USVI-On-Line

I have been faithful to St John for 15 years. Have been fortunate to be able to return all these years. Have recently been thinking of trying the island of Bequia. Has anyone ever been? How does it compare to St. John? Also, it seems difficult to get to. We live in the NYC area. What is the best way to get there?

Thanks for any info.

I have not been there... surely sounds appealing!
There have been some threads on the Off Topic forum that may lead you to some resources while awaiting some responses on more recent adventures here.

http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/virgi ... a&fid[0]=3

Thanks for your link Iprof. I already read some valuable info from Scuba Mom's link. This is such a great forum!

I have been there and am going back in January. Tiny little quiet island...not nearly as Americanized as St John, very Caribbean...so many islands, so little time....try it:)

it;s been more that 15 years, but bequia was a lovely quiet little place-- i believe it still is! we found it very charming and the people were wonderful....

This is on my radar after they finish the big new airport still under construction on St. Vincent.
Direct flights to STV would be sweet for the puddle jump flight or ferry to Bequia, but the 2013 completion date looks like a pipe dream. Soon come. LOL.

http://www.barnaclegrenada.com/index.ph ... al-airport

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyle_Int ... al_Airport

We were there about 3 years ago. Loved it, though it is a bit different from St. John (which we've been to numerous times). We stayed near town - Port Elizabeth - which we liked. Easy walking all around town and even down to Lower Bay, and taxis are cheap and plentiful. You really don't need a car.

Any specific questions? Be happy to answer. I'm sure we will be going back sometime soon.

Here are some photos from our trip.









Here is a link to the entire gallery:

http://rcplanefan.zenfolio.com/p23449110

Bequia is a lot smaller, flatter and much drier than STJ - it is similar to the far Eastern end of STJ in vegetation.
The small town of Port Elizabeth is in a circle around the big harbor and not much more than 2-3 streets deep - restaurants and bars are scattered along the main street with some shops near the center of town by the ferry dock. It is slow paced, harbor centric and has a very small town feel, the residents and sailing visitors are friendly and you feel like you know a lot of people there after a week or so - some nice small beaches with reef snorkeling on the leeward side but only one resort type place I think.
I have always stayed there via sailboat so don't know much about the accommodations available and only rented a car once to explore the whole island. I have circumnavigated it by sea and visited a few of the outlying isles, one of which is still a whale flensing station.
The Turtle Sanctuary is a very cool place to visit - great conservative philosophy there.
MoonHole is an architectural and culturally rich community and would be an outrageous place to stay.
There is good diving to be had - and a few dive operations with some good boat destinations - the Friendship Rose is the old passenger sailing schooner anchored in the harbor and offers great sailing trips.
During the annual Regatta the island built small sailboats come from all over the SVG - the locals are famous for their boat building and sailing skills and the stunning model boats built there are prized but not inexpensive.
Some interesting Art Galleries - varying restaurant choices - convivial visiting yachtsmen and women - and a generally safe and quiet atmosphere make it a wonderful place to spend some time during the winter months -- it is really quiet during the summer months and a lot of the restaurants and shops are closed.
There is an airport - flights from St Vincent, St Lucia and Barbados. The ferry ride from St Vincent is about an hour.

KEN -- the photos are incredible - if photography is not already your profession you should consider it for sure -- Thanks for posting that album.
I have never been there when the harbor was that crowded.

Thanks, Exit. No, I'm definitely not a photographer for a living. Just enjoy capturing our times in the Caribbean.

We were there in January and were land based. It was my only trip, so I have nothing to compare it to for crowds. I will say that we never had a problem getting a seat at a restaurant or feeling crowded anywhere we went. There was a WindJammer cruise in the harbor that you can see in the photos. I always wanted to go on one of their cruises. Sad to see how they went out of business.

Beautiful place to spend time. This is making me think I should return sooner rather than later!

My daughter and son in law went to Bequia for 3 weeks for their honeymoon a little over a year ago. They said that it is similar to STJ in that it is quiet and even less commercialized. They LOVED it and say they would like to move there some day. From New Orleans they had two stop overs and then a ferry ride. I know St Vincent was one stopover and I can't remember the other. They said it was definitely more work to get there than STJ but they thought it was worth the effort.

You will love it, it has become one of my favorite destinations. I only consider St John now when I wish to visit folks I met while living there. Another great spot is Saba. Both are very, very small and are still what the Caribbean means to me: quite, super friendly people, great beaches & wonderful pristine waters for diving & snorkeling. It may well become your fav spot.

We were there last summer on a sailing trip and it was one of our favorite islands on the trip. It is much, much quieter than STJ, but there are some similarities. The whole Grenadines are much different than the VIs - not Americanized at all. They love their conch down there, I ate stew conch almost every day and loved it. I would definitely recommend a trip there.

Saba is certainly a small interesting island destination - BUT I wouldn't say they have great beaches -- most days there is no beach there at all.

Hello Ken

Thank you so much for all your pictures. Loved them!

What do you think is the best way to get to bequia. Looks like flying into St. Vincent and then taking the ferry is the most economical. We live in the NY area. How did you get there?

Also we are vegetarians, do you think we would have trouble finding a restaurant? We have always been able to find something on the islands. I came across a villa to rent which looks perfect for us. Reasonable priced as well. Always a plus having a kitchen being vegetarians in the caribbean.

Thanks!