Bequia is the second-largest in the chain of Grenadine islands in St Vincent and The Grenadines. Don’t be put off by the term “second largest” – it’s only seven square miles and has a population of around 5,000 people. That’s fewer people on the whole island than in our hometown in England.
So you’ve either decided you’re heading here or you are thinking about it as a Caribbean destination and if you’re anything like us, you’re frantically researching what to do in Bequia. Well, we spend at least 3 months a year in Bequia and can confirm, for a little island, there’s an incredible amount of things to do, see and explore.
No matter where you are on the island, you’re no further than 10-15 minutes from your destination by car. It’s so tiny, and that’s one of the reasons it’s so special and why we keep coming back.
In this guide, we’ve put together the top 10 things to do in Bequia, to make planning your trip here a little bit easier.
By Lauren & Jack · Updated March 2026 · Based on spending at least 3 months a year in Bequia
What to see and do in Bequia
1. Visit the best beaches
With no resorts or private bays in Bequia, there are plenty of spectacular beaches that everyone can visit and enjoy. If you’re hoping for white sand, turquoise waters and some of the best beach bars in the Caribbean, then Bequia is going to deliver exactly what you’re looking for.
Princess Margaret Beach (Bequia’s most popular for swimming) and Lower Bay (calm water and beachfront restaurants)
PM and Lower Bay are the two most popular beaches in Bequia, and it’s easy to see why. If you’re a first time visitor, you’ll likely end up at one, or both!
At PM, you’ll find one of the best beach bars in the Caribbean, Jack’s, and a handful of local vendors dotted along the beach. It’s a pretty chilled out vibe, although on Sunday’s it can get lively as people come over from St Vincent for the day. Princess Margaret Beach is the best place to swim in Bequia. It’s usually like a lake, and by 9:30am, the sun is coming up over the hill and it’s perfect for a walk and morning dip in the sea or snorkel. It’s also an awesome spot for sunset and a bit of boat watching.
Lower Bay is just one bay over from PM, so, as you can imagine, it’s also pretty calm. But, it’s more exposed to swell. We’ve been there when there’s a swell, and the water is noticeably rougher than Princess Margaret Beach.
What Lower Bay does have, though, is more choice when it comes to food and drink, including some tasty local options like De Reef (one of our fave restaurants in Bequia). They do the best lobster salad and sandwiches on the island and the view out over the bay and headland is a 10/10.
Friendship Bay (on the Atlantic side)
One of the best things to do in Bequia if you’re feeling adventurous and want to explore the Atlantic side of the island is making Friendship Bay your first stop. It’s our favourite beach on the island to take a stroll along, and it has both Bequia Beach Hotel and the recently opened Sand Bar to grab funky cocktails or a cold Hairoun.
The water on this side of the island is choppier, but Friendship Bay is often calm enough for a swim.
One of the highlights for us is the views, on this side of the island, you can see out to some of the uninhabited Grenadines islands and over to Mustique too.
More beaches to explore in Bequia
We’ve just picked out our top three beaches to explore in this guide, but there are plenty more to discover. We’ve covered them all thoroughly in our beaches in Bequia guide, but here’s a quick breakdown:
- Adam’s Bay: the best beach for a resort day pass
- Hope Bay: the best for lost on a deserted island vibes
- Ravine Bay: best beach in Bequia for hikers
- Belmont Beach: the best beach close to Port Elizabeth
- Park Bay: the best beach for a picnic
🚗 Remember to book your airport transfer to the ferry terminal heading to Bequia. We recommend booking this in advance of your trip.
2. Hike to Ma Peggy for panoramic views over Admiralty Bay
There are a few great hikes in Bequia, but climbing Ma Peggy is our favourite, and when you get to the top, you’re rewarded with an iconic and unforgettable view of Bequia and a glimpse of St Vincent too.
It’s a relatively short hike, around 40-45 minutes from bottom to top. However, it is steep in places and a little scrambling at the top. We’ve done this hike several times and after heavy rain the trail becomes slippery and difficult. If it’s been wet, give it a miss. Starting early also changes the experience of hiking Ma Peggy entirely. On a 6:30am start, the hike feels nice and easy and relatively cool. Another time, we started the hike at 8:00am, and it’s already so hot by this time, so it’s a lot harder to get to the top.
Also, a lot of people don’t know but around halfway up Ma Peggy, there’s a viewpoint which looks down across the airport runway and Petit Nevis. If you time it right, you get the perfect vantage point for planes taking off or coming into land – we were lucky enough to see two in the space of our 5 minute rest.
If it’s your first time climbing Ma Peggy, going with a guide is best. A few local guides offer hikes to the summit and know the safest routes, particularly after rain. We didn’t use a guide on our first climb as friends took us up, but several people on the island recommend The Bushman, who can be contacted on (784) 495-2524.
3. Explore Port Elizabeth and the Belmont Walkway
Port Elizabeth is the capital of Bequia, it’s where the main stores are and the harbour, and most day-to-day Bequia life happens here. You’ll find people selling fresh fruit and veg, coconut water and souvenirs on the side of the street. You’ll get a real taste of life in Bequia just milling around in the harbour area for a while.
Don’t worry, it’s not big, there two streets, Front and Back Street, so you won’t get lost.
We’ve visited more than 30 Caribbean islands, and nowhere feels quite like Port Elizabeth. The best way to describe it is like stepping back in time. The buildings are low rise and colourful, the harbour is usually busy with boats coming and going and the atmosphere feels lively but never chaotic. People stop to talk. Local vendors know their customers. It’s just an amazing place to experience in an increasingly busy world.
From the harbour, head towards the main dinghy dock to pick up the Belmont Walkway. This coastal path links Port Elizabeth with Belmont Beach and Princess Margaret Beach, passing several of the island’s best restaurants along the way. It’s an easy, beautiful walk with open views across the water towards Hamilton and back over the harbour.
4. Go island hopping in the Grenadines from Bequia
Bequia may be beautiful, but one of the best things to do here is leave – just for the day.
Bequia is the gateway to the Grenadines, which is home to some of the most spectacular water, snorkelling and beaches we’ve seen in the world.
A popular option is a day trip to Mustique, where you can see how the other half live, stop for lunch at Basil’s Bar and sail back in the afternoon.
For something quieter, boats also head to smaller, largely uninhabited islands such as Isle à Quatre. But our favourite trip of all, and easily one of the most memorable days you can have in St Vincent and the Grenadines, is the Tobago Cays. The water here is impossibly clear, you’re guaranteed to be snorkelling with turtles and many tours include a beach BBQ before heading back to Bequia.
💡 If you’re planning to explore beyond Bequia, our guide to island hopping in St Vincent and the Grenadines explains the different routes in more detail and what to expect.
For the Mustique day sail, we’d recommend the Friendship Rose. This historic wooden schooner actually used to be the ferry between St Vincent and Bequia!
If you’re heading all the way to the Tobago Cays, a speed boat would be much better, as it’s very long day if you sail. With a speedboat, you can make multiple stops at other islands like Mayreau on the way and enjoy more time in the water.
5. Take an island tour of Bequia (best way to see multiple things in one day)
Bequia is tiny, but it feels quite big when you’re driving around. The roads are steep and winding, so you don’t get anywhere fast, which probably makes it feel much bigger than it is. And, some areas feel remote and rugged, others more densely populated, so the atmosphere shifts as you move around.
Taking an island tour gives you a broader understanding of Bequia beyond the beaches. You’ll see parts of the island most tourists never reach and get a better sense of daily life here.
Most accommodations will have a recommended driver and tour guide you can use. If you’re visiting for the day, taxi drivers usually wait under the almond tree near the main dinghy dock in Port Elizabeth harbour. You can approach them directly and agree a price for a tour on the spot. The taxi drivers in Bequia are very fair and honest, we’ve never experienced price disparity or changes no matter the time of year we visit.
6. Spend the day at The Liming
If you’re craving a bit of a luxury resort experience without paying to stay there, then we can highly recommend a day pass at The Liming. This cute little resort is down by the airport, near the southern tip of the island, an area most people who visit Bequia never reach.
They have a beautiful bar and restaurant with infinity pool right on a pristine white sand beach. The day pass is a bit pricey, at $75 USD per person, but with it you get a rum punch on arrival, a two course lunch, two cocktails and access to the hotel facilities for the day.
We’ve been down here a few times and it’s been consistently good. The food and cocktails are great, and being in the pool as planes fly incredibly low overhead to land at the airport just behind you is pretty incredible!
7. Go shopping at the local stores and boutiques in Port Elizabeth
If you’re still deciding what to do in Bequia after a couple of beach days, take yourself to Port Elizabeth for some shopping. Bequia is small, so there isn’t a huge selection of stores, but you can find some good souvenirs and a surprisingly impressive selection of clothes in the harbour.
For souvenirs, you can head to any of the street vendors who are usually dotted along Front Street. Alternatively, a new store, A Taste of Bequia, has recently opened which is stocked with a range of products that are all made in Bequia. In here, you’ll find local juices, health and beauty products, bags and plenty of other typical souvenir items, but the great thing is they’re all from local suppliers.
If it’s clothes you like to collect, then head to Bequia Threadworks on Back Street. This is a non-profit that set out to create employment opportunities for local people, by training fashion designers, patternmakers and seamstresses. Today, there is a team of 15 people handcrafting a selection of womens and menswear right here in Bequia.
8. Try some of the best food in Bequia in Port Elizabeth
Bequia has some excellent restaurants. So many, in fact, that we’ve written a full guide to them. But here, we’re focusing on something different: local street food. Why? Because you’ve gotta eat like the locals do to truly appreciate Vincy cuisine. Roadside cook-ups, takeaway counters and small family run restaurants/shacks often serve the most authentic Caribbean food and flavours.
There are a few places to grab the best local food in Bequia:
Firstly, Suzie’s. This little yellow and green shack is hidden away on front street, behind Solana’s Boutique, and they serve a selection of patties, bakes and meals. It’s served takeout style and it’s super cheap. The pea and potato patty is so delicious, a definite 10/10.
Another place we’ve come to love is D’Original Southie Doubles. Only available on Tuesday’s and Friday’s, these guys setup in the car park under the almond tree and they serve traditional Trini doubles, while not exactly Vincentian cuisine, it is a real taste of the Caribbean and we can highly recommend.
Lastly, we love Nerissa’s Grill. Nerissa is such a sweetheart and welcomes us back every year with a big smile. She serves up tasty grilled meals, usually either chicken or fish, with a mix of sides, and on Friday, she does the most delicious pizza in Bequia for $25 ECD ($9 UD/£7 GBP).
9. Spend Friday afternoon at Rendezvous
Friday’s are lively in Bequia. It’s pay day, it’s the day most fruit and veg is available to buy and it’s the start of the weekend. The harbour is bustling with people buying the week’s provisions and gearing up for a weekend of strong rum and Hairoun.
Our Friday’s in Bequia are a ‘date night’ if you will, and we spend the afternoon and early evening at Rendezvous. It’s the perfect spot to watch island life unfold, and the beer is cheap, which is a bonus.
Also, next door to Rendezvous (under the same roof) is Nerissa’s Grill. On Friday’s, she cooks pizza and BBQ chicken at a great price. We’re not usually creatures of habit and try to mix things up, but you’ll always find us at Rendezvous and Nerissa’s come Friday.
10. Take a day trip to St Vincent and Dark View Falls
A trip to Bequia isn’t complete without spending at least a day on the mainland. St Vincent feels completely different from the Grenadines – it’s denser, lusher and incredibly green, with thick rainforest, waterfalls, dark sand beaches and the La Soufriere volcano rising in the north. Some of the best beaches in St Vincent are backed by mountains, which gives the coastline a more dramatic, untamed feel compared to Bequia.
If you’re spending just one day in St Vincent, head up to Dark View Falls. There are two main ways to visit from Bequia. You can sail up the Leeward Coast, anchor in Chateaubelair and walk the final 20 minutes to the waterfall. Alternatively, take the ferry to Kingstown and arrange a taxi tour that drives along the Leeward Coast all the way to the falls.
We’ve done both. Sailing is slower and more scenic (but it can be choppy), while driving gives you more opportunity to see local villages and daily life along the coast. Both are amazing options and offer a very different perspective on St Vincent, so it just depends on what you’d prefer.
Is Bequia worth visiting?
Yes, if you’re looking for a slower, more local Caribbean experience, Bequia is absolutely worth visiting. It’s not the place for big all inclusive resorts or nightlife. Instead, you get calm swimming beaches, small guesthouses, a big sailing culture and a harbour where everyone seems to know each other and the locals are genuinely friendly and welcoming.
After spending extended time here, what stands out most is the pace of life. No matter where you’ve been, you’ve probably never been anywhere like Bequia. It’s a bit like stepping back in time and it feels like you’re in a slower, happier and more colourful world.
More St Vincent and the Grenadines travel guides
If you’re planning a wider trip around St Vincent and the Grenadines, our detailed guides cover island hopping routes, where to stay, the best beaches and our favourite local restaurants across the Grenadines.
- 🏝️ How to island hop in St Vincent and the Grenadines
- 🍴 12 restaurants in Bequia
- ⛵ 11 best things to do in St Vincent and the Grenadines
- 🐚 Mayreau: Guide to things to do & see
- 🐢 10 things to do in Union Island
- 🌊 12 St Vincent beaches
- 😴 10 best hotels in St Vincent and the Grenadines
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