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The 95 nautical mile arc from Young Island Cut off St Vincent down to Petit St Vincent in the southern Grenadines, with the Tobago Cays Marine Park in the middle, is the most repeatable Caribbean week below the latitude of Antigua. The 2026 Tobago Cays Marine Park fee is $10 per person per day. The Mustique Company mooring fee is $200 to $400 per night depending on yacht size, plus $75 per person for shore landing. The captain who runs this chain in February at 14 knots covers the longest single leg of the week (Mustique to the Tobago Cays) in 90 minutes.
The week works because the Grenadines is geographically compact. Bequia to Petit St Vincent is 35 nautical miles by direct line. Between those two points sit Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, and the Tobago Cays Marine Park. The forecast risk is the trade winds, which run 18 to 25 knots from the east-northeast in the December to April peak. The route hugs the leeward sides of the islands and the long passages are open beam reaches in stable conditions. This is the Caribbean charter that delivers on the brief.
This page is the week: the customs sequence, the four anchorages worth the night, the Mustique landing economics, and what we would change.
The geography and the customs sequence
The Grenadines is a chain of islands and cays divided between two sovereign nations. The northern Grenadines (Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, the Tobago Cays) are part of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The southern islands (Petit St Vincent, Petite Martinique, Carriacou) are part of Grenada. The maritime border runs between Union Island and Petite Martinique.
A 7-day charter that touches both sides requires clearance in and out of St Vincent and clearance in and out of Grenada. The customs offices are:
St Vincent: Young Island Cut customs (Blue Lagoon), Wallilabou (north St Vincent), Bequia (Port Elizabeth).
Grenada: Carriacou (Hillsborough or Tyrrel Bay), Petite Martinique (no formal customs, must clear at Carriacou first).
The captain who runs the route correctly clears St Vincent inbound at Young Island or Blue Lagoon on Saturday afternoon, clears Bequia or skips on the route south, clears Grenada inbound at Carriacou before any night at Petit St Vincent, then clears Grenada outbound and St Vincent inbound on the return north. The double-clearance adds 90 minutes to the week. The captain pre-files with the agent (Bequia Marine Services or similar) and the times shrink.
If the route stays in St Vincent waters (Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Tobago Cays, Union Island), no Grenada clearance is required. This is the simpler week. The Petit St Vincent and Petite Martinique stops require the Grenada clearance.
The Tobago Cays Marine Park, in 2026
The Tobago Cays is the centerpiece. Five small uninhabited cays (Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac, Jamesby) ringed by Horseshoe Reef, with turtle grass anchorages on the leeward side and the Atlantic surf on the windward side. The marine park is administered by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Marine Parks Authority and the rules are:
Fee: $10 per person per day for the foreign-flagged commercial yacht with guests, paid to the park ranger on entry.
Anchoring: prohibited on coral. The park has installed a mooring field on the leeward side of Baradal and a sand-anchor zone south of Petit Bateau. The captain anchors in 5m to 8m of sand only, with the rangers enforcing.
Snorkel zones: marked. The turtle reserve at Baradal is the primary attraction. The fish reserve at Horseshoe Reef is the secondary.
Overnight: permitted. A second-night surcharge applies on the mooring field.
The Tobago Cays is consistently the best half-day of any Caribbean charter week. The turtle dive at Baradal at 09:30, before the day-boats arrive from Union, delivers reliable green turtle sightings. The lobster lunch on Petit Bateau organized through the rangers (book on arrival) is $40 per person and includes the boatman bringing the catch ashore for the grill. The Tobago Cays is the strongest single anchorage in the Caribbean charter map. The trade is that everyone knows it.
The Mustique landing economics
Mustique is a private island owned by the Mustique Company, with 100 villas, the Cotton House hotel, and a small village (Lovell). The island is exclusive in a literal sense: shore access is controlled, the moorings are administered by the Mustique Company, and the daily fees are deliberate.
The 2026 mooring fee: $200 to $400 per night depending on yacht LOA, paid in advance through the agent or directly at the Mustique Company office above Britannia Bay. The landing fee: $75 per person per day for shore access. The mooring field at Britannia Bay holds yachts to approximately 50m on the inner moorings and 75m on the outer. The mooring assignments are first-come, first-served with priority for repeat clients of the Cotton House and the villa rental program.
The afternoon at Mustique works like this: anchor or moor at Britannia Bay, tender ashore, walk or take a Mule (the island's electric carts) to Macaroni Beach (the windward side, $40 cab one way), drinks at Basil's Bar on Britannia Bay, dinner at the Cotton House dining room (reservation required, no walk-ins). Macaroni Beach in mid-afternoon is the recurring Mustique image, the sand white, the water turquoise, the Atlantic open to the east. The reefs offshore knock the swell down.
The Cotton House dining room runs four nights a week in season. Basil's is open every night. The Wednesday-night jump-up at Basil's, when it runs, is the social anchor for the island's villa charter clients and is the only time charter clients reliably meet the Mustique long-haulers.
The 7-day route, north to south, single-flag (St Vincent only)
The simplest version. No Grenada clearance.
Day 1, Saturday: Embark Young Island Cut. Run 8 nautical miles south to Bequia (Admiralty Bay). Overnight on the hook at Princess Margaret Beach. Dinner aboard or ashore at L'Auberge des Grenadines.
Day 2, Sunday: Bequia day. Tender to Port Elizabeth for the market, walk to the Whaling Museum, lunch at Mac's Pizzeria (the original) or the Plantation House. Late afternoon shift south to Mustique (15 nautical miles). Pick up mooring at Britannia Bay. Sunset at Basil's.
Day 3, Monday: Mustique day. Macaroni Beach in the morning, lunch at the Cotton House, Britannia Bay afternoon, dinner at Basil's. Overnight Mustique mooring.
Day 4, Tuesday: Mustique to Tobago Cays (20 nautical miles south, the long passage of the week). Anchor at Baradal in 5m to 8m sand. Snorkel the turtle reserve, lobster lunch ashore. Overnight Tobago Cays.
Day 5, Wednesday: Tobago Cays to Mayreau (5 nautical miles west). Anchor at Salt Whistle Bay or Saline Bay. Lunch on the hook, walk to the windward side. Afternoon back to the Tobago Cays for a second look or run to Union Island for an evening at Janti's beach bar at Happy Island. Overnight Union (Clifton) or back at the Cays.
Day 6, Thursday: Union to Canouan (12 nautical miles north). Anchor at Charlestown Bay or the new Glossy Bay marina if the yacht needs alongside. Lunch at the Pink Sands Club, afternoon at Saline Bay (Canouan, not Mayreau), overnight Canouan.
Day 7, Friday: Canouan back to Bequia (20 nautical miles north). Final afternoon at Princess Margaret, dinner ashore at the Plantation House or aboard.
Day 8, Saturday: Bequia back to Young Island Cut (8 nautical miles). Disembark by 11:00, transit to AIA at Argyle (45 minutes from Young Island by car).
Total mileage: 95 nautical miles. Fuel pass-through on a 45m yacht at 14 knots cruise: roughly 2,300 liters across the week.
The two-flag variant, south to Petit St Vincent
Add 1.5 days and the route reaches Petit St Vincent (PSV) and Petite Martinique. PSV is the southern bookend, a private-island resort with 23 cottages and a beach club open to yacht guests for lunch (reservation required) and dinner with prior arrangement. The PSV anchorage is on the leeward side, holding in 8m to 12m sand. The clearance into Grenada at Carriacou is short if the captain pre-files.
The longer week: insert Day 6 as Union to Carriacou clearance to PSV, with overnight PSV. Day 7 PSV back to Tobago Cays or Mayreau. Day 8 back to Bequia. Day 9 Bequia to Young Island and disembark. This is a 9-day variant. It is the better version if the brief is "Grenadines, all of it."
Passed on
We pass on the Wallilabou anchorage on the north St Vincent coast as a charter overnight. The bay is filmgenic (Pirates of the Caribbean shot here) but the holding is poor on a steep volcanic bottom, the local boat-boys are aggressive on tip negotiations, and the swell rolls in on any westerly. A St Vincent overnight is rarely warranted on a 7-day Grenadines week.
We pass on the Saint Vincent mainland day-trip to La Soufrière volcano. The hike is 6 to 8 hours round-trip from the trailhead. The volcano is active (last eruption 2021). A charter day is not worth it.
We pass on the Canouan north-coast anchorage at Godahl Bay in March. The trade wind funnel between the Pink Sands development and the open Atlantic puts a chop into the bay. Charlestown Bay is the better anchorage on the leeward side.
We pass on the Mustique landing for the under-30m yacht with no Cotton House reservation. The shore-fee economics ($75 per person, plus the Mule transit, plus the Basil's tab) push the day above $1,500 for a guest party of four. If the brief is "we want Mustique" and the budget is at the lower end of the Grenadines range, take a single afternoon and overnight elsewhere.
We pass on the Tobago Cays second night in February. The mooring surcharge applies, the day-boat traffic peaks midday Wednesday and Thursday, and the alternative (Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau, 30 minutes west) is cleaner for a second night and still 15 minutes from the Cays.
How to ask the broker
The clarifying questions for a Grenadines charter brief.
First, "is the yacht St Vincent and the Grenadines flagged, or does it clear in as a foreign-flagged commercial yacht?" SVG-flagged yachts (Bequia-managed) skip a layer of cruising-license overhead. Foreign-flagged yachts pay the standard cruising tax and the per-guest passenger duty.
Second, "are Mustique mooring and shore access pre-booked, and what is the Cotton House reservation status?" Mustique is the limiting reservation. A Sunday-night arrival at Britannia Bay without a Cotton House dinner reservation cuts the experience by half.
Third, "what is the captain's experience south of Union Island?" The PSV approach is straightforward but the Grenada clearance and the Carriacou anchorage at Tyrrel Bay both reward repetition. A captain on a yacht new to the chain may underestimate the Grenada-side timing.
FAQ
Where is the Grenadines charter base? St Vincent (Young Island Cut or Blue Lagoon) for embarkation, with Bequia as the operational hub for yachts staying in the chain. Larger yachts often embark at Argyle (AIA) airport in St Vincent and tender from Young Island or Blue Lagoon.
What does the Mustique mooring cost in 2026? Mustique Company moorings run $200 to $400 per night depending on yacht size, plus a daily landing fee of $75 per person for shore access. Tobago Cays Marine Park charges $10 per person per day and the anchorages are subject to a strict no-anchor-on-coral rule.
What is the right yacht size for the Grenadines? 35m to 55m. Below 35m the open-water passages between Bequia and the Tobago Cays are uncomfortable for shore-bound guests in the trade-wind season. Above 55m the Tobago Cays mooring field and the Mustique inner anchorage become limiting.
When is the Grenadines peak season? Christmas through Easter. The driest, steadiest trade-wind weeks run mid-January to mid-April. The hurricane season (June through November) closes the chain commercially.
Can the charter start in Grenada and end in St Vincent? Yes. The one-way from Grenada (St George's) to Young Island Cut runs the chain north and adds a positioning leg for the yacht. The cost is approximately 1.1 to 1.2x a round-trip.
For the Caribbean week comparisons, the Caribbean charter pillar holds the inventory and the Grenadines pillar holds the destination details. The Caribbean cost guide covers the rate bands. For sibling routes, the BVI USVI permit and customs reality, the Antigua to St Barths week, the south-Caribbean St Lucia variant, the April shoulder season window, and the Bahamas Exumas route. For shore stays on either side of the charter, the Mustique hotel list covers the Cotton House and the villa program; the Bequia restaurant list covers Mac's, the Plantation House, and L'Auberge.