Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a chain of 32 islands and cays in the southern Windward Islands, between Saint Lucia and Grenada, with the Caribbean Sea to the west and the Atlantic to the east; English is spoken. The main island, St Vincent, is green and volcanic: rainforest-clad mountains laced with hiking trails, black-sand beaches and, in the capital Kingstown, botanical gardens among the oldest in the western hemisphere.

South of it stretch the Grenadines. Yachts anchor in Admiralty Bay off Port Elizabeth on Bequia, where wooden boat-building lives on as a craft. Mustique is a quiet, private island of white beaches; Canouan has long, reef-sheltered beaches; then Mayreau, and Union Island, loved by kitesurfers. In the protected Tobago Cays Marine Park, uninhabited cays ring a turquoise lagoon where turtles graze and reefs offer superb snorkelling and diving. This is sailing country: island to island by yacht.

Expect fresh seafood and the national dish, roasted breadfruit with fried jackfish. International flights land at Argyle International Airport on St Vincent; small planes and boats link the islands. It is warm all year, cooled by trade winds; the drier season runs roughly January to May, the wetter one roughly June to November. The islands suit sailors, couples and honeymooners seeking seclusion, divers and snorkellers, and anyone after an unspoilt, low-key Caribbean.