Calliaqua, St. Vincent: The South Coast Where Visitors Actually Stay
Marinas, the Young Island crossing and most of the island's hotels, ten minutes from town.
Why Go
Calliaqua and the south coast around it are where St. Vincent puts its visitors. Kingstown is the working capital and the interior is the adventure, but the hotels, the restaurants, the dive shops and the yacht charters are all along this stretch — Villa, Indian Bay, Blue Lagoon and the village itself. Young Island sits a couple of hundred metres offshore and the crossing takes about two minutes. If you are staying on the mainland rather than sailing straight out to the Grenadines, this is where you will be.
The Experience
The coast here is a run of small bays and headlands rather than one long beach, with the sand dark and volcanic as it is everywhere on the main island. Villa and Indian Bay are the swimming beaches, modest but perfectly good, and Young Island's green hump across the channel gives the view its shape. Blue Lagoon at the eastern end is the yacht anchorage and the base for charters heading down the chain, sheltered behind a reef with a narrow entrance. The village of Calliaqua itself is a working place with a market and a genuine fishing fleet, busiest in the morning and on Fridays. It is unpolished compared with the resort coasts of neighbouring islands, and it does not pretend otherwise; what you get instead is a place with a functioning life of its own that visitors happen to share. For travellers who have found the resort coasts of the bigger islands wearing, that is the whole appeal of St. Vincent, and this coast is where it is easiest to have without giving up a comfortable bed.
What to Try
Eat along the coast: French Verandah at Mariners Hotel is the long-standing dinner, Young Island Resort Restaurant is the crossing-and-a-meal version, Greenhouse Cafe at Coconut Grove and Carib-Beans at Paradise Beach Hotel are the reliable everyday, and Dock Side Cafe, The Tower Bar, Bungalow, Chill Spot and Caribbean Delight fill the rest. Dive St. Vincent works the volcanic walls off this coast, which are excellent and rarely crowded. Blue Lagoon Marina and Horizon Yacht Charters St Vincent are where a Grenadines trip begins, and Fantasea Tours, Oceanus Experience, RM Croisieres and SeaBreezeNatureTours run the day versions — down to Bequia, up the leeward coast, or to the falls. Belvedere Farms inland is the agricultural visit. Massy Stores and Coreas Ace Hardware at Arnos Vale, a few minutes west, are the practical shopping.
Insider Tip
Base yourself here and treat the rest of the country as day trips, because the geography rewards it — Kingstown is ten minutes west, the airport is five, the leeward coast and the volcano are a morning's drive north, and the Grenadines leave from your doorstep. Take the Young Island crossing at least once in the evening; it is two minutes of water and it changes the whole character of a dinner.
The Practical Stuff
Argyle International is about five to ten minutes away, which makes this the most convenient part of the country to stay in, and Kingstown is ten minutes west. Ferries to Bequia and the Grenadines leave from Kingstown, and yacht charters from Blue Lagoon here. Driving is on the LEFT and a temporary local permit is required alongside your licence; minibuses run along the coast road frequently and cheaply. The beaches are volcanic and dark — that is the main island everywhere, and the white sand is down the chain. The East Caribbean dollar is the currency with US dollars widely accepted and English is the everyday language. St. Vincent is in the hurricane belt, roughly June to November, and La Soufrière at the north of the island is genuinely active, so check advisories before heading up there.
Common Questions
Where should you stay in St. Vincent?
The south coast around Calliaqua, Villa, Indian Bay and Blue Lagoon, where nearly all the hotels, restaurants and dive operations are. Kingstown is the working capital ten minutes west and is not where visitors sleep.
How far is Calliaqua from the airport?
About five to ten minutes from Argyle International, which opened in 2017. Kingstown is ten minutes in the other direction, making this the most convenient base in the country.
Are the beaches here white sand?
No. St. Vincent is volcanic and its sand is dark grey to black, including along this coast. The white sand people picture is in the Grenadines — Bequia is an hour by ferry from Kingstown.
How do you get to Young Island?
By a short boat crossing of a couple of minutes from the shore near Villa. It is a private island resort, and the restaurant is the way most non-guests see it.
Where do Grenadines yacht charters leave from?
Blue Lagoon at the eastern end of this coast, a sheltered anchorage behind a reef. Ferries to Bequia and the other islands run from Kingstown, ten minutes west.
Is there nightlife around Calliaqua?
Modest — hotel bars, a few restaurants and the occasional local event. It is the liveliest part of the main island in the evening, which on St. Vincent is not saying a great deal.
Pair It With
- Dive St. Vincent — The walls off this coast, which few people dive.
- Horizon Yacht Charters St Vincent — The Grenadines, which is why most people come.
- French Verandah — The dinner on the south coast worth booking.
