Spent a night anchored off Tony Gibbons Beach. We were not met by any boat boys. We were not directed to any buoys. Customs closed for lunch but opened punctually at 13:00 Both the customs lady and immigration man were friendly and helpful. They did not want any crew lists. They stamped our (EU) passports with six-month visas.

Customs cost about EC$ 75 and immigration was free. They took payment in Euros. The whole process took about 15 minutes and no one minded that we both came. The locals are really friendly and no one pressured us to buy anything. A SIM card for 30 days with 8GB of data was about EC$110 and they installed and activated it. Welcome to paradise

There are some taxi drivers, that can take you for a 1-hour tour on the island.
We didn’t know that they also want a tip at the end (extra for the payment).

So, because we didn’t tip the driver he told the navy that we have illegal drugs on board.

The navy took us from a restaurant, where we ate, to the boat and searched for an hour… after it, they release us back to shore…
It was really unpleasant!

Bequia
We arrived in Admiralty Bay in late December 2017. It was very busy here with lots of boat boys competing to help you take one of their buoys. We decided to anchor and anchored below the monument, good holding but you need to drop the anchor in a sandy patch.

We stayed here 4 days at anchor and then took a mooring buoy for another 4 days, owned by Mr Blue Sky. It cost $40 EC per night and they were good mooring buoys – we checked them and they are concrete based.

Groceries:
Doris’s food store was expensive, best left for special occasions.
Good supplies at the xxxx supermarket and they have a hardware store on the first floor.

Laundry by Daffodil, 3 large loads (including sheets, beach towels, clothes) with next day return for just $75EC – VERY impressed. They will also take your garbage for $5EC. There is no recycling here for sailors, except on the streets for general use.

You can negotiate when buying at the street fruit/veg stores, ask the price first before agreeing to purchase or you will get stung.
I forgot my flip flops, so had to buy some – the price started at $30EC and I got them down to $15.

Food and drinks:
The Plantation Hotel has a lovely bar and restaurant, friendly staff and not too expensive. Go during happy hour.
We went to Maria’s cafe but were disappointed by the service.
Good food and service at Mac’s.

Services:
Gas (LPG) can be refilled by Dockside Marine and we collected the next day. They were very helpful and gave directions to other places that may have had spares we needed.

We really liked this place, such a lovely feel to it. We did a trip around the island for $70 USD for 4 people. Went to the historic canon site, the top of the hill and the turtle sanctuary (disappointing, apparently it’s better when the owner is there to explain things).

Customs is open every day, including Sunday. We arrived Saturday evening and waited on the boat until Monday morning to check in. They were NOT happy with us. They said we could be fined up to 5000 EC, but he let it go this time. We won’t make that mistake again.

Update on Moorings by Chris Doyle via St Vincent and the Grenadines Cruisers Facebook Page:

Most guys in Bequia are now charging $60 EC a night for their balls (and whatever may happen to lie underneath them). Remember they are not regulated, have no legal standing so unless you check them with mask and snorkel there is no guarantee of reliability.

Tobago Cays Marine Park is now running the moorings in Salt Whistle Bay, the same charge. These are new so should be OK but you would be very wise to check for yourself.

Jeff has given more details about this burglary in a report posted adjacent dated June 2013.