St Vincent & the Grenadines

St Vincent and the Grenadines is the Caribbean reduced to its essentials: a chain of thirty-two islands and cays strung south like stepping stones, made for travelling by water. This is boat country, whether that means a crewed yacht drifting between anchorages or island hopping by ferry and small plane with salt still in your hair. The Tobago Cays are the crown jewels: five uninhabited islets inside a horseshoe reef, where you snorkel with turtles in water that defies description and eat lobster grilled on the beach by boat vendors. Bequia keeps old-school harbour charm, all sail lofts and waterfront bars. Canouan adds a dash of polish, St Vincent itself volcano hikes and black-sand fishing villages. Nothing here is overbuilt. It is the sailing Caribbean as it always should have been.