Hello fellow travelers. I am contemplating a trip to the St. Vincent and outlying Islands perhaps in February of 2007. My questin is this? Is it possible to book air fare seperate from lodgings at this time of year and still find rooms at reasonable rates as well as being available to vacationers? Or this this a crap-shoot with highly unpredictable results? I am open to using a travel agency for an appx. 9 day trip, but most likely will visit the main Island and Bequia during this time...Also, what is the weather like during this time frame, say February 9th thru 19th. Thanks in advance...Seaslife

Yes it is possible, in fact I always book each independently. There aren't many vaction packages available unless you decide to stay at one of the exclusive resorts. For example Young Island, Palm Island, or the reosrts on Canuaon, Raffles or Tamarind.

Booking airfare: I usually visit Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak and Sidestep then go to the airlines themselves. St. Vincent is not an easy place to get to so quite often you must overnight to make a connection. I leave next week for SVG and am required to overnight in San Juan. Sometimes you can find a same day arrival but not always. I booked my flight thru Orbitz but have successfully used Expedia and USAirways in trips gone by.

Accommodations: Give us a headsup on your preferences and budget if you have one. Also a tentative itinerary so we can help direct you on a respective island.

SVG is a beautiful group of islands and even more beautiful are the people.

Vinceygirl..I am more towards a midddle of the road type of guy, and would be comfortable in any room as long as it is clean and quiet enough to sleep at night,off the main drags, etc..had a horrible experience in la paz mexico, which was voted one of the best places to retire by money magazine in 2003..loud car stereos with thumping bass on the road right in front of the hotel..steady stream all night long!! I dont require a four star room and find that I am usually the one not to expect huge service and amenities because we are americans!! Can one wing it so to speak? I did use the mentioned services to get flight information and probably could handle th appx. 19 hrs of travel time which put plane fare in the 770.00 range including layovers..my main concern was finding lodging as I dont really know for sure how long I would stay on st. vincent before moving on to bequia or the other islands in the chain...thanks again for reading and posting a response...SEASLIFE.

When on St. Vincent I stay at a small apartment complex overlooking Indian Bay. It is bare bones basic but the view of Bequia and Young Island is to die for. Is directly on the beach. I've been staying there for 15 years. All the rooms are efficiency with appliances, TV, private shower, double or twin beds and fans. What lacks in amenities is made up for in the view, and the people who own and work there. Very small scale homelike atmosphere. It is off the main drag in a residential section past the airport. Quiet, except for chickens in the morning and the occasional dog barking. I love the place because it isn't a hotel. I walk to the main road and travel by minibus. The name is Tranquillity. There are others providing the same type of accommodation around the island but not as close to the beach. On the weekends the locals come to Indian Bay beach with their families. www.thecaribbeantravelforums.com is a great source of info for all things SVG. Another website is traveltalkonline.com There is a poster by the name of curiousx who has a wealth of info to share. I'm only fortunate enough to spend a few days to a week in SVG. He spends much more time and can offer you more assistance, especially on Bequia. Since you are planning 9 days my suggestion would be to spend a few maybe 2 days on the mainland 5 days on Bequia and then another day and a half on St. Vincent prior to departure. Tranquillity as well as the others will rent the apartments on a daily basis. I leave next week for SVG will stay Fri, and Sat visiting old friends then fly to St. Lucia late Sun afternoon to board the Yankee Clipper of the Windjammer fleet.
Grandview and Villa Lodge are others in the same vicinity and offer the amenities. Grandview has a pool. I've checked the websites for both and have seen them from the road. Very nice but are hotels. Like I said I prefer a more homelike experience.
February weather is fine. I have been to SVG then as well as midsummer and fall. Fall has more rain.
My trip next week will depart PIT @ 3:55p, with arrival in SVG the next day around 5:30p
Any other questions feel free to ask. Oh and don't forget to try and make time to visit Mayreau.

Hi here - I would certainly book Bequia lodgings independently from airfare. www.bequiatourism.com and www.bequia.net have listings of accommodation options. I am sure you will find lots within your budget range.

Many places will be booked up by now - so I suggest you check out a place that I love and that I think is very underrated called Dawn's Creole Garden Guesthouse in Lower Bay. http://www.creolegarden.com/. It combines the best of West Indian hospitality and cuisine (Dawn) with German cleanliness and efficiency (Willy). They also run a kickass beach bar. One issue for you might be the proximity to Coco's restaurant which has a music night once or twice a week (real music, not machines)...I like it and live nearby but if you are noise-allergic then you won't. I always recommend taking earplubs to the West Indies anyway. If it's quiet quiet that you want, consider Crescent Beach or Spring Hotel at the nofth end of the island.

For a nine day trip, I would agree with Vincygirl about the allocation of time between Bequia and St. Vincent. While on Bequia, you can go on daytrips to Mustique or the Tobago Cays and get your 'other island' fix.

One more tip - definitely bring your snorkelling gear, including fins.

The weather in February is very good - it is one of the driest months in terms of rainfall. There can be the odd sea surge (in which case one just uses the beaches on the opposite side of the island.

Vinceygirl has given you excellent advice on where to stay in St. Vincent. Beachcombers in Villa is also worth thinking about, remembering that the attractions in St. Vincent are the ecotourism opportunities and not the beaches, restaurants !

Vinceygirl and Curiousx....Thanks for taking the time to provide me with very useful information...As perviously stated, I will undoubtedly call upon those of you with expertise in this area for help from time to time..gotta get my rear in gear, february is just around the corner.....one last question....on the layover flight to Barbados and departing flight to St. Vincent at appx 08:00 a.m.the following morning (Appx. 9-10 hrs of down time) is the airport in Barbados one where I will be able to get some shuteye (with no concerns) or is pulling an all nighter the realistic scenerio??? thanks again...SEASLIFE

The airport had been under renovation in Dec '05 Don't know how much has been accomplished or if finished. Typical airport. Uncomfortable seats, nd unless things have changed little to offer in the way of snacks, drinks etc.

well I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to pull all nighter in the airport. I generall try Peach and Quiet but there are other options. I do not recommend Silver Sands.

ButI am curious as to why you have such a long layover. If your flight arrives around 3 in the afternoon, then you should be able to catch one of the last LIAT or CS flights to St. Vincent.

Alternately, you can fly SVG Air direct to Bequia or St. Vincent - though more costly ($150US) the SVG advantage is that you bypass customs and immigration in Barbados and they will hold the plane for you.

One option is to fly SVG air to Bequia and LIAR/CA from St. Vincent back to Barbados.



BTW SVG Air is also called Grenadines Airways or Air Mustique. It's all the same