4 day St Vincent itinerary

St. Vincent & the Grenadines is one of my favorite Caribbean islands and that’s why I visited twice. Its one of the least visited islands and there isn’t much tourism infrastructure compared to other places I’ve been. To me, this just means that there are more hidden gems to explore, places will be less crowded and everything will be cheaper. If you approach St. Vincent and the Grenadines with a road trip kind of vibe, your trip will be epic.

This St. Vincent itinerary is basically everything I did during my time here with my girl-friend and friends. I will tell you some personal tips and try to give you an idea of the best things to do in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and how it’s like.

This St. Vincent itinerary you will do:

• Explore Kingstown, visit the Botanical Gardens, eat local food, and spend the evening in Buccament.
• Swim at Buccament Bay, drive the Leeward Highway to Dark View Falls, and have seafood in Arnos Vale.
• Take a Windward Coast road trip to Owia Salt Pond, then return for dinner and nightlife near Villa Beach.
• Visit Bequia island for a day trip.

Cost for 4 days in St. Vincent

For one person, Accommodation, flight, car rental and food it cost $471 USD. I consider this to be a great budget trip. This price can easily change if you fly during peak tourist season, stay in an expensive resort like Sandals and if you spend a lot of money eating out at restaurants every day. Paying for tour operators to carry you around to different tourist attractions can also increase this costs, but in St. Vincent everything can be done easily on your own.

St. Vincent itinerary Day 1: Botanical Gardens, Kingstown, Beach Bars, Food

The first thing I did after walking out the airport was eating some local breakfast. I’m talking about “bake and salt fish” and “Roti”. This is a really common meal in all Caribbean islands, even where I am from in Trinidad. As soon as you walk out of the airport there is a bar and food section outside that sells bake and saltfish, roti, pies, quiche and drinks.

The roti cost $6.50 USD, the bake and saltfish was $1.85 USD and the quiche was $1 USD. For airport food that is also traditional local cuisine, this is extremely cheap and worth every single penny. Do not skip eating here before venturing into St. Vincent. I was really shocked by how affordable all this was.

Next, you’re going to drive to Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent. Kingstown is a small city with narrow streets and many street vendors. It’s really hard to drive here because there is always lots of traffic and people park on the streets a lot, due to the limited parking lots. You’re going to put Sunset Parking Lot into Google Maps and drive there. The entrance is going to be on the left hand side of the road. There is a guard at the entrance and you can just pay when you leave.

But, this is one part of the itinerary you can leave out if you’d like. because you’re not really coming to the Caribbean to walk around some small city. It’s just something I did because I love to walk around like a local and experience life here.

You’re not in this city for things to do or places to visit because there isn’t a large amount of fun and exciting things to do here. What you can do is walk around a few of the streets, explore street food that catch your eye and interesting trinkets being sold by some of the street vendors. I’m sure there are lot’s of strange tropical fruits and stuff that many of you haven’t eaten. Like the ultra sweet black pineapple.

You can find the black pineapple and many other local treats and fruits in the market in Kingstown. There are lot’s of vendors selling produce there and remedies, drinks, sweets and some items like honey, molasses etc.

When walking around and exploring in the Caribbean, make sure to wear sunscreen and a hat. The sun is very intense and you get sunburnt really fast.

After you explore Kingstown, you will drive to the botanical gardens. This is the oldest botanical gardens in the western hemisphere. The botanical gardens in St Vincent is really an amazing tour especially when you do it with one of the tour guides. I was really surprised by how well kept and large it was. The information they can share with you as you walk around every tree and plant is really eye opening. Trust me, there are many bits of information you’ve never heard of before.

The entry fee for the Botanical Gardens is $5 USD for non national. This entire tour will just take around 1 hour. You’d get handed different leaves and seeds to smell and to touch. This really sets some immersion into the tour and interactivity. We even got to swing on a vine where we were learning about the mutual relationship between a giant tree and some vines that were growing all over it. Do not leave this activity out of your St Vincent itinerary, it’s short, cheap and fun.

After leaving the Botanical Gardens smelling like a bouquet of flowers, its time for you to have some local St Vincent food for lunch. One of the best places to eat in St Vincent with many options for different kinds of local food is The Joshua Center food court. I love to eat at this place because they always have local type of foods, it’s affordable and there are dozens of food options all in one place.

Walk up the stairs at this little plaza area and you’ll find a large food court with indoor and outside eating. The food here was absolutely amazing and very cheap for how much food we got for one person. One box of food cost $8 USD.

We had Stew chicken, callaloo, plantains, green banana salad, lasagna and red beans. This is just what I had there are many other options to choose from to eat like soup, roti, turkey, fish, pizza, fried chicken etc.

Joshua Center is close to Kingstown and very close to the airport too. It shouldn’t take that long to drive without any traffic. This place has a large parking lot so everything’s easy. Of course if you really prefer to eat somewhere else that’s fine. This is just my recommendation because it has local food, many different restaurants to choose from and it’s cheap.

After this it’s getting about time to check into your Airbnb or hotel. Hotels usually have their check-in time between 2 to 3pm. So you can start heading towards the place you’re staying at.

Where to stay in St. Vincent

The hotel I recommend staying in is Sunset Shores hotel. It’s right up on one of the best beaches in St. Vincent. There’s a pool and restaurant here. Every guest that arrives to check-in, gets a free drink. But my favorite part of staying here is the boardwalk area that you access from the beach itself. It has lots of bars and high end restaurants. I like to come here at night and hangout and even visit multiple places. One night here for 2 people costs $107 USD.

For people who want a really nice local beach vibe with cultural immersion and cheap accommodation. I recommend staying at an Airbnb in Buccament village. It’s a tiny village with beach bars in the sand, there’s the famous Sandals resort here as well with a publicly accessible beach and restaurants. If you’re staying somewhere else like a hotel, you can also just visit Buccament during the daytime to swim at the Sandals beach or at night for some nightlife at one of the beach bars and restaurants.

After going to your hotel, checking in and settling down you might want to relax there for a bit because you traveled and arrived today. But, you can have some fun at night at a nice beach bar called Buccama. There are other beach bars here as well, this was the only one looking like they had proper dinner because we were starving.

Usually on a Friday or weekend night, this area will be teeming with people, music, drinks and food, all with the beach waves gently breaking just some 20 feet away on the sand. This is the true Caribbean island lifestyle that people dream about.

Day 2: Beaches, Waterfalls, Local Cuisine

Beaches in St Vincent and many other Caribbean islands are open to the public and it’s actually illegal for any private entity to prevent access to any beach. There are many beaches you can and will visit on this itinerary. I have a couple beaches here for you to swim at and you can choose any other beach that you really like.

The Buccament Bay in front of the Sandals resort in Buccament is a really cool beach. The water is perfect, there is a barrier of rocks further out protecting the shore from waves so it’s always calm and chill and it’s very private and hidden away. I love beaches like this and I fully recommend coming here and spending a few hours.

Most of the beaches in St Vincent have black sand and rock and the water isn’t very blue. But, this beach has white sand and really emerald green water with deep green mountains in the background for some nice contrast for pictures. Probably that’s why Sandals decided to build their resort here.

After having some rest and relaxation on the beach, you will drive to Dark View Falls. Dark View Falls is a double waterfall in the Northwest of St Vincent near a village called Richmond. It actually took longer than expected to get here. It’s basically all the way up the Leeward highway and you go through some remote villages in the mountains on your way there.

This is like a half day trip. It should take about 3.5 hours driving total. The cost to enter the waterfalls is $5 USD and it closes at 5 pm every day. But you should be here way before that. There is parking and facilities like bathrooms and toilets at this attraction.

This is a 2 part waterfall. The first one is just a simple walk where you cross a bamboo bridge that goes over a river and then you’ll finally arrive at the first waterfall. It is a shallow waterfall so they build a sort of pool area to collect the water where it is deeper for people to swim in.

Then, you will make your way to the second waterfall. This is a longer and harder walk. You have to walk up a long stairs that’s built into the mountains and each step is about 1 ft high. It really burns your legs. Once you climb that, you have to cross some rocks that are very slippery and tall. This is the only adventurous or dangerous part of the entire waterfall experience. Finally, you’ll arrive at the second waterfall which is a little bigger.

The drive back is much faster than driving here. It took 1.5 hours to the falls and 51 minutes back home. You’ll leave here to get some really nice seafood.

This is an entire red snapper fish and 4 sides of rice, plantains, roasted vegetables and smoked eggplant for only $7.50 USD. This is the true Caribbean experience. If you had this at any other fancy restaurant it would cost $40 USD a plate. 4 Shells Fish Joint, located at the absolute south of the island in Arnos Vale is a really cool place that local food and is a vibrant nightlife bar later in the evening.

Day 3: Sunset Shores, Villa Beach, Owia Salt Pond

Sunset shores is one of the best hotels and lounging areas in St. Vincent and the Grenadines especially for the price. You can spend multiple days here or if you’re staying someplace else you can just purchase a day pass. This lets you access all the facilities like the bars, food menu, swimming pool and easy access to Villa beach.

From here you can rent kayaks, go snorkeling and ride one of the floating bicycles. There is a bar upstairs in the lobby / lounge and restaurant area as well as downstairs by the pool. There is a walkway that leads to the beautiful Villa beach. This is definitely one of the best beaches in St Vincent.

As you can see from the pictures I took, the water is absolutely crystal clear with sand underneath your feet. Many tourists come here when the cruise ships dock at port.

Just further up the beach are multiple restaurants and bars with fun and vibrant nightlife all lining the water. We’ll come here later tonight.

At night, on this beach, you can even fish here. We brought some fishing line and used crabs that were just running around in the sand as bait and we were fishing right off the shore.

Next you can visit the Owia salt pond. This is a really magnificent looking place because of all the black volcanic rock and mountains in the background. When the tide rises and the waves crash up on these little swimming holes. It leaves them full of cool water you can swim in. Hence the name salt pond, because it’s like many little ponds. You can even fully submerge in some of them and others it’s like a hot tub.

You can consider this an optional or additional activity. It can be very far to get to, about 2 hours drive in one direction and 2 more coming back. This is considering you are staying in the typical tourist areas. If you have enough time, definitely try to include this in your Saint Vincent itinerary. Remember to leave early so you’re not driving back when it’s dark.

The same exact beach you spend a nice morning at today, Villa beach. Walk down to the end of the beach towards the lights at night and you’d find a boardwalk area with a long stretch of vibrant bars and restaurants with great food.

You can choose to hang out and have dinner at any of these places. All of them will be great. We chose French Verandah because it had really affordable lobster and the reviews and images online looked great. A lobster meal with garlic potatoes and pasta cost $35 USD. There are many things on the menu including their catch of the day, which is whatever the fishermen caught fresh that day. It just means it will go at a special price I assume.

You don’t need to make any reservation or anything just walk right in to any of these places. It’s really nice to be eating and drinking with your friends and family right beside the beach. You can even bar hop because it’s all just one stretch along the water. You can hang out at Summer Rose bar and lounge, then Mangoz restaurant and bar, move onto Captain Lano, eat at Basil Villa Hotel Restaurant then at French Verandah. Or, just stay at one place and enjoy the night. You have lot’s of options right in this location.

Day 4: Final day

Breakfast & Beaches

The morning of your final day in St Vincent, you need to wake up early, 7 am at the latest. This is so you can maximize your time because you have to catch a flight some time today. I recommend having breakfast at whatever hotel you’re at. If you’re staying in an Airbnb, then on your way out just grab something quickly.

You can visit Indian Bay beach or Villa beach. Both are 1 minute apart and both are only about 15 minutes drive away from the airport. This is a really safe option to ensure you’re on time and don’t need to drive far and unfortunately end up in traffic or something.

Indian Bay is another really nice beach with green clear water, similar to Villa beach. It has a lot of trees and shade from the sun right where the sandy area begins. There’s a bar just around the corner from the beach to.

Arrive at the SVD airport

The airport in St Vincent is very slow paced. There is never a rush or crowds leaving or entering the country. The airport is also very small. This means you can arrive about an hour later than recommended. Usually we would arrive 3 hours before to be safe at airports. But, small ones like this you can arrive 2 hours or 1.5 hours before and have no problems.

There you have it. Your St Vincent 4 day itinerary. I hope this guide shows you some of the best things to do in St Vincent, where to stay and where you can get really good local food.

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