It’s hard to believe, but another 6 months have passed since we last updated you by newsletter – and we naively thought that living in the Caribbean would slow time down!

As usual, there’s so much to tell you. 

So grab a coffee (or a rum punch!), and take a short break to read the latest news from beautiful Bequia island.

 

ISLAND HOPPING IN SVG

As the 24/25 winter sun season stared to wind down, we took the opportunity to island hop around St. Vincent & the Grenadines throughout April & May.

This involved activities on Bequia, St. Vincent, Union Island, and Mustique too.  That’s the unique joy of SVG.  32 islands and cays to explore, all possible without even having to leave the country!

On Easter Saturday, we spent the day at Friendship Beach watching the annual sailing regatta.  This event has reduced in size over recent years, returning closer to its roots as a local event that focusses on tradition “double ender” races.  In typical Caribbean fashion, the start time drifted late by a mere three hours (!), but we were happy to take advantage of the refreshments from the “Sand Bar” while we waited – hic!

THE EASTER SAILING REGATTA , FRIENDSHIP BAY

 

At the end of April, we went bush and spent a long weekend at one of our favourite retreats, “Spirit of the Valley”.  This almost-secret jungle escape is nestled in the lush & beautiful Vermont Valley, towering above the Leeward coast of St. Vincent.  We hiked to see the elusive & brightly- coloured Vincy  parrot, trekked to remote, natural swimming pools and waterfalls, and even popped in to experience life at the new Sandal’s resort in Buccament Bay.

GOING BUSH AT "SPIRIT OF THE VALLEY"

 

As we moved into May, the island hopping took us into the deep south, and a return to Union island.  We can’t think of a better place to celebrate our friend Karen’s big birthday than Sparrow’s Beach Club.  It had just re-opened following the destructive force of Hurricane Beryl on July 1^st 2024.  As we arrived on the ferry into the capital Clifton, it was clear that there was still so much work to do after the eye of the category 5 storm had raged through here.  However, we can report that the newly constructed market area and ferry terminal has just been finished, and the island is bouncing back stronger than ever.

SPARROW'S BEACH CLUB

 

We have been lucky enough to visit the private island and celebrity hotspot of Mustique on many day trips.  However, it has always been our ambition to stay overnight as we knew the experience would be so different and enhanced.  We managed to find a way to do this without having to re-mortgage our property to rent a villa on the island!  During our 4 day break, we hiked the length & breadth of the island, swam at deserted bays, sipped cocktails at The Cotton House, and danced the night away as the Basil’s Bar “Sunset Session” drifted into a late-night party, attended by more than 50 people all dressed as pirates!

HANGING OUT AT BASIL'S BAR ON MUSTIQUE

 

CELEBRITY SPOTTING

Despite going over to Mustique, partially to try and spot a celebrity, it turns out we could have just stayed at home on Bequia!  Award-winning singer/songwriter Sam Smith was seen enjoying island life, and spent a whole day on Princess Margaret Beach hanging out at our local, Jack’s Beach Bar.  Apparently, part of his reason for the trip was to look for property, so perhaps we will have a new neighbour soon?!

SAM SMITH AT JACK'S BEACH BAR, BEQUIA

 

BEQUIA BENEATH THE WAVES

On the one year anniversary of hurricane Beryl, Chris from “The Lookout” wanted to do something positive to mark the anniversary.  It was a perfect opportunity to explore the stunning underwater landscape of Bequia.

On just two dives, he drifted amongst vibrant coral, and saw thousands of tropical fish, three seahorses, one huge sting ray, menacing-looking barracuda, lion fish, two spotted moray eels, and some giant lobsters too!

Thanks to Ron Williams and the team at “Bequia Dive Adventures” for an unforgettable experience in paradise.

If you want to learn more about underwater life in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, then take a look at our blog here…

Diving & Snorkeling in Bequia & beyond - The Lookout Bequia Blog

 

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES

In July, Louise celebrated her BIG birthday in style.

Fizz on the beach with friends, was quickly followed by a private party at the stunning venue of “Tropical Hideaway”.

The party ran all afternoon and beyond another perfect Bequia sunset, with food, drink, and live music performed by “Bashi”.

 

 

SUNSET VIBES WITH "BASHI" AT TROPICAL HIDEAWAY 

 

Louise will remember her 50^th birthday forever – truly spectacular from start to finish.

 

A BREAK FROM ISLAND LIFE

At the beginning of August, it was high time for us to take a break from island life, by initially going to “Young Island” – ok, from one island to another then!

YOUNG ISLAND RESORT, ST. VINCENT

Photo Credit:  Kemron Bacchus

 

We had an overnight stay at this stunning resort on the mainland, and have to say that the food was the very best we have ever tasted in SVG.

We headed straight from here the next morning to catch the Virgin Atlantic flight into Heathrow.

The following seven week break from Bequia was evenly split between catching up with friends & family in the UK, and an unforgettable Greek island adventure.

The UK leg allowed us some nice downtime to catch up with former work colleagues, explore the beautiful Lake District, watch our niece Poppy perform at her biggest gig to date, and get up close & personal with big cats at the family zoo!

 

 

HERTFORDSHIRE ZOO, UK

 

Our “proper” holiday (if you like) started when we touched down in beautiful Corfu in the Greek Islands.  We opted for a triple centre stay, starting on the north-east coast in sleepy Kalami Bay.  Then we skipped across to the west coast to the most stunning part of the Corfu coastline, basing ourselves in Paleokastritsa.  The final stop was up-market & historic Corfu Town.

Our trip involved lots of hiking, including a birthday ramble to the summit of Corfu’s highest peak – Mount Pantakrator.  We also took a couple of boat trips to remote beaches, did some adventurous cave diving, explored ancient villages & castles, and enjoyed fine dining at Toula’s in Agni Bay and Monastre in Paleokastritsa.

A 1 hour hop on the “flying dolphin” took us to our old haunt of Paxos island.  We nearly bought a property here, before opting to do so in Bequia back in 2017.  We soon realised buying in Greece (although lovely) would not allow us to escape the dark & cold UK winters.

Paxos is very much the Greek version of Bequia for us.  Everything is walkable and we covered every inch of the island during our 7 night stay here.  Days involved strenuous hikes to beaches, windmills, and olive groves, with frequent stops to snorkel, sunbathe, and enjoy taverna life!

We even caught up with Ross & Lauren who stayed with us at “The Lookout” about 5 years ago, and they just happened to be on Paxos at the same time as us – it’s a small world.

Towards the end of the trip, we visited tiny Antipaxos to enjoy the clearest and bluest water in the world.  And then, to top it all, a pod of dolphins came out to play as we took the slow ferry back to Corfu Town – just magic!

Where will our travels take us next summer?

ANTIPAXOS

 

 

EXCITING TIMES AHEAD FOR SVG

Without question, there has been a “Sandal’s effect” in SVG.  Since launching their flagship resort with overwater bungalows back in March 2024, there has been a 300% increase in flight arrivals into Argyle International Airport (AIA).

The first additional flights came in December 2024, with American Airlines introducing a new route from New York (JFK) to St. Vincent once a week.

Also in December, the same airline commenced another new route from Charlotte, North Carolina to St. Vincent, again once a week.

Then soon after, there was a real game-changer with Jet Blue starting flights from New York (JFK)  into AIA twice weekly on Wednesdays & Sundays.

Momentum continues with a new route from Atlanta, Georgia direct to St. Vincent daily.  This will commence from 20th December 2025 with Delta airlines.

Having more than 100,000 overnight visitors for the first time in its history, SVG now has to ramp up the number of rooms available for tourists.  This has certainly been high on the government agenda and, “hot of the press”, it has been announced that a new Marriot Hotel is coming, as well as a half a billion dollar “Beaches” resort (the same company as Sandal’s).  There will also be a resort development on beautiful Cumberland Bay.  All these properties will be on the mainland of St. Vincent.  Finally, Palm Island resort has been re-built following destruction in Hurricane Beryl, so this will re-launch on the tiny Grenadine island in the far south of the country. 

As you can see, Bequia retains its authenticity with mainly independent guest-house & villa style accommodation dominating the options for overnight stays.  So the island’s visitors will gain all the benefit of flight options, with the reassurance that Bequia remains refreshingly undeveloped.

Not surprisingly, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has been named as one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the Caribbean for the first half of 2025, recording a 17.3% increase in visitor arrivals, compared to the same period in 2024.  This is according to the latest Caribbean Tourism Organization performance report.

 

THE LOOKOUT SEASON 7!

One holiday down here in paradise back in 2017, we clearly drank too much rum punch and bought a run-down dwelling on a hill above Lower Bay.

After a character-building remodel & renovation of the entire property & grounds (which took over 14 months), we hosted our first guests in January 2019.  It's been so rewarding to meet wonderful, like-minded people from all over the world who have chosen to visit our little piece of paradise and provide such encouraging feedback and positive reviews!

And here we are, about to welcome happy, smiley guests for season 7! 

We continue to set our standards impeccably high.

We don't just renovate "The Lookout" every 3 or 5 years, we spend two months EVERY single year.

We paint, we varnish, we sand, we maintain, we replace, we check, we improve.

This means that you can be reassured that our apartments live up to the glossy photos on our website & social media.

In fact, most guests remark that the place looks even better in the flesh.

Internally, our apartments have a modern, bright & clean look with some clever design touches. 

We have just completed a total internal paint job and partial external touch up, so the apartments look brand new once again.  The outside deck areas have also been sanded and varnished, ready for guests to sunbathe and pull up a chair to enjoy the best sunset spot on island! We have also invested in new fan controls, serviced the air-conditioning units, and replaced & improved lighting systems.

And there’s still time to swap cold weather & dark nights, for sun, rum & fun!

We are aiming to re-open mid-November 2025.

Both our apartments are almost fully booked between Christmas & Easter.

However, we are welcoming enquiries for stays from mid-Nov through to Christmas, and from late March into April & May.

 

Take a look at our live calendars & rates here;

https://thelookoutbequia.com/rates-and-reservations.php

 

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL 

If that’s not enough to keep us busy, we have a post-Beryl project at the estate that we manage on Mount Pleasant. 

New rooves were manufactured and shipped from Indonesia and are now in place.  We are currently in the process of fixing up the electrical system, replacing & re-building furniture, painting & plastering, sanding & varnishing, re-tiling the pool, and much more! 

We hope to get that property back to its former glory ready for early 2026 – watch this space!

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DON'T BE A STRANGER

If you are considering a dream trip to Bequia this winter, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.  As you can see below, getting hold of us can be done in quite a number of ways, so there’s no excuse!

Follow us on social media and share our beautiful island content. 

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/The-Lookout-Villa-Bequia-284750105603349/

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You can message us using these platforms or simply drop us an e-mail or WhatsApp or fill in the contact form on our website.

E-mail: louise@thelookoutbequia.com

WhatsApp:  +1 784 527 2377

Contact Form:  https://thelookoutbequia.com/contact-us.php

 

 

Sending sunshine & warm wishes,

Chris & Louise x