Things to Do in Mustique

Sunset drinks at Basil's Bar

Basil's sits on stilts over the water at Britannia Bay, and it's been the island's living room since 1976. You'll find barefoot guests in linen shirts nursing rum punches while the sun drops behind Bequia in the distance, the wooden deck creaking gently underfoot and reggae drifting from somewhere behind the bar. Wednesday night's jump-up is the closest Mustique gets to a party. Time your trip around it.

A long afternoon at Macaroni Beach

Macaroni is the postcard. It earns the title. A long crescent of fine white sand on the windward side, with shade from sea grape trees and just enough Atlantic swell to make the water feel alive rather than glassy. The beach has changing huts, a few picnic tables, and almost never feels crowded. On a slow day you might share half a mile of sand with two other couples and a roaming tortoise.

Horseback riding with the Mustique Equestrian Centre

The stables keep around 20 horses. They offer rides at sunrise and late afternoon when the heat backs off. The trail that loops down to Endeavour Bay and along the shoreline is the one to ask for. You'll wade the horses through shallow water, hooves splashing, with frigate birds wheeling overhead. Beginners are accommodated. The beach canter is the moment everyone remembers.

Tortoise spotting and a hike up to the lookout

Mustique has plenty of free-roaming tortoises. They're a healthy population descended from a small group released decades ago. You'll spot them lumbering across roads and gardens. The walk up to the lookout above Endeavour Bay takes maybe 30 minutes. Worth the climb. Your reward is a view stretching across the Grenadines: Bequia and St Vincent to the north, Canouan and the Tobago Cays to the south, all framed by hibiscus and bird-of-great destination flowers.

A day on a chartered yacht to the Tobago Cays

The Tobago Cays Marine Park sits a 90-minute sail south of Mustique, and a day trip ranks among the great Caribbean experiences. You'll snorkel with green sea turtles in waist-deep water over white sand, eat grilled lobster off a boat in the lee of an uninhabited island, and have the whole thing arranged by someone who knows exactly which anchorage to head for when the wind shifts. Book ahead. Worth every hour.

Private villa rental (the classic Mustique experience: around 100 villas across the island, each with staff)

The Cotton House (the island's only proper hotel, an 18th-century plantation house with 17 rooms near Endeavour Bay)

Firefly Mustique (a tiny five-room boutique perched on a hill above Britannia Bay, intimate and a bit more affordable)

Endeavour Bay area (close to the Cotton House, the beach, and tennis. Convenient for first-timers)

L'Ansecoy Bay (the north end, quieter, closer to the airstrip, popular with families)

Macaroni Beach side (the eastern, windward side. Quieter villas, longer drives, the best swimming beach)