post is a bit off-topic! I learned about someplace new today! Thanks!

[VaGirl]

Ken, I think the first thing that jumped out at me were the vivid colors in your pictures, especially the colors of the boats! Nice to know there are still places like this left in the world...but I'm spoiled and every time I decide to look at another place when I'm planning a trip, I always end up back at my first love, STJ...thanks so much for sharing your pictures with us, they really are beautiful.

[suzi]

Ken- How do you get there? where do you fly into? the sky is such a vivid shade of blue!!!

[Ken]

Suzi,

There are a couple of different ways that I know of. It is easiest to start by flying into Barbados (though St. Lucia will also work). You can then either catch a flight to St. Vincent (20 minutes) and take a ferry across, or you can fly a small prop plane directly into Bequia - which is what we did. If we were to be there for a week or more, I would have opted for the ferry and saved some $$. We were only there for 5 days though, so time was more important than the $300 we would have saved.

Ken

[STJlvrnSTL]

Your pictures are beautiful. The colors are so vibrant. I dont know if you have mentioned this before or not but what type of camera do you use? Do you have certain filter on it to make the colors so bright?

[Ken]

Thank you. The camera is a Canon 10D and it was paired with a 17-40 f4/L lens. The lens is extremely contrasty and has very vibrant colors. It was paired with a polarizing filter. Hope this is helpful!

Ken