A 7-day Grenadines yacht charter itinerary from St Vincent or Grenada: Bequia, Mustique, the Tobago Cays and Carriacou, with clearance and anchoring tips.
A 7-day Grenadines charter itinerary runs the chain from St Vincent or Bequia south through Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau and the Tobago Cays to Union Island. It is the ground that most closely matches what people picture when they say “the Caribbean”: small islands close together, almost no marinas, and a horseshoe reef with nothing behind it but the Atlantic.
A Grenadines yacht charter strings together some of the Caribbean's best-protected anchorages, from Bequia and Mustique down to the Tobago Cays, Union Island and Carriacou.
The passages are the shortest of any Caribbean ground, so the planning work is fees, clearance and mooring availability rather than routing. This guide covers how crews sequence the week, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.
The season is December to April, with February the most settled and the Christmas and Easter weeks the busiest. The Grenadines sit far enough south that the northerly swell that troubles the Leewards in midwinter has much less effect, which is one of the ground's quiet advantages. The trades blow steadily from the east at 15 to 20 knots and the water between the islands is more open than in the Virgins — short hops, but real Caribbean sea in between.
This is not a marina cruising ground. Bequia, Mustique and the Cays are anchorages and mooring fields; Canouan and Union have limited facilities. Provision fully before you come down, and plan for a week that is almost entirely at anchor.
1. Decide where the week starts and ends
Most charters run one-way from St Vincent or Bequia in the north to Union Island in the south, or continue into Grenadian waters via Petit St Vincent and Carriacou. St Vincent's Argyle International and Union Island's airstrip serve the northern and southern ends, and Grenada works for a longer charter. Running north to south puts the trades behind you.
2. Understand that Grenada is a different country
St Vincent and the Grenadines covers Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays and Union Island. Carriacou, Petit Martinique and Grenada are a separate nation with their own clearance. A week that crosses that line needs clearing out at Clifton on Union Island and in at Hillsborough on Carriacou — a straightforward morning if planned, a lost half-day if not.
3. Budget and book the Tobago Cays properly
The Tobago Cays Marine Park is the centrepiece of the week and it charges by the head and by the mooring. Yacht, charter boat and pleasure boat guests pay $15 per person to enter; moorings — inside the park, at park anchoring, in Clifton Harbour and at Salt Whistle Bay — run $60 per 24 hours. Day charter operators pay $200 a month or $2,000 a year. Barbecue permits on the beach run $25 for up to ten people and $45 above that, and filming or wedding permits are $500.
No anchoring in coral or seagrass; moorings where provided and sand where not. A five-knot speed limit, no fishing and no touching coral. No bilge or wastewater discharge, and no pets ashore. Scuba only with a registered local dive operator. Lobster may not be bought during the closed season from 1 May to 31 August.
4. Treat Mustique as its own set of rules
Mustique is privately administered and works on moorings rather than free anchoring, with a limited number available and a booking process through the island. It is the one stop on the week that genuinely cannot be improvised, and guests who have heard of Mustique will ask for it, so establish availability before it appears in the itinerary.
5. Build the middle of the week around the reef
Between Tobago Cays, Mayreau's Salt Whistle Bay, Canouan and Petit St Vincent there is more good water than days. Give the Cays two nights rather than one — the turtle grass, the Horseshoe Reef snorkelling and the beach barbecue are the week's highlight and a day trip wastes them. Then use Mayreau and PSV as the quiet counterweight.
In Guest Trip: custom saved locations with draggable pins let the crew keep their own library of Grenadines anchorages and reuse them across the season.
6. Layer the onboard programme onto the route
Provision in St Vincent or bring it with the yacht; the islands south of Bequia are limited and expensive. Plan the ashore evenings for Bequia and Clifton, the beach barbecue for the Cays (with the permit), and the rest aboard. This is a snorkelling and watersports week rather than a dining one — set that expectation with guests early, because it is the ground's strength, not a shortfall.
7. Publish it as a live page
A Grenadines week moves for mooring availability and for the occasional squally day. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit rather than a PDF that dates on day two.
In Guest Trip: the itinerary publishes as a PIN-protected, branded guest site and can be updated mid-charter without re-sending.
Day 1. Embark St Vincent; passage to Bequia; Admiralty Bay and dinner ashore. About 15 nautical miles, 1 hour. Day 2. Bequia: Princess Margaret Beach, the model boat shops; afternoon run to Mustique. About 8 nautical miles, 1 hour. Day 3. Mustique on a mooring: Macaroni Beach, Basil's Bar; evening aboard. Alongside the island. Day 4. South to the Tobago Cays; snorkelling on Horseshoe Reef, turtles in the grass beds. About 15 nautical miles. Day 5. Second Cays day: beach barbecue on Petit Bateau (permit), toys in the lagoon. None. Day 6. Mayreau for Salt Whistle Bay, then Petit St Vincent or Palm Island. About 2 to 6 nautical miles. Day 7. Union Island: clear out at Clifton, or continue to Carriacou; disembarkation brief. Short hops
Total steaming for the week is under 50 nautical miles. Extending to Carriacou adds about 12 miles and a clearance; continuing to Grenada adds a 40-mile day.
Choose the cruising area first, then match the yacht, route and season to it. Plan island-to-island hops in cruising hours rather than straight-line miles, keep most passages to two to four hours, and sail with the prevailing wind where you can. Check clearance rules wherever the route crosses a border.
Pick one cruising ground that suits the guests and the season. Plan each hop by realistic passage time and sea state, not distance alone. Book busy anchorages or mooring areas early, with a backup for each. Allow for customs and immigration between countries, such as St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Keep one flexible day for weather.
The finished route can then be shared with guests as a digital itinerary with sea-route maps, for example with Guest Trip.
St Vincent and Grenada are the usual bases, which suits a one-way route through the chain. Starting in St Vincent means sailing with the trade winds as you head south. A one-way route crosses between St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, so plan clearance at Union Island or Carriacou.
Yacht, charter boat and pleasure boat guests pay $15 per person to enter the park. Moorings cost $60 per 24 hours, inside the park, at park anchoring, in Clifton Harbour and at Salt Whistle Bay. Beach barbecue permits run $25 for up to ten people and $45 for larger groups.
Yes. St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada are separate countries. Clear out at Clifton on Union Island and in at Hillsborough on Carriacou, or the reverse, and plan a morning for it.
Only on sand, and only where moorings are not provided. Anchoring in coral or seagrass is prohibited, the speed limit is five knots, fishing is not permitted, and scuba diving must be with a registered local operator. Rangers patrol and collect fees on the water.
Around 23 nautical miles via Mustique, usually split over two or three days. Bequia to Mustique is about 8 miles, and Mustique to the Cays about 15. Within the southern group the hops are shorter still — Tobago Cays to Mayreau is roughly two miles.
Park fees, moorings and the two-country clearance attached to the day they belong to.
Custom pins for the Cays, Salt Whistle Bay and the sand patches you have used before.
Short legs drawn on navigable water down the chain, with an overview chart for guests.
Change a night when a mooring is gone, without re-sending a PDF.
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Hold park fees and clearances against the day, pin the anchorages you trust, and publish a guest-ready site under your own brand.