Discover the very different characters and landscapes of 3 different islands with a few days in Barbados and Grenada before heading to sleepy Bequia's beautiful beaches.
What's Included:
3 nights Barbados, room only including excursion; 3 nights Grenada, room only including excursion; 7 nights Bequia Beach Hotel including continental breakfast. Includes flights and transfers.
14 days from £3,790pp
who's been there
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On the beach - 7 days
Bequia Beach Hotel
Overlooking Friendship Bay, the island's finest stretch of sand, the Bequia Beach Hotel is an intimate, elegant retreat cast in the style of a relaxed and luxurious home. Exclusive but unpretentious, its real charm and individuality comes from its very special atmosphere.
Tucked away on one of the region's most undeveloped islands, this hotel has been a labour of love for its Swedish owner, and the carefully planned interiors have a laid-back charm that makes you feel instantly at ease. Along with carved furniture, rattan, chic retro posters and fashionably battered suitcases, you'll find all the modern comforts you’d expect. The rooms are positioned around large grounds littered with almond trees, with stepped paths leading between levels on the steep hillside. The hotel has two restaurants, one on the hillside open seasonally and the other by the beach, serving Caribbean dishes with a European accent and in both cases, offering alfresco dining with glorious views. Kayaks, paddleboards and snorkelling equipment are all available, and along with the two pools, there's a beautiful spa, gym and sauna.
The resort offers a good range of accommodation from large ocean suites with sea views to split-level beachfront suites and family villas. All are individual in style with contemporary colonial interiors and private terraces.
Before the beach - 6 days
Barbados and Grenada
Get a broader taste of the Caribbean with an island-hopping adventure to sample the bright lights and glamour of Barbados and the largely undiscovered spice island of Grenada. Renowned for its exclusive hotels, upscale restaurants and beachside bars, Barbados is quite a contrast to sleepy Bequia. Grenada is different again with volcanic terrain scattered with waterfalls, a wealth of history and excellent diving and snorkelling, with colourful wrecks and reefs as well as an underwater sculpture park to explore.
A charming boutique hotel with a relaxed atmosphere, Little Arches has a rooftop restaurant overlooking Enterprise Beach on Barbados’ south coast, while the cottage-style rooms at Blue Horizons are tucked away in tropical gardens just steps from Grand Anse Beach, Grenada.
Bequia Beach Hotel
57 rooms, 2 restaurants, 2 pools
Description
Set on the sleepy island of Bequia, this lovely resort combines laid-back Caribbean charm and a beautiful beachfront setting. The Swedish owner, Bengt Mortstedt, has created a characterful retreat which mixes colonial style and retro chic, and you can see the passion he has put into developing the resort.
Set among spacious, beautifully tended gardens, the resort sits on one of the island’s best beaches yet surprisingly, even at busy times you can often find you have the beach pretty much to yourself.
For families
Although favoured by couples, Bequia Beach Resort also welcomes families. From Monday to Friday they offer supervised activities for children aged 4-12 years; families wishing to use this service must register on arrival. Babysitting is also available for a local charge.
Location
Although the largest of the Grenadine islands that stretch south from St Vincent, Bequia measures just 7 sq miles so nowhere is very far away.
Bequia Beach Resort is located on the southeast coast of the island on beautiful Friendship Beach with far reaching views of other Grenadine islands. This quiet beach is a gorgeous sweep of pale golden sand curving round in a slightly sheltered bay. If you time it right, you can often watch fishermen at the other end of the beach bringing in their catch.
The capital, Port Elizabeth, is about ten minutes’ drive from the resort. There’s more of a village than town feel here with only one main street, but you’ll find a string of local bars and restaurants, colourful buildings and a handful of shops all backed by lush hillsides.
Our opinion
Set on a beautiful, but surprisingly quiet, beach, this charming, relaxed hotel is the ideal place to relax and adapt to the slow pace of Bequia.
Rooms
The 57 air-conditioned rooms, suites and villas are spread across the resort among the gardens or along the beachfront, or up on the hillside. Much of the accommodation offers sea and beach views.
Junior Plantation Suite
These open-plan, Junior Suites are very spacious at 70m2 and set within three storey buildings. The room features a wooden, four-poster bed with a comfortable sitting area just a few steps down and the design is a more elegant, vintage style than the Classic Rooms.
These suites offer a balcony or terrace with views out over the garden to the ocean but please note some ground floor suites have a restricted sea view due to the mature gardens.
One Bedroom Cottage
There are three One Bedroom Cottages set in the hotel’s gardens. Built in a traditional, Caribbean style, these pretty, stand-alone cottages are 65m2 in size and have a terrace and small garden. Inside they have a simple, country Caribbean style with light woods and rattan furniture.
Classic Room
These eight rooms are 40m2 and sit within the two and three storey buildings on the hillside, around one of the pools. These rooms have views over the hillside pool, across the gardens to the sea. The decor is a simple, Caribbean style.
Please note that the hillside position of these rooms means there are lots of steps to reach them so we do not recommend them for those who are less mobile.
Classic 2 Bedroom Family Suite
Set on the hillside with a similar, simple Caribbean style decor to the Classic Rooms, this suite is made up of two interconnecting rooms. Both rooms are en suite and the large balcony overlooks the hotel’s hillside pool and sun deck and out toward the sea.
Beachfront Suite
The Beachfront Suites have the most enviable location right on the beachfront overlooking the sea. They are also the closest to the main pool and beach restaurant. These 70m2open-plan, junior suites have a bedroom area with a wooden, four-poster bed and a comfortable living area a few steps down. Their design is a similar, vintage style to the Junior Plantation Suites and they also feature a terrace with two sun loungers.
Two bedroom villa with private pool
Perfect for families, these two bedroom villas offer two en suite bedrooms, a living and kitchen area and a lovely covered terrace, sun deck and plunge pool.
Pictures of the rooms
Activities, diving & excursions
The resort offers complimentary non-motorised water sports including kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkelling and bodyboarding. On land the property has two pools, one near the beachfront and the other up the steps near the top of the hillside that is open seasonally. There is also a small gym and sauna.
There is no dive shop on site, but the hotel can organise this for you with a local dive operator. Diving in Bequia is a must whether you’re experienced or trying it for the first time. Reef, wreck and night dives are all possible and the marine life is great including turtles, eels, seahorse, lion fish, rainbow fish, drumming fish and lobsters.
Food & drink
The resort’s main restaurant is Bagatelle on the Beach, which offers alfresco dining with delightful sea views from its setting right at the beachfront.
There is also a second restaurant, Blue Tropic Restaurant and Bar, up the steps on the hillside near the Classic Pool & Sea View rooms, although it only opens seasonally or as demand requires.
There is a small but cosy, open-air bar near the beach which is open from 10am daily and offers a casual bar menu at lunchtime. This bar closes when the last person leaves although given the slow, quiet pace of the island, don’t expect this to be too late.
Spa Facilities
The small spa has three treatment rooms offering a choice of spa treatments.
Barbados and Grenada
Location: Barbados and Grenada
Barbados
Skirted by 97 kilometres of contrasting coastline, Barbados is an island that rewards exploration. Along the southern and eastern shores you can expect dramatic cliffs, crashing waves and stunning ocean views, while the north and west of the island are lapped by the more tranquil waters of the balmy Caribbean Sea.
Culturally, Barbados is a blend of West African spice and British tradition, giving it a unique flavour. Islanders and tourists alike come together on a Friday night in the south coast village of Oistins for the weekly fish fry, a quintessentially Bajan experience, while historic Bridgetown, the capital, is a diverting destination full of colonial character.
The topography of the island interior is markedly less dramatic than the neighbouring volcanic islands of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent, though the countryside of gently rolling hills and sugar cane fields hides brightly coloured, traditional wooden houses, quaint little churches, colonial plantation houses and the natural wonders of Harrison’s Cave.
Grenada
Known as the ‘Isle of Spice’, this little island is an alluring mix of lush rainforest, sparkling waterfalls and powdery white beaches, infused with the heady aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa.
Grenada’s sheltered beaches are some of the finest in the region, rarely crowded and affording picture postcard vistas of soft sugary sands and swaying palms. The calm turquoise waters provide optimal conditions for snorkelling and scuba diving, with some of the best reef and wreck diving in the Caribbean.
The mountainous interior is fertile and dense with vegetation, criss-crossed by rivers and hiking trails and home to monkeys, colourful lizards and around 150 species of bird. Historic plantations still produce some of the best cocoa in the world and you can also visit traditional rum distilleries or nutmeg producers.
Grenadians are a friendly and welcoming people, and a great way to get to know them is with a visit to the Saturday market in the pretty capital, St George's. The island also boasts some fantastically rustic eateries offering hearty home-cooked cuisine, while Grenada’s smaller outlying islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, offer the chance to really get off the beaten track.
Little Arches Boutique Hotel and Blue Horizons Garden Resort
Accommodation: Little Arches Boutique Hotel and Blue Horizons Garden Resort
Little Arches Boutique Hotel, Barbados
This delightful little boutique hotel on the south coast of Barbados is located in a quiet residential area across the road from the white sands of Enterprise Beach.
Originally a private home it has just 10 rooms, each unique, and staff pride themselves on their personalised service. This family owned and operated hotel has a relaxed, friendly atmosphere and a pretty Mediterranean style.
With a fabulous rooftop bar and restaurant, just perfect for sunsets over the Caribbean Sea, Little Arches gives a very different experience of Barbados from the large resorts the island is known for.
Blue Horizons Garden Resort, Grenada
Set on a hillside among mature tropical gardens, this lovely, little resort is a great value option.
Family owned and run, you can tell that real care has been put into the hotel and while it may not have the facilities of larger resorts, it makes up for it in charm and character. With only 32 rooms spread over 6 acres of gardens, there’s a great feeling of space at the hotel and the white sands of Grand Anse Beach are only 300 metres away.
Itinerary
Day by day
Day 1
Fly to Grenada. On arrival you will be met by our representative and escorted to your drive for the 20-minute private transfer to your hotel.
Day 2
Today you will be collected for a full day, private tour. Start with a drive through the steep hills and lush rainforest of Grand Etang National Park, stopping at Concord Waterfall. Heading north you will visit Gouyave Nutmeg Station where the nutmegs are still processed and packed by hand. Discover the background behind Grenada's cocoa production at Carlton's Cocoa Station and finish with a stop at Gemma's Home Garden where Gemma will guide you round the beautiful garden she's created brimming with local plants and flowers.
Day 3
Today you are at leisure to explore as you wish. You may like to head to historic Westerhall Rum Distillery. Alternatively, the capital, St George's is within easy reach of your hotel where you can get a glimpse of the island's colonial past at Fort George and Fort Frederick.
Day 4
Today, you will have a private transfer back to the airport for the 55 minute to Barbados. Here you will be met by our representative and escorted to your driver.
The private transfer to your hotel should only take about 20 minutes leaving you time this afternoon to explore a little. Little Arches is in a quiet, residential area on the south coast. A couple of minutes' walk from the hotel, Enterprise Beach is popular with the locals while a little further down the road is Oistins fishing village. If you're here on a Friday, we recommend visiting the weekly fish fry where locals and visitors come together for fresh seafood and music.
Day 5
This morning you will have a private tour to St Nicholas Abbey, a 17th century plantation house, for a tour of the house and rum tasting. You will also visit Morgan Lewis Windmill, a sugar mill dating back to the 19th century, and stop at Cherry Tree Hill, one of the best viewpoints on the island.
Day 6
Today you are at leisure to discover more of the island. You might like to head into Bridgetown, take a tour of the Mount Gay Rum factory or the famous Kensington Oval cricket grounds. There are also some great catamaran trips where you may be lucky enough to snorkel with turtles.
Day 7
A private transfer brings you back to the airport where you board a small propeller plane for the 45-minute flight to Bequia in the Grenadines.
On arrival, you will be transferred by local taxi to the Bequia Beach Resort. Set on a beautiful, golden sand beach this charming property is a great base for exploring the sleepy island of Bequia. If you wander down to the end of the beach you may see local fishermen bringing in their daily catch.
Day 8
One of the best ways of exploring the island is with a local taxi driver in one of the open backed taxi trucks and the hotel will be happy to arrange this with one of their drivers. Explore the beautiful scenery of this sleepy island, passing fishing villages, artists studios and desert beaches.
Day 9
Ferries over to St Vincent take just an hour if you'd like to explore more of the islands that make up St Vincent & the Grenadines. Kingstown, the country's capital is bustling and lively with historic buildings and regular markets. Or if you'd prefer to stay on Bequia, why not explore some of its beautiful beaches, we particularly recommend Princess Margaret Beach.
Day 10
Another day at leisure and you may like to take a boat trip to incredibly blue waters of the lagoon at Tobago Cays which are fantastic for snorkelling.
Days 11 - 13
At leisure.
Day 14
Today you will have a local taxi transfer back to the airport for your flight home.
Start planning your trip with Audley
Tailoring your trip
This itinerary is designed to give you a flavour of what is possible.
We can tailor this trip to suit your specific requirements
Any aspect of the itinerary can be altered, from excursions to accommodation
How to book
Contact a Hidden Beach specialist
Whether you wish to plan your trip around this itinerary idea or you have other ideas, please do get in touch by phone or online. If using our online form, a destination specialist will contact you by phone to discuss your requirements.
Discuss your requirements
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Confirm your trip
Once you are satisfied with all the arrangements, we ask you to complete a booking form and pay a deposit of 15% of the total cost of your trip.
Stay in touch
Even after booking, you'll undoubtedly think of more questions. Feel free to call your specialist at any time. The same specialist will handle your trip from start to finish.
