Things to Do in Bequia

Bequia still feels like the Caribbean before the cruise ships muscled in. Salt-tinged air mingles with diesel from the fishing boats, halyards clink against aluminum masts in Admiralty Bay, and pastel houses climb the hills like a child's watercolor box. The island spans just seven square miles, so you can walk from one end to the other before lunch, barefoot on sand roads that stay warm even in January. Dawn brings fishermen unloading dripping mahi-mahi, their hands silver-scaled, while afternoon heat carries the scent of frangipani and boat varnish. After dark, tree frogs strike up their metallic chorus and you might catch whiffs of ganja drifting from the bars along Belmont Walkway.

Mac's Pizza serves lobster pizza that's somehow both terrible and amazing - you'll sit on plastic chairs with sand between your toes while yachties argue over bar tabs. On the other end, Jack's Beach Bar in Lower Bay does grilled lobster that tastes like it just crawled onto the grill, served with johnnycakes that soak up the garlic butter. In Port Elizabeth, the Whaleboner Bar uses actual whale bones as barstools, and their conch fritters come with hot sauce that'll make your lips tingle. Grocery stores stock expensive imported cheese alongside cheap local rum - most self-caterers shop at Doris' in town, where the cashier might offer you a shot of her homemade bitters.

January through April offers perfect weather but brings yachties and higher prices - you'll share beaches with tanned Germans reading Kindle books. May and June are quieter, with occasional rain showers that smell like wet concrete and last twenty minutes. July to October gets hot and humid, but the water's warmest and you might have entire beaches to yourself. Hurricane season peaks August through October, which keeps the faint-hearted away but locals throw the best parties.