The Island of Bequia

(from the Bequia Tourism Association)

The tiny island of Bequia has a unique, magical charm which is hard to find anywhere else in the Caribbean. With fewer than six thousand inhabitants, it feels like home from the moment you arrive; friendliness is the watchword, and the pace is relaxed and easy-going. Don't be surprised if you are greeted with a warm hello as you walk along the street - a centuries-old dependence on inter-island shipping and trading has meant that Bequians have been eagerly welcoming visitors to their shores for generations.

Bequia fulfils many dreams of the perfect small Caribbean island: beautiful sandy beaches where more than ten people may constitute a crowd, lush green hillsides, attractive little villages, hardly any traffic, places to get together and places in which to find that perfect solitude. Variety and choice on so small an island may come as a surprise - but there are both wherever you look.

Choose a holiday of total beach relaxation or exhilarating sailing and diving in some of the most beautiful waters in the world. Get to know the island on foot, or hire a car and discover so much more than just the golden beaches; take day or overnight trips to neighbouring isles or simply fill up another perfect day doing what is increasingly necessary to unwind - nothing!

A choice of nightlife too awaits you - gourmet international cuisine, or delicious local cooking; elegant cocktails or sundowners in a local bar; a lively jump up to steel band music or a wonderfully romantic candlelit dinner far away from it all.

And then of course there are the warm tropical nights, with an orchestra of singing cicadas and gently murmuring surf, and the brilliance of the star-studded sky which tells you, if you didn't already know, that this is where you have always wanted to be.

(from Wikipedia)

Bequia (pronounced /ˈbek.wi/ or /ˈbek.weɪ/) is the largest island in the Grenadines. It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and is approximately 15 km from the nation's capital, Kingstown.

The island is very small, measuring some 7 square miles (18 km2). The main population areas are Port Elizabeth and Paget Farm which host the Ferry Terminal and Airport respectively. Other prominent areas of Bequia include Spring, site of a former coconut plantation and home to agricultural animals, Industry Bay , Lower Bay and Park Bay,The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary is located here.

Bequia is one of the few places in the world where limited whaling is still allowed by the International Whaling Commission. A feature of the Port Elizabeth waterfront is the Whale Boner Bar & Restaurant. This bar has an entrance onto the beach consisting of an arch of two whale ribs as well as whale vertebrae mounted on the bar seats and a whale rib running the length of the bar. Bequia has a long tradition of whaling as well as the building of whaling boats. There is a small whaling museum on the island which chronicles this history.