When I first visited St. Vincent I thought it was like a mix of great beaches and really fun hikes, culture and relaxation. I realized that this country is one of the least visited Islands in the Caribbean and there aren’t many resources to learn about things to do in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
I was surprised by how much variety the island had. There are amazing resorts, but also cheap and cozy places to stay. Black sand beaches and rugged forest with waterfalls and also white sand and blue water beaches in the Grenadines. There’s also amazing food and everything is reasonably priced.
What stood out to me was how non existent the tourism infrastructure is here. But I think that’s actually great. There are not many fancy attractions everywhere. You just have to figure things out as you go.
In this guide I will breakdown the best things to do in St. Vincent and the Grenadines so you can plan your itinerary and select exactly what you’d like to include.
Feel free to add any of these activities to your St. Vincent itinerary.
Skip Ahead
Visit Dark View Falls
Dark View falls was one of the first stops I made on St. Vincent. The drive to get there was rough and what they call a highway really didn’t feel like one. We passed through dozens of small communities up in the high mountains. It took about 2 hours to get there and 1 hour and 15 minutes to get back.
When I arrived, it didn’t feel like a “hike” in the usual sense. The first waterfall is only a short walk from the entrance. You hear it before you see it.
There’s a man-made pool at the base where people swim, and when I was there, it had a calm, almost hidden feel to it. Not crowded, just locals and a few visitors spread out around the water.
There is a second waterfall a little ways past this one. But, this waterfall is more difficult to get to. Firstly, there are a lot of tall steps to climb to go up. Then there is an area with lot’s of large boulders that you have to cross. This is the dangerous part, the rocks are slippery and you need to walk really carefully. But it’s an amazing experience and adventurous challenge that I always welcome.
St. Vincent is usually a place where no attraction is crowded. But, there were so many people here at Dark View Falls and it was almost time to close up to.
Visit Owia Salt Pond
You need to pay 3 EC per person to enter the Salt ponds area. There is a large grass area with benches and huts to sit and picnic if you like. You need to walk further down some steps to finally reach the salt ponds.
Visiting Owia salt ponds was quite a journey. The drive to get here was long and a little bit treacherous. I was surprised by how much of the roads on this side of the island are basically only big enough to fit 1 car. The last 30 minutes or so had so many parts of the road under construction and diverted slightly over bridges and stuff that we really had to take our time getting here.
It’s basically black, jagged volcanic rock with craters that get filled up with water from the rising tides and waves. When the tide goes back out again, you are left with these tide pools that can get really large and deep. I saw a good bit of fish here, even big ones.
What surprised me the most was the temperature of the water. Because the pools are just baking in the sun without being constantly filled up by new water from the ocean until the next day, it gets really warm and feels nice to sit and soak in.
I recommend coming here with proper water shoes because you will get cut really badly or worse slip on the many moss covered rocks here.
Owia salt ponds really shine depending on the tide and when you decide to visit. The day I visited the tide was really low and only started coming over the rocks at the end of the day.
Visit Bequia
Bequia is one of my favorite small island in the Caribbean. You can stay in Kingstown on the mainland of St. Vincent and then walk from your Airbnb to the port. For me, the port was only 10 minutes walk away from our Airbnb. The first ferry leaves the port at 8 am for Bequia. We got a round trip ticket for 3. We had to get back to the boat at 4 pm, which is the final ferry departure for the day.
Once you’re in Bequia, everything is pretty much walkable. As you exit the port gate turn right and explore Port Elizabeth and the Belmont walkway. The Belmont walkway is a manmade walking path at the absolute edge of the island that passes by all the nice beaches including Princess Margaret beach and some really nice resorts.
There are also dozens of restaurants, cafes and shops here for you to peruse. I like to start with breakfast at Sugar and Spice cafe.
The most popular place to be in Bequia is on Princess Margaret beach. It’s honestly one of the nicest and longest beaches I’ve ever been to. There are so many sail boats, coral and marine life here it’s insane.
When you reach the end of Princes Margaret beach, you can walk even further up some stairs to reach another residential area and then onto Lower Bay beach. This is another amazing beach here in Bequia. I personally prefer Princess Margaret beach. Just the vibe about it is better for me.
Visit the Botanical Gardens
What made visiting the Botanical Gardens in St Vincent so memorable for me was the very knowledgeable and helpful tour guide. It costs 13 EC per person to enter the gardens. It wasn’t crowded at all. On this tour there were only 2 other people there besides our group. Parking here is very limited. Despite having almost no one here we still had to park on the street by a corner.
The botanical gardens is very big and has so many different plants, flowers and even an endemic bird called the Saint Vincent Amazon. This is the national bird of St Vincent and it’s a parrot that can only be found on this island.
On this tour, the guide would take you to all the different trees and plants, talk to you about it, tell you what it’s used for in real world applications such as remedies, medication, food, taste, instruments etc. He would pick the leaves and hand each of us to smell or to feel and it was really amazing how almost everything we consume from a grocery is just here in nature.
This entire tour would probably just last about an hour and a half. We did this tour very soon after arriving in Saint Vincent and before even checking into our hotel.
Hike La Soufriere Volcano
This volcano is over 4000ft tall and has a trail that leads from the sea all the way to the top of the volcano. The walk up here takes about 2 hours and is not very hard at all. The most common route to the summit starts on the windward side of the island at the Rabacca trailhead near Georgetown. This is the route I’d recommend if it’s your first time. The hike follows the same path up and back and takes about two hours to reach the crater. In total, you’re covering roughly four miles. The trail is steady and feels challenging in places, but it never becomes technical.
A guide is required, and for good reason. Conditions near the summit change fast. When I reached the top, thick cloud rolled in and the temperature dropped. Visibility can disappear without warning, and the edge of the crater is not always easy to spot. Starting early in the morning makes a big difference. You get clearer views, cooler air, and enough daylight to enjoy the summit before heading back down.
This is probably one of the most difficult things to do in St Vincent and the Grenadines but it’s well worth it. But, these adventure travel activities are what I live for and I recommend everyone to try it at least once.
Sail to the Tobago Cays Marine Park
Tobago Cays was easily one of the most memorable places I visited in the Grenadines.
You arrive by boat, and the first thing you notice is the color of the water. It felt so good seeing turquoise water and white sand compared to the typical black sand beaches on the mainland. It shifts between clear turquoise and deep blue depending on depth and there are sand bars jutting out from the sea.
There are no buildings here. No roads. Just small uninhabited islands surrounded by reef. This is exactly the kind of places I love to just exist in.
When I went, we stopped the boat and spent time snorkeling directly from the water. I saw sea turtles within minutes of getting in. Schools of fish moved through the reef just below the surface.
It felt very calm, but also remote in a way that made you very aware of how far you are from anything developed.
Explore the capital Kingstown
Kingstown is where I started on St. Vincent because one of my friends had something to do in the bank. But, I wouldn’t really recommend staying any amount of significant time in the city other than to maybe get some food and check out the vendors selling some interesting stuff.
The streets are narrow, and traffic moves slowly in a grid where every other street is a one way only. I ended up walking most of the time because it was easier than driving and finding parking.
The main market area is where things feel most alive and people talk to you easily asking you to buy something. You get vendors selling fruit, spices, and everyday goods, all in a tight space that feels very local rather than tourist-focused.
Kayak and Paddleboard
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines and most of the Caribbean, there are many shallow calm bays and beaches to kayak in. One of my favorite things to do is fishing while kayaking. When you’re kayaking you can explore and see really nice hidden gem areas to swim that you can’t access from land. Move at your own speed, close to the surface of the water and you can even see fish and turtles.
One of the best places to kayak is Admiralty Bay in Bequia, it’s really calm and easy to just move along the edge of the water. There are small caves to explore and tiny islands too. Clifton Harbour on Union Island is another great place to paddleboard and kayak.
Snorkeling
There are many sites and beaches to snorkel in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The reefs near Tobago Cays has really nice colored coral, turtles and it’s clear so there’s good visibility for seeing fish. In Bequia and Canouan there are shallow points beginners can snorkel in. Some beaches and areas in St Vincent have volcanic black rock instead of coral and makes the floor look darker.
Some of the fish you can see here are parrot fish, snapper, angelfish, manta rays, stingrays, hogfish, turtles, schools of bait fish and many others. You can see turtles where the ocean floor is grassy.
Snorkeling is one of the most easy and accessible activities to do in St. Vincent. Once you have goggles and maybe fins, you can just pull up to any beach and have a snorkel. Definitely one of the best things to do in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grenadines Multi-Island Trip
One of the coolest things about the Grenadines is how easy it is to move between the different islands. Traveling from one island to another will show you everything and give you a clear picture of a place and you’d be able to decide whether or not you want to come back in the future.
Each of the islands has it’s own vibe, size, things to do, layout, types of beaches and people. Bequia, as you know by now has really calm and quiet coastal life. Canouan has a more luxury polished feel with open beaches. Union Island is adventurous and rugged. Mayreau stays small and quiet all the time and is good for people who just want to rock back. The Tobago Cays has great day trips and beaches.
The way you hop to these different islands is by boat. You can hire a tour guide on a personal tour to all the different islands where you spend a short time on each one. Or you can set it up in a way where you spend like 1 night on each major island while visiting the uninhabited ones for a few hours.
Final Thoughts
If you rent a car, put an attraction, restaurant, beach into your Google Maps and just drive to it each day, You’d have the most amazing time here. That’s the kind of place St. Vincent and the Grenadines is. I also think that you definitely must visit the Grenadines in order to even begin doing the best things there are to do here.
