This Little Caribbean Island Has Beachfront Hotels, a Working Harbor, and a Whaling History Dating Back 150 Years

On Bequia, a walk from the ferry dock takes you past model boat shops and waterfront cafés to one of the best beaches in the Grenadines. Two years after Hurricane Beryl, that walk also tells part of the island’s recovery story.

The ferry from St Vincent pulls into Port Elizabeth, where the boats at anchor in Admiralty Bay tell you almost as much about Bequia as the town does. Dinghies come in from sailboats. The ferry unloads passengers and supplies. Along Front Street, marine suppliers share the waterfront with produce sellers and model boat builders. Walk south from the dock and the shops give way to cafés, then to a path around the headland. At the other end is Princess Margaret Beach. You can go from the ferry to a swim without getting into a car.

Bequia, pronounced BEK-way, is a seven-square-mile island in St Vincent and the Grenadines, about nine miles from the main island of St Vincent. It’s the largest of the country’s Grenadine islands, a longtime stop for sailors and a destination worth several nights on its own. Stay on the harbor and you can walk to dinner. Stay across the island on Friendship Bay and you can step from your room onto the sand. Either way, the island is small enough to spend a day doing both.

Start at Princess Margaret Beach, Then Go to Lower Bay

Princess Margaret Beach is the first beach we’d send you to on Bequia. Locally known as Tony Gibbons Beach, it took its better-known name from the princess who swam here. The approach is part of the experience. Follow the Belmont Walkway out of town and take the coastal trail around the headland. The harbor drops out of sight and a strip of sand appears below the trees. Jack’s Beach Bar is right there when you’re ready for lunch. A water taxi from Port Elizabeth gives you another way in.

Lower Bay is farther along the leeward coast, with a broader sweep of sand and a fishing village at its southern end. Small guesthouses and places to eat sit behind the beach. Go to Princess Margaret for the walk and a swim before lunch. Give Lower Bay the afternoon if you want more room to spread out and a beach where you can wander off for a bite and come right back.

Friendship Bay is on the other side of the island, with a long crescent of sand and views toward Mustique. It’s the beach to choose if you want to wake up beside the water. On Bequia’s east side, Spring and Industry bays offer a different coast, with Atlantic breezes and sunrise views. They’re worth a drive even if you spend most of your beach time on the leeward side.

Where to Stay on Bequia

Book a Beachfront Suite at Bequia Beach Hotel if you want Friendship Bay outside your room. The suites have about 700 square feet and terraces just steps from the sand. The family-owned hotel spreads across 10 acres, with cottages and larger villas tucked into the grounds. Coral Hill has four en-suite bedrooms, making it a good fit for a family or a group of friends. Breakfast at Bagatelle is on an open veranda beside the beach. You can also redeem Hilton Honors points through the hotel’s Small Luxury Hotels of the World affiliation.

Bequia Plantation Hotel is our pick if you want to spend more time on foot. It’s at the quieter end of Admiralty Bay, about a 10-minute waterfront walk from Port Elizabeth, with the trail to Princess Margaret Beach just beyond it. The main house dates to the 1950s. A sea-view room there puts you close to the water, while a two-bedroom bungalow gives you a kitchen and a living area. It’s an easy base for a few days of walking into town for dinner and going to the beach whenever you feel like it.

The Liming is the choice for more privacy. On Adam’s Bay near the island’s southwestern tip, it has one- and two-bedroom villas with private infinity pools. The five-bedroom Gingerlily Mansion House has its own kitchen, dining room and pools. Of the three, this is where we’d book if we expected to spend a good part of the day at the villa.

How Whaling Became Part of Bequia’s History

In the 19th century, whaling ships from New England came through the Grenadines and hired Bequian crew members. Among them was William “Old Bill” Wallace Jr., who helped establish a shore-based hunt in the mid-1870s. Crews could launch small wooden boats from the beach when migrating humpbacks came close enough to shore. Whale oil was sold abroad, and meat was used locally. By around 1910, about 100 men were involved in catching and processing whales.

The International Whaling Commission still permits a limited humpback hunt under its aboriginal subsistence whaling rules. The limit averages four whales a year, and the hunt remains contested. One place to understand its local history is the Bequia Heritage Museum above Friendship Bay. Outside is Rescue, a retired whaleboat whose owner, Orson Ollivierre, gave up hunting and turned to whale watching. Inside, the collection puts whaling alongside the island’s boatbuilding history and Indigenous artifacts found on Bequia.

What Bequia Rebuilt After Hurricane Beryl

When Hurricane Beryl passed on July 1, 2024, Bequia escaped the worst of the destruction suffered farther south on Union Island and Mayreau. On Bequia, homes and waterfront infrastructure were damaged, the airport closed, and storm waves broke sections of the Princess Margaret Trail. At The Liming, the government’s damage assessment documented damage to the restaurant decks, piers and seawalls. Bequia Beach Hotel temporarily closed and helped send emergency supplies by boat to Canouan and Mayreau.

The airport reopened on August 26, 2024. Local nonprofit Action Bequia announced the reopening of the repaired trail sections at the end of December. Both Bequia Beach Hotel and The Liming are welcoming guests again. Some public infrastructure projects have a longer timeline. In 2026, the government sought consultants for repairs and coastal protection at Bequia’s storm-damaged wharf, as well as for rehabilitation of the island’s fisheries complex.

Getting to Bequia

Fly into Argyle International Airport on St Vincent, then take a taxi to the ferry terminal in Kingstown. The conventional ferry takes about an hour to reach Port Elizabeth. Check the ferry schedule against your flight before booking, particularly if you land late in the day. Once you arrive, a harbor stay is easy on foot, while taxis make sense for Friendship Bay, The Liming and the east coast.

Give yourself at least three nights. Spend one day walking from the harbor to Princess Margaret Beach and Lower Bay. Spend another on Friendship Bay, with time for the museum above it. Then leave part of a day for Port Elizabeth itself. A coffee by the water when the ferry comes in is as good a way as any to see how much of life on Bequia still happens around its harbor.