| Island name: Union Island
Country: St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Attraction: Union Island offers great hiking, beautiful deserted
beaches and a bustling town, Clifton Harbour, from where the day charter
yachts depart.
Population: 9 est.).
Size: 5 km x 1.5 km (3 x 1 miles).
Terrain: mountainous, dry and rocky, covered in thorny scrub
and dotted with cacti, the consequence of decades of foraging by free ranging
goats.
Climate: tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy
season (May to November).
|
|
|
|
Overview: Union Island is the Southernmost of the Grenadines and
a famous stopping-off point for yachtsmen from all over the world. Due
to its dramatic silhouette, Union is also called by some the Tahiti of
the West Indies. Its location just a few miles from the Tobago Cays,
Mayreau and Petit St. Vincent has made it the ideal starting point for
day charters to these islands.
The island has a small airport and is easily accessible from Barbados,
Carriacou, Grenada and Martinique. Because of that we usually suggest starting
a crewed yacht charter in Bequia or St. Vincent and disembarking in Union
Island. This way you get to see most of the Grenadines in a relatively
short time.
Union Island is the entrance to the southern Grenadines, especially
the Tobago Cays. Many tourists fly in for one day from other West Indian
islands for aquatic adventures in the Grenadines.
Union Island has some superb beaches, the best is Big Sand beach. Beach
lovers will also enjoy Chatham Bay on the west coast, Bloody Bay on the
northwest coast, and Richmond Bay on the north coast. Snorkellers will
find good conditions on Lagoon Reef, which protects most of the southern
coast of the island, especially around Frigate Island, just offshore from
Ashton.
Union is untouched by tourism and very relaxed; it has more beach front
inns than cars. The main town is Clifton Harbor, where the St. Vincent
Tourist Bureau maintains an office. Ashton, another small town, is still
in walking distance, but only few tourists make it to here.
Weather today: click
here for weather forecast.
Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad
and Tobago.
Geographic coordinates: 13 15 N, 61 12 W.
Highest point: Mount Parnassus, 275m (900ft).
Mt. Toboi at nearly 1,000 feet is the highest peak in the Grenadines.
Airports: .
Accommodations:
Sports:
Credit cards:
Hotels
Anchorage Yacht Club, Clifton, 12 rooms, CP,
$110-$150, Tel: 784 458 8221, Fax: 784 458 8365.
Clifton Beach Hotel and Guest House, 17 rooms,
MAP, $47-85, Tel: 784 458 8235, Fax: 784 458 8235.
Sunny Grenadines Hotel, 18 rooms, MAP, $85, Tel:
784 458 8327, Fax: 784 458 8398.
Apartments
ALIYAH´s APARTMENTS
The Cays Apartments, PO Box 748, Richmond Bay,
T4574090, F4574266.
Clifton Cottages, 10 rooms, EP, $50-$125, Tel:
784 458 8235, Fax: 784 458 8235.
Clifton Guest House, 4 rooms, EP, $25-$60, Tel:
784 458 8235, Fax: 784 458 8235.
Lambie's Guest House, Clifton, 14 rooms, EP,
$19-$28, Tel: 784 458 8549, Fax: 784 458 8395.
The Cays Apartments, 5 rooms, $55-$85, Tel: 784
457 4090, Fax: 784 457 4266.
Restaurants
Anchorage Yacht Club Restaurant, Clifton, French/Creole,
Tel: 784 458 8221, VHF 16 and 68.
Clifton Beach Hotel Restaurant, Tel: 784 458
8235, Fax 784 458 8235, VHF 16.
Lambi's Restaurant, Casual, Tel: 784 458 8549
/ 8395.
Sydney's, Creole/Snacks/Pasta, Tel 784 458 8262.
T&N, Light fare/West Indian.
|