ejcrowe

thanks again for all of the input, folks.

caribtraveler, great attitude. maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised how much you enjoy GC overall because you're holding back your expectations re: development right now.

Any of you have experience with Spring on Bequia? I just noticed that if we travel in the first half of June that they will be open and their rates are right at the upper limit of what I want to spend. It looks lovely...

ejcrowe

umm, sorry, it's me again. After having spent the last two hours looking at places on Bequia and thinking it might be great for our first 4-5 nights, I tried looking up airfare prices using www.itasoftware.com and it kept saying there were no scheduled flights into BQU for the entire month of July. That can't be right, but do you know of a different website I can try to see various flight schedules?
Thanks!

curiousx

ejcrow, flights direct to Bequia are operated only by SVG Air and Air Mustique. They are charter airlines. You can either charter a plane or participate in their regularly scheduled shared charter flights which are very convenient and less expensive than chartering a whole plane. Go to www.svgair.com for the schedule and rates.

In the old days, these two little carriers competed. Now they share ticketing services, passengers, maintenance, schedules, planes etc. With the end of meaningful competition between the two, prices have gone way up and dependability has gone way down. In my experience, schedules and itineraries change both on the ground and in the air.

The alternative is to fly LIAT (low cost carrier) or Caribbean Star from Barbados to St. Vincent and catch the ferry across to Bequia (flights connect to the last ferry that leaves for Bequia at 6p.m on weekdays; on weekends there is both a 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. ferry).

I used to be willing to pay the higher cost of SVG/Air Mustique when it was a reliable service. No more. Why pay $300US+ when you can get the same dodgy level of service from CS for under $200 and LIAT for an amazing $44.

www.liatairline.com
www.flycaribbeanstar.com

ejcrowe

Thanks, curiousx! I"ll check out those schedules and their compatibility with AA flights into or out of Barbados or St. VIncent.

marigold

EJ,
Have you seen this website:

http://www.grenadasunsation.com/grenadines.htm


It describes some sailing trips to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, leaving from Grenada.

vinceygirl

EJ, Ditto for what curiousx posted. I fly the Barbados/St Vincent connection most everytime I've flown to SVG straight from home (being Pittsburgh, Pa) LIAT is the usual carrier. For the amt of money saved using LIAT vs SVGAir I'd go the route of LIAT. You can book directly on their website. I had a little difficulty following the flight schedules , once I figured them out had no problem booking. Make sure you pay attention to whether or not you are booking a direct flight or one with more stops. Conceivably it can take up to 3-4 hrs to travel from Grenada to SVG via all the stops on an indirect flight, when a direct one is about 30 - 40 minutes. Normally WJ - Yankee Clipper sailed out of Grenada, this yr they've changed homeport to St.Lucia. My plans are the same 2-3 days SVG then direct flight to St. Lucia for the cruise. Have yet to check out the inner island schedules. I love Bequia, more quaint with much less hustle bustle than St. Vincent though I love St. Vincent too. All of the Grenadines have so much to offer. 14 yrs of traveling there and I still find something new and exciting with each trip.

allanc

vinceygirl...we have just decided to can the cruise on do our own thing. We visited St Vincent once and are now planning to go back to the Grenadines in late Feb/early March 07. for 2-3 weeks. We also loved Grenada/St Lucia/Martinique. Any itinerary suggestions. We are looking for the basics-clean, view, etc. and we want to try different spost in the Grenadines and perhaps other islands. Thanks

vinceygirl

Allanc how long were you on St. Vincent the last time you visited? I can give you info if you can be a little specific in what it is you are looking for. A bare bones basic on St. Vincent is Tranquility. I have been staying there since 1992. The proprietors are now like family as are the people who work for them. The rooms are neat and clean, all rooms overlook Indian Bay and are right on the beach. The view is beautiful and the beach is a short walk down the hill. All the rooms have a private bath, stove, fridge,and private porches.Let me know what you're interested in and I'll do what I can to help.