Leslie in MD

Hi Everyone! If you read my last post, you will know that my hubby and I are headed to Young Island in early March. Can anyone tell me in detail about doing the sailing option with this resort? Also, is renting a car and leaving it on St. Vincent's worth it? Where do you park the car, and do you have to pay? Any other information on Young Island would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance!

joan

Hi Leslie! As you know, we went quite a while ago. We did not do the sailing option, but I should tell you we were undecided to begin with (you can decide after you get there). We got reports of cramped quarters from two other couples, and I tend to get seasick, so we decided to stay in our luxurious Young Island cottage the whole time. I'm sure if you're a regular boater, you would know what to expect, and the scenery would be well worth it. We rented a car for part of our stay. There is a small parking lot on the mainland, at the foot of the ferry dock, where we left the car overnight - no problems. Don't think we paid for this. You will love Young Island. I still remember the pool - it was saltwater (great for us contact lens wearers) and very lush and romantic. And the bread! Did they tell you about the bread? Five loaves brought tableside at every meal. Flavors like pumpkin and coconut. We brought some home with us too. Peacocks and gazebos and stone lookouts. And the tiki hut breakfast tables had hummingbirds and bananaquits flitting in and out. It's the little things that count, dontcha think! And I remember (it's all coming back to me now!) arriving late at night, getting off the little African Queen boat, and they handed me a tropical drink with a hibiscus in it. Aaaah, let the relaxing begin!<BR><BR>Have a wonderful time, and promise to post a trip report when you return!

Leslie in MD

Joan, thanks so much for the info.! Can I ask a few more questions? I was wondering about the rooms. We are in a deluxe room - I just found a map of the Young Island property and discovered that the deluxe rooms look REALLY far from the beach! Is this going to be a problem? Did you see these rooms? Should I downgrade to a superior room so we can be on the beach? By the way, we aren't regular sailors so we don't know anything about yachting - which is one reason we wanted to try it. I think the scenery would be great and the lady at Young Island said that you got to go to some nice beaches. When you rented a car, did you find any nice beaches to hang out on <BR>St. Vincent's? Where did you go in your rental car? We love beach hopping, but if the St. Vincent beaches aren't very good, then what would we do with a car? What is there to see? <BR>Thanks Joan. Hope you see this 2nd questionaire! I will definitely post back here when we return from our trip. Be on the lookout for more questions! <BR>Leslie in MD

kATE

Just wondering how the beach is at Young Island. On the website it looks really small ....

joan

Hi Leslie! I couldn't remember when or what we did, so I hunted down my old stuff and here's what I found: we stayed in room 21, at sea level. If I were you, I'd keep the deluxe room, because the island is very small, and you will have a wonderful view. The walk to the beach will be short and sweet. And besides, I remember those beachfront rooms as being a little less private. The channel serves as a mooring spot for yachts, so it would be nice to be a little removed from that, higher on the hill. What did we do? Well, we romanced of course, slowly and leisurely! One day we visited the Falls of Baleine, via powerboat. One day we hiked the Vermont Nature Trail (and saw a St. Vincent parrot - from a distance!). One day we went to Kingstown, to the market. This is a must-see, go early. And another day (at the suggestion of a previous St. Vincent visitor from our hometown)we packed a picnic lunch, drove all the way 26 miles up the windward side of the island, where we stopped at incredible black-sand beaches, across the dry river bed, past the volcano (the road was almost nonexistent but passersby encouraged us to keep going), and had a picnic at Owia, which has natural pools made from volcanic rock. Absolutely gorgeous, for the adventurous only, bring Teva-like sandals. Other to-do's include a botanical garden, Fort Charlotte, and petroglyph-viewing (we didn't).<BR><BR>So...I would suggest you rent a car for maybe two or three days, timed to the market visit (Saturday?). But the beach-hopping that you're thinking of is not readily available, most of the beaches are black-sand, with no resorts. The snorkeling, as on most volcanic islands, is so-so, since the depth of the water prevents the awesome visibility like in St. John or the Bahamas. But the people, and the land, make a visit to St. Vincent a trip to remember. Writing about it makes me want to go back!<BR><BR>Joan

joan

You're right, Kate, the beach was small. But so was Young Island, and I believe non-guests were prohibited(?), so it never was crowded. And the pool area was gorgeous.

fran

Hi Leslie: The cabin on the sailboat was cramped but we were only in there to sleep. You can talk to the people at the hotel about it. I would arrange it beforehand---but that's just me. I would be worried that others might have reserved and that I wouldnt be able to do it. We enjoyed Mustique and Bequia, but the best was the Tobago Cays. We never "oohed and ahhhhed" so much. Unbelieveably gorgeous. Young Island has been renovated since I was there, but we were in room 8 which was right on the beach. In fact, we got married on the patio of our room. I'm sure you get a great view from the deluxe rooms on the hillside but we thoroughly enjoyed being where we were. We had a very large patio, with lots of foliage around it and it was far from the "main" beach area so not alot of people walking by on the beach. Lots of privacy. You are making me remember so many things! Having breakfast on the patio every morning; french toast made with a different wonderful bread every morning; my first sighing of an agouti, and wondering "what the hell is that?". I definitely must go back there someday.

Leslie in MD

Joan and Fran, you guys are so awesome for offering advice and answering my questions. Thank you for being so gracious! This info. probably not only helped me out, but others too. Hope you both enjoyed the trip down memory lane too! If you feel so inclined, here are some more questions. When you say "black sand beaches" does that mean that they are rocky and you can't swim in them, or just that they aren't as pretty as the white sand beaches? We would like to go swimming on St. Vincent's if we are driving around. If we want to go to the market, can we just take the ferry to St. Vincent's and catch a cab into town, or do we need a car. I can't figure out how far Kingstown is from the place where you take the ferry over to Young Island. Is the ferry place right in Kingstown so that you can walk? Fran, great info about the yacht. If we do the yachting thing, we will only have the option to go for 2 nights (to Bequia and Mustique). You have to do the 3 day sail to Tobago Cays. We could just do a private tour to Tobago Cays but it would cost about $260 for both of us. Let's say that we did the sail for 2 nights, then we wanted to do one extra excursion. Should we go to the falls or Tobago Cays? I don't want the excursion to be too much like our yacht trip. What do you think? Another thing I've been wondering is about the availability of food on the resort. I know that our package includes 3 meals. I'm sure that alcohol is extra, but do you get softdrinks and snacks for free during the day? Swimming can get me a bit hungry for an afternoon snack!<BR>Thanks again to Joan and Fran. Hope you two or someone else can answer these questions!<BR>Leslie in MD

fran

Leslie, are you back from Young Island yet? Eager to hear what you thought. Please post your impressions.

fran

Leslie, you should be back by now. Tell us how you enjoyed Young Island.

Lauren

I am leaving on Friday for Young Island! I will let you know how it was when I return.<BR><BR>Question - has anyone taken the ferry to Bequia and is it worth it for a day trip?

curiousx

Bequia is certainly worth at least a daytrip.<BR><BR>You will have a very full morning/early afternoon if you pick up a taxi at the Bequia dock and ask for an island tour including, for example:<BR>- the turtle farm at Industry<BR>- the pottery at Spring<BR>- the top of Mount Pleasant overlooking Hope Bay<BR>- the whaling boats in La Pompe (and maybe Athneal Olivierre's whaling 'museum' if it is still open following his death)<BR>- Paget Farm fishing village<BR>- etc.<BR><BR>Stop at 'the last bar' beyond the airport on the far side of Paget Farm for a cool one and some local colour.<BR><BR>For more local colour, get the taxi driver to drop you off at Dawn's or De Reef in Lower Bay for a late lunch and swim (you can change there). <BR><BR>Take a water taxi back to the ferry or have the driver come back for you (or you could buy him lunch). Allow at least 10-15 minutes for the trip back to the ferry. <BR><BR>If you prefer more upscale, lunch and swim at Spring Hotel or Plantation House and taxi back - allow at least 20 minutes from Spring and 5-10 from Plantation House. Bear in mind that 'upscale' on Bequia has a limited meaning compared to Young Island (and we like it that way!).<BR><BR>Take the earliest ferry you can from St. Vincent and come back on the latest one. If you are an uneasy sailor, take half a gravol/dramamine before each leg of the ferry trip. Here's a website address for the ferry schedule.<BR> http://www.hwcn.org/~aa462/beqferry.html<BR><BR>Recommended tour/taxi drivers on Bequia are Noel (Noel Taxi), Challenger Taxi among others. The hotel in Young Island can book for you and I do suggest making arrangements in advance. <BR><BR>If you want day trips in St. Vincent itself (aka the Mainland') to some of the places described by other posters, contact Dani or Norris at Chez Norris in St. Vincent. They are an American/Vincentian couple who will take wonderful care of you at very reasonable prices. <BR><BR>For general travelling around St. Vincent, I use Phyllis taxi (Phyllis Peters) or the local buses (cheap but 'thrilling'). I find her consistently reliable and helpful.<BR><BR>Have a good time.

sarah

Wow- Bequia sounds fantastic. I too will be staying at Young Island in the near future and would love to hear about any sailing trips to Bequia. My fiance is a sailor and would love to do some while we're down there. Thanks!

curiousx

The Grenadines has some of the world's best sailing. To get a flavour, log on to the website of Compass Magazine. Compass is published on Bequia but distributed (free) from St. Lucia through to Venezuela. Sailors drool.<BR>The website is www.caribbeancompass.com.<BR><BR>Daysailing is really easy to arrange both on Bequia and St. Vincent. My preferences are the catamaran Passion and the gaff-rigged island-built schooner Friendship Ross. Both depart from Bequia to destinations like Mustique, Tobago Cays - different ones depending on the day of the week. <BR><BR>Dani and Norris (mentioned in my previous post) or Young Island Hotel can put you in touch with day-sail excursions out of St. Vincent.<BR><BR>If you have lots of time, considering chartering a small (45 ft or so) sailboat for 3 days to a week. Nepenthe (St. Vincent) has a good reputation. I often charter with Pelangi (Bequia). The boats come with expert skipper and crew. Not cheap but way fun. <BR><BR>A websearch will bring you all the info you need, I am sure. If not, post and ask.<BR>

curiousx

oops - that's Friendship Rose, not Friendship Ross

Lauren

Okay, I'm back from my vacation on Young Island...Is there any way that I can live there forever?

Janet

Hi there all - did any of you see the Royal Clipper at the beginning of March. Well I was on it and really fancy going to Young Island next year. Do you think 2 weeks there would be too long? Are the people on St Vincent friendly? We got as far as the bar opposite and went for a walk and everyone seemed very nice. Does the little Young Island ferry run regularly?<BR>Thanks in advance<BR>Janet

joan

Details, Lauren, we want details! Is Young Island still peaceful as I remember it? Peacocks? Five different breads for breakfast? Salt water pool? Did you get out and about on "the mainland"? Owia? How was your room?

Lauren

Details... let's see...<BR><BR>Well, first, Janet - I wish I could've spent 2 full weeks on Young Island - but I got used to doing nothing but relaxing and reading and eating. If that appeals to you, then go for it. The ferry runs all day long, and all night, whenever you need it. I didn't have a great deal of interaction with the people of St. Vincent, but those that I did meet were wonderful.<BR><BR>Back to details...<BR>Our first night was in cottage #17 - a deluxe - beautiful, big, breezy. After that, we moved to cotttage #8 on the beach. Much smaller, but we got used to it right away. Opening the windows and seeing the carribean right out front made me not miss the luxury of the first room at all.<BR><BR>The food was amazingly good and fresh. We watched the fisherman sell the freshly caught kingfish to the chef before he started to gut and clean them. That was our dinner that night. You can't get fish fresher than that. We had so much fish while we were there. I don't want to eat fish back in NY because I know it will never be the same. The bread! The barbecue dinners! The omelets! How do they make omelets like this?<BR>So so good! How can I get my hands on those bread recipes???<BR><BR>The island was quiet and peaceful and lush and beautiful. It rained a lot, but you didn't seem to mind. It rained, it passed, the sun came out, etc. It was all just part of the day. There were a few rain storms that I wondered if a typhoon was hitting, but those also passed. They made for some beautiful rainbows.<BR><BR>We went for a day trip to the Falls of Baleine. The trip up there was almost more fun than seeing the falls. There is something about being on a boat, travelling up the coast of an island with such scening views. Another day we went into Kingstown, but we couldn't wait to get back to Young Island and lie on the beach and swim in the pool - which we did immediately upon our return.<BR><BR>We drank coconut dreams in the hammocks, sat in the sun, swam up to the Coconut Bar (Fabian gave us more rum than whe should have), ate wonderful meals, hand-fed the peacocks, talked to Misty (one of the parrots), ate, drank and read. I also loved that people left their books in the cottages for others to read and enjoy. I left a few of my own. I didn't miss the TV, I didn't miss the phone, I didn't miss anything. <BR><BR>We are already thinking about our next trip to the Grenadines. How does chartering a boat and crew and sailing around the islands sound? <BR><BR><BR><BR>

Janet

Wow it sounds great, you make it sound as good as it looks. I have a photo in front of me (on wall in office) of my husband and I at the bar opposite, with the beach at Young Island in the background and you can just see the cottages. Perhaps you are on the photo!!! Thanks for the info.