Ferry from St. Vincent to Bequia

[San Diego Ellie]

I have checked the schedule for the public ferries from St. Vincent to Bequia, and they are reasonable and frequent enough to work for our day in St. Vincent on our Grand Princess cruise. I am just wondering if anyone has taken these public ferries, and if so, how they were?

 

The Princess excursion to Bequia for the day is $300 for two of us, and doing it ourselves and taking a cab to tour Bequia is a small fraction of that, so it is appealing.

[Aplmac]

As I remember them, the Bequia ferries are rudimentary local affairs

which is probably why I never took one. :D

Rusty steel hulls, or older schooners.

 

 

Please know that there are days (high winds/waves in Jan. Feb. March) where the ferry will depart OK

but go no further than just beyond the protective points

assess overwhelming seas in the channel, and return pronto. :eek:

i.e. No ferry service until the seas mellow enough to try it again.

 

 

I've been over the Bequia channel in a 20 ft. powerboat, in swells 15 ft. high..:cool:

Not a pretty sight! Wouldn't do it again. And yes, it was a February.

 

 

Don't let any of this put you off if you want to do it..I'm just preparing you for 'local' conditions onboard

and the possibility of sudden discontinuation of service(that day).

In other words, if you notice it's been windy and swell-y for the last 2 days or so, on your big 800ft. cruise ship

there's a chance the Bequia Channel will be too rough for the 80 ft. ferries to cross.

.

[scapel]

We are a party of two couples that will be visiting Bequia in October of 2010. Does anyone here have any idea or suggestion on how to make contact with a guide for a tour of the Island.

[curiousx]

In addition to the regular ferry services (Admiral and Bequia Express) between St. Vincent and Bequia, there is now a fast ferry, the Jaden Sun, that operates Monday to Friday and should cut travel time by half. http://jadeninc.com/ferry/schedule/.

 

I've often taken the regular ferries (including Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) and, in fact, love arriving in Bequia on them - all part of the island experience. If the seas are rough, a half tablet of gravol (dramamine), taken 20 minutes or so before departure, can be helpful.

 

For an island guide, contact Noel Ollivierre http://jeeprentals.bequia.net/. I've used him for years.

[curiousx]

p.s. sadly the old schooner, Friendship Rose, that used to be about the only reliable ferry service, is now no longer in this role. On the upside, she has been totally refurbished and is now doing fabulous day sails to Mustique and the Tobago Cays.

 

http://www.friendshiprose.com/