St. Vincent is a mountainous 133 square-mile island that is full of contrasts and surprises. Most visitors go directly to the southerly 32 island chain comprising the Grenadines for the tranquil tropical flavor they exude. However, St. Vincent has more to offer than spectacular scenery. Kingstown is a bustling West Indian town, not unlike its Jamaican namesake. There's a vital sense of real island life here - the fully soft n' easy facade that masks the hardships of most Caribbean islands.
Times can be tough, but the people endure.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines are now part of the British Commonwealth, since gaining their independence in 1979. The population is mainly a mixture of Black, Indian and Portuguese. One legend has it that Columbus discovered St. Vincent in 1498 on his third voyage. The Arawak and Carib Indians had already arrived and intermixed. Eventually the British tried to establish St. Vincent as a colony, and after a squabble with the French, it was ceded to England in 1763.