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LOCATIONS 

Port Elizabeth/ Admiralty Bay
 
Belmont

Princess Margaret Beach

Lower Bay

See also Island Tour

Spring and Industry
 
Mount Pleasant
 
Friendship

Moonhole

 

lower bay beach
Lower Bay
 Although much of Bequia's activity has always been centred around the deep water harbour and protected shores of Admiralty Bay, there are a number of other locations and communities on the island which have their own, equally distinctive character. 

Here is a short guide which may help you decide where on the island you would like to stay. Each location is delightful so you really can't go wrong!
 
Click here for Island Map

PORT ELIZABETH

The heart of Bequia, along the shores of the harbour in Admiralty Bay, is its capital Port Elizabeth - the main location for shops of all types, mostly clustered along "Front Street". New signposts, installed by the Bequia Tourism Association, will help you find your way around.

Here in "de Harbour" you will find grocery stores and delicatessens, fishing supplies, hardware, marine chandleries, model boat builders, pharmacy, travel agent, banks, vegetable market, t-shirt market, bars, restaurants, boutiques, and gift shops, as well as Post Office, Customs & Immigration, Police Station and Hospital. (Port Elizabeth map) Accommodation is available at very reasonable rates.

The main dock in the centre of the town bustles with activity when the ferries arrive and unload their passengers and daily supplies. Everything, from building supplies to groceries, arrives by boat. The Bequia Tourism Association office is located at the end of the main jetty. 

The town gets sleepy in the hot afternoon sunshine, and a few stores close at lunchtime. More chandleries, sail lofts, canvas makers, model boat builders and marine and fishing supplies are located in Ocar Reform, just north of the town centre towards the small village of Hamilton, and are served by their own convenient dinghy dock. 

BTA 2017 sign
The new signposts in Bequia

BELMONT
walkway admiralty bay

belmont bequia

The Belmont Walkway, which runs from Port Elizabeth right along the southern side of the bay, takes you to several delightful small hotels, apartments, gift shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and dive shops, all situated right by the water's edge. 

A popular and convenient location to stay, within easy reach of the main beaches, and the centre of activity in the evenings. 
The location of Belmont itself runs from the water's edge up inland, and is mainly residential. 

PRINCESS MARGARET BEACH

Just beyond the Belmont Walkway and its bustle of shops and restaurants is the beautiful, secluded and as yet totally unspoilt Princess Margaret beach - so named because Princess Margaret once swam there!

Access is by water taxi or down a steep road/track off the main road, or by using the Belmont Coastal Trail, which is an extension of the newly restored Belmont Walkway. This path now runs all the way from Port Elizabeth to Princess Margaret Beach.

Bequia
Princess Margaret Beach

LOWER BAY
Situated on the leeward side, within the protection of Admiralty Bay. A broad sweep of glorious golden sand and a sleepy fishing village at the bay's southern end are just part of what makes Lower Bay the only place to stay for many visitors. 
Small informal guest houses, a friendly hotel, rental villas and lots of apartments provide a wide range of accommodation. A selection of bars and restaurants, local grocery shop, a bakery, and a fresh produce outlet provide for all daily needs - ask a fisherman if he has some fish for you! Many times there's music and a lively social scene at the beach bar, but always enough wide beach for you to find your own quiet spot. 

Just beware of the clearly marked manchineel trees - their shade may look tempting but their fruit is poisonous, and the sap can cause a very severe skin reaction. Never shelter under one when it is raining! 

view lower bay bequia
  Lower Bay looking towards the harbour

SPRING AND INDUSTRY
North east of Port Elizabeth are the lush green meadows and hills of Spring - formerly a sugar plantation, now with a small hotel and working fruit plantation, and home to groups of cows and sheep grazing amidst swaying coconut palms.
 
A number of long stay visitors and residents have built homes high up in the hills overlooking Spring Bay, and a selection of these villas are also available for rent. 

East facing for spectacular sunrises and cooled by Atlantic breezes, Spring is the ideal location for visitors seeking peace, tranquility and spectacular natural beauty.
 

industry bay bequia

Industry Bay and beach

spring beach bequia

                                                    Spring Bay
 
 

 

The next bay north from Spring is Industry, site of another former plantation, with hidden ruins and verdant meadows to prove it.

A stone-built restaurant and guest house nestles right by the unspoilt arc of beach, known locally as Crescent Beach. Set above the road looking down on the bay, are one or two more villas to rent and a small hotel - with nothing else but the sound of the sea and the birds to disturb the beauty of this unique spot on the island.

MOUNT PLEASANT
Another get-away-from-it all spot, this highland area of Bequia is a patchwork of tropical forest on the steep sheltered leeward approach from Belmont, densely wooded valleys, and open moorland at the summit. 
The slopes contain a mixture of smaller older houses and larger, newer homes with sweeping views. A small selection of villas and apartments to rent, and a fascinating and romantic stone built inn, recreating an old plantation house, provide a welcome oasis from the bustle in the harbour. 

There is a small general store with restaurant and bar which serves the whole community, and entertains with occasional local string band music in season.

mount pleasant top bequia
Photo courtesy Lynn McKamey

FRIENDSHIP BAY
friendship bay

A sheltered south-facing bay on the island's windward side, with a broad golden sweep of sand beach. The area is dotted with small houses, rental apartments and villas, and a luxury boutique hotel with restaurant and bars right on the beach. 

The western end of Friendship beach reaches the village of La Pompe above; fishing boats are drawn up on the beach, and life proceeds here at a leisurely pace. "Gumboat" building and racing is serious sport along these shores and most Sunday's you'll see these large model boats on a course from the airport to Friendship Bay. 

MOONHOLE
On the westernmost tip of the island, far beyond the airport and reached by a dusty track behind the beach, lies the unique community of Moonhole - a private development of over twenty homes and rental villas, literally built in, and out of, the rocks.

This singular location, with its beautiful private white sand beach is the ultimate in simple escapism and seclusion.
moonhole view
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