VACATIONS FROM HOME: ST VINCENT ROAD TRIP

LIFE BEYOND THE RESORT
Desci and me

There are several ways to enjoy a trip to a Sandals resort. Many people enjoy the “resort experience”, which usually involves lazing about on chaises either poolside or at the beach for hours; the inert position only interrupted by several trips to a swim-up bar to order a wacky drink concoctions like a “Dirty Banana” or a “Mudslide”. Relaxing and enjoying the resort’s entertainment is an added plus, but let’s face it, the drink is more important.

We have been known to indulge in this experience.

Another pastime at a Sandals resort is free scuba diving available to those who are certified, and we do take advantage of this perk. We got PADI certified during our stays with Sandals. There was a cost for the initial certification, but now it’s all free.

EVERYTHING IN MODERATION

Between these two “activities” the days are filled. Drinking to excess, especially on the first day, can lead to the loss of clothing and embarrassing evenings, and will put a crimp on enjoying a scuba diving excursion the next morning.

Janet and me

For us there is always a delicate balance of indulging in “rum” and trying to go diving as often as possible while at a Sandals.

So, to mitigate this “problem” we plan an exploratory “road-trip” of the island in the middle of our stay.

THE JACKAL & THE CYW IAR HUDOL

Since we met them in Grenada in 2022, we have arranged to stay at several other Sandals resorts. The four of us have been to Curacao, Barbados, St Lucia and now, St Vincent. On each of these stays at a Sandals we collaborated on a road trip that explored the island.

Now, Janet is very good at planning details, but with the addition of the “Jackal” to our VFH team our experiences have blossomed. Hunting for deals with the veracity of an alpha pack leader the Jackal and Janet have forged a formidable bond. Along with the Jackal’s stoic partner we four have traveled well together.

Obviously, we are only sharing their code names because we don’t want to share this information. For instance, the Jackal found the Bequia Plantation Hotel, something Janet missed. It was a perfect visit.

The Jackal’s stoic partner goes by many names. He often goes by Cyw iâr hud, or in some corners of this world el Pollo Mago.

A mysterious, but malleable character, he will do anything the Jackal commands, except go diving, or eat lobster.

NECCESSITY

Sainted followers of this blog know we here at VFH Central are constantly trying to do things on the cheap and this is where Janet and Jackal excel. One could easily just tramp down to the tour office at any Sandals and arrange an off-campus sojourn, but they charge a lot.

So, we (Janet and the Jackal) search for drivers to take us on personalized tours.

First, the mooching mavens get on the Facebook Sandals community chat group for the resort we are visiting and see what people are recommending seeing on the island and get ideas as who we should hire.

Then, they contact the driver directly using WhatsApp, the go-to messaging service used a lot in foreign countries. We used it in Vietnam, Thailand and throughout the Caribbean.

Then they personalize the tour, going over different options with the selected driver as to where to go, and then setting the date and time.

On St Vincent we (Janet and the Jackal) not only selected the driver and laid out a tour of the island but also arranged for another driver to get us from the airport to the ferry and later the resort using the recommendations culled from the FB chat room.

The beauty of this process is that we are not limited to the tours Sandals offers and can pick and choose according to our interests.

For me, that’s a lot of work. It’s tough enough to make sure the frig is stocked with beer.

SVG RECOMMENDATIONS

ST VINCENT ROADS

I figure you might feel the same way about this unwieldy process, so here’s our hires on St Vincent.

For our transportation from airport to ferry to resort on St Vincent we hired Stefano Taxi Service & Tours and his small fleet of drivers. Extremely gracious and friendly and reliable, the trip to the ferry from the airport was a tight connection, but he managed to get us there while still pointing out beautiful vistas and giving us a quick history of the island. Highly recommend: 17845319367 or 17844989367 or

STEFANO TAXI SVG

Desci’s Taxi and Tours Fun day-long trip around the island with Desci. Her tour included whimsical tales about the 2021 volcano eruption of La Soufriere that sits ominously in the north and the subsequent clean-up of all the accumulated ash. One cannot drive completely around St Vincent because of the volcano. As she easily navigated the narrow twisting roads on the left side of the road, we listened white-knuckled to tidbits about St Vincent, like how people on the island will paint their houses in new bright colors nearly every year for Christmas celebrations.

Part of the tour included a trip to the park at Black Point Tunnel. The tunnel was carved by the British to transport sugar cane from the fields to the port. Most importantly though there was a grammar school field day going on and we watched the kids in several races.

We also toured the St Vincent Distillery and sampled a lot of rum, including their Sunset Very Strong Rum. At 84.5% you can’t bring this rum home with you unless it’s in your belly.

SVG NATIONAL PARKS

Highly recommend Descilla Samuel: 1-784-431-4072 or

DESCI TAXI AND TOURS

Tell them we (the Jackal and Janet) sent you.

Thanks for reading,

Love Janet and greg