Two minutes by boat from the southern coast of St. Vincent sits Young Island, a 13-acre private island resort where the signature drinking hole floats just offshore. Guests swim out from the beach, haul themselves up onto the Coconut Bar, and order the house speciality — the Coconut Delight, served in a fresh coconut — while boats slip through the nearby channel. It's the kind of detail that ends up defining the whole trip.
The resort is a deliberate throwback. There are just 29 cottages, each with wicker furniture, local artwork, wooden louvres that open to the breeze, a private patio and an open-air garden shower. Accommodation ranges from Superior Cottages near the shoreline to Deluxe Suites with big patios and Luxury Suites with separate sitting rooms — some with private plunge pools. One practical catch: not every cottage has air-conditioning, so confirm it when booking, and ask about location, since a hillside cottage and a beachfront one deliver very different stays.
Food is served in open-air, thatched-roof huts beside the sand, blending Caribbean and Continental cooking built around fresh fish and local produce. The quirk worth remembering: six house-baked breads daily — coconut, banana, cinnamon, raisin, white and wheat. The weekly rhythm includes a Sunday curry buffet and a Saturday barbecue, with four-course dinners otherwise. Mind the dress code in the evenings: long trousers and collared shirts for men, no shorts, swimwear or jeans.
Getting there is simple. You fly into St. Vincent's Argyle International Airport, transfer by road to the resort dock and board the private ferry for the short crossing. St. Vincent stays visible across the water the whole time, so day trips are easy — Kingstown's market, rainforest walks and waterfalls are all within reach, and independent dive operators run trips from the main island. On Young Island itself, the northern tip of the Grenadines chain, days revolve around complimentary kayaks and snorkel gear, a lagoon pool, hilltop walking trails, a tennis court and, of course, that swim to the bar.
Why it matters: as the Caribbean fills with large-scale resorts, genuinely small, characterful islands like this are getting scarce. Young Island suits couples and anyone after a low-key, unplugged holiday — the kind where you know the paths by day two and have a favourite seat, possibly in the water. Come for the coconut bread, stay for the swim-up bar.
