St Vincent and the Grenadines holidays

Vincy Mas is St Vincent’s carnival, which runs from May into early July – a massive, technicolour celebration of local music and culture. Musicians play calypso and steel pan music, dancers parade in bright, intricate costumes and parties spill out onto the streets. At the Evening Street Party, revellers don their favourite band t-shirts through the streets of Kingstown. J’Ouvert and Mardi Gras are the main events – the former starts as the clock strikes twelve, parties ‘til dawn the parades through Kingstown. Mardi Gras marks the end of Vincy Mas, with masqueraders dancing through the streets to the sounds of soca.

From yearly carnival to daily life, there’s ALWAYS music in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Soca is the latest genre to make waves on these islands, with its roots in calypso and chutney music from Trinidad and Tobago. Stemming from this, Ragga Soca is a marriage of Reggae and Soca. There’s also Big Drum, played on drums made from tree trunks or rum kegs, where women sing social and satirical songs accompanied by brightly dressed dancers. Jazz and blues are very popular here too, with yearly festivals on Mustique and Bequia.

The fertile volcanic soil and rich surrounding waters make for some fabulous produce in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Arrowfruit, yams, plantain and bananas have been grown here for decades and all kinds of fish (tuna, mahi-mahi, kingfish and snapper included), as well as lobster, octopus and conch (aka lambi), are caught just offshore.

The St Vincent staple is breadfruit, served in the national dish: Roasted breadfruit and fried jackfish as well as meringue pie and many other meals. Classic Caribbean rice and peas can be enjoyed with fish, chicken, beef and curried goat. Arrowroot cake and black cake (a kind of fruit cake with rum) are popular puddings.

If the dazzling sunshine and jaw-dropping scenery leave you parched, you’ll be pleased to find some fabulous drinks here. Fruit juices (try papaya and mango) are fresh as can be and bananas, passion fruits and other produce are whizzed into silky smoothies.

Hairoun brewery on St Vincent opened 1985 and uses local spring water to create the archipelago’s signature pale lager. Other homegrown tipples are Sunset and Sparrow’s rum (including the notorious Very Strong Rum) by St Vincent Distillers Limited in Kingstown. Locals tend to drink it neat or with a squeeze of lime and ice-cold water, and you’ll also find it mixed into potent punches.

The Caribbean classic of Mauby, made with tree bark, sugar and spices is another Vincentian staple.

As with many Caribbean islands, cricket is huge here. One of the most scenic cricket grounds in the world, the Arnos Vale Playing Fields near Kingstown on St Vincent hosts test matches and one-day internationals. Football’s getting increasingly popular – the national men’s and women’s teams are called Vincy Heat - and rugby too.

Shopping in St. Vincent & the Grenadines is gloriously un-touristy – there are a couple of Voyager duty-free shops near the cruise terminal on St Vincent but even those don’t get the hustle and bustle you find in Jamaica or the Bahamas. A lot less tourist tat, more local produce, Kingstown Market on St Vincent spans multiple floors with technicolour stalls selling fabrics, art, spices and the freshest fruit and veg you’ll tuck into. Craft centres in Kingstown and Wallilabou create all manner of masterpieces from straw and sell artworks to take home with you.

Over in the Grenadines, it’s all about indie gift shops and galleries (like the Oasis on Bequia), beach boutiques (like Pink House on Mustique) and bakeries wafting sweet sugary smells down the street (like Yummy Stuff on Union Island). Each isle has its hub of stores and stalls: on Bequia that’s Port Elizabeth, Mustique has Britannia Bay and in Union Island, there’s Clifton.