Canouan Island, Grenadines
February 17 - 24, 2023
From the island of Bequai, we hopped on the Jaden Sun fast ferry and headed to our next grenadine destination, the island of Canouan. Pronounced "can-o-wan", this five-square-mile piece of rock is refreshingly quiet and still relatively untouched. Sometimes referred to as the place millionaires go to get away from the billionaires - there's a couple of very posh resorts (we're talking $5,000 Canadian per night for a standard suite to start) which occupy a big chunk of the northern island and the beaches there are sadly off limits unless you're a guest. There's been some protests against denying access to public beaches but it all eventually fell silent and made no head way. The rest of us normal folk still get access to a few main beaches, one which runs along the ferry dock area and another long strip of sand by the newly built Sandy Lane Marina. All the beaches here are quite choppy and not suitable for swimming so we mostly enjoyed long walks and some chill days taking in the beauty.
Our Accommodations
Its slim pickings here on the island for places to stay. There's an expensive hotel on the ferry side waterfront and some very large and posh resorts in the north, but not much for budget travelers. Luckily there's some guesthouses scattered throughout the island and we opted for Airbnb Bayview apartments. A good basic apartment and close to town with a lovely view of the ocean from our balcony. The hosts were friendly and helpful and we had everything we needed for our stay.
Around "Town"
The further south we get from mainland St Vincent, the tougher it is to find provisions - namely fruit and veg. These tiny islands rely on daily ferries and are subject to receiving whatever makes it onto the boats. When you see something you like, you gotta grab it! However, the locals are friendly and there certainly isn't any traffic jams...the busiest thing we found crossing the road was a red footed turtle!
Sandy Lane Marina
The newly built marina was quite a little gem in this part of the island. Everything is nicely manicured and there's a upscale restaurant here along with a more reasonably priced bar called Scruffy's. The entire area runs along a nice strip of soft sand beach with wonderful views to the crashing waves.