| Image: PCL |
When Disney location scouts were set the task of finding a
part of the Caribbean untouched by the modern world there was one
obvious destination – St Vincent and the
Grenadines.
It was to be the setting for the then upcoming blockbuster
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and had to
look as it did more than 200 years ago.
Fast forward a couple of years and filming has just finished on
the next two sequels to the original film. But despite Hollywood
having temporarily descended upon the island of St Vincent, it
appears as unspoilt as ever.
Tinseltown’s legacy is reduced to a few t-shirts in the
Saturday morning market and the remains of some temporary sets. On
a visit to a set in the secluded Wallilabou Bay there was another
legacy the tourist office is hoping the film will leave – a
group of tourists.
Unlike much of the Caribbean, St Vincent and the Grenadines has
so far been spared mass tourism. Part of the reason is the lack of
any direct flights from the UK.
The hotels featured by operators, including Palm Island, Young
Island and Raffles Resort on Canouan, are not cheap either.
Packages cost around £1,500 per week, including flights. There
are cheaper hotels, but most aren’t brochured.
But while price and accessibility deter the masses, it’s
precisely this that attracts the wealthier customer looking for
luxury, privacy and a taste of the Caribbean as it was before being
discovered by every other aspiring holidaymaker. There are plenty
of upscale villas for rent individually or as part of a hotel, and
offering the ultimate in seclusion. Mick Jagger, Bryan Adams and
fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger all own properties on St Vincent
and the Grenadines’ most exclusive island, Mustique. Clients
with cash to splash can rent out Jagger’s villa, Stargroves,
from $11,000 per week through Wimco International.
Part of the Windward Islands, St Vincent is about 24 miles south
of St Lucia. Made up of 30 islands, the biggest, St Vincent, houses
the capital Kingstown.
The Grenadines tail out 45 miles southwest from St Vincent. The
major Grenadine islands comprise Young Island, Bequia, Mustique,
Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, Palm Island and Petit St Vincent.
The hotels bookable through operators such as Caribtours and
Jetlife are on the Grenadine islands.
The Grenadines are the stuff of brochure clichés –
long golden-sand beaches and turquoise waters with luxury yachts
docked a few feet from the shore.
With the islands’ main income coming from tourism, they
are more geared up for visitors than St Vincent. Tourists spend
their days on the islands lolling on sun loungers, snorkelling,
diving and taking boat trips. These small islands are mostly given
over to hotels and are sparsely populated. Clients looking for
restaurants, shops and town life should head for Bequia, the
largest Grenadine island.
All the islands have an untouched beauty – except for
Mustique, which is owned by a private company. Its clipped greenery
and smooth roads have taken away both rough edges and
character.
For more activity clients should head to St Vincent – a
short boat ride from most Grenadine islands – where they can
browse through the Saturday morning fish and fruit markets in
Kingstown, take in the oldest botanical gardens in the western
hemisphere and discover the history of the Black Caribs via the
paintings on display at the 18th century fortification, Fort
Charlotte.
It’s St Vincent’s rugged interior that holds much of
the island’s appeal. A third of the island is rainforest and
it has an active volcano, the 4,000ft La Soufriere, which is
accessible on a two-hour trek.
The island is not easy to navigate and organised tours are
advisable. Local operator HazECO Tours – which runs tours on
behalf of operators including Caribtours – has rum punch on
tap, and, after a couple of glasses, a power shower with a
difference at one of the islands’ 65 waterfalls – try
Dark View Falls – is a great way to jolt back the senses. How
long St Vincent and the Grenadines remain free from the clutches of
mass market tourism remains to be seen. A site has been earmarked
for an international airport but the go-ahead has not yet been
given. There also plans in the pipeline for a major 350-room new
hotel on St Vincent.
The destination has already had one big opportunity to raise its
profile with the Pirates of the Caribbean and so far hasn’t
cashed in the way another destination might – there are no
themed bars or restaurants and sets are being destroyed rather than
turned into permanent attractions.
Look out for the raw beauty of St Vincent and the Grenadines
when the film’s sequel hits cinemas in July next year –
the big screen might be the only opportunity most people get to see
it for a while longer.
