Petit St. Vincent: Life on One of the Caribbean's Most Beautiful Private Islands

Hidden away in the southern Grenadines, Petit St. Vincent is one of the Caribbean's best-kept secrets. This tiny private island offers the ultimate escape from modern life, replacing televisions and traffic with swaying palms, deserted beaches, warm turquoise waters and understated luxury. It's the closest most of us will ever come to living the Robinson Crusoe dream—without sacrificing outstanding food or comfort.

There was me the other day wandering alone through the loveliness of a small Caribbean island called Petit St Vincent, feeling a bit Bond-like, somewhat royal, and altogether Robinson Crusoe-esque.

Where is Petit St. Vincent?

Let me explain why. For a start the journey to PSV, to give it the commonly used abbreviation, consists of the kind of thing Bond might do were he ever to go on holiday. You fly into Barbados with Virgin Atlantic only to be transferred to a small private plane. 

As it was a private charter aircraft, I asked then pilot if I could sit right up front next to him on the 50-minute flight west to Union Island in the Grenadines. And that was fun. I enjoyed a grandstand view watching how the pilot skilfully banked the little eight-seater Islander down past the steep-sided mini-mountains that loom over Union’s small airport.

Then it was a two-minute buggy ride past the colourful Caribbean shacks that make up Union Island’s village-sized capital to a wooden jetty where a powerful launch was waiting to whisk us across those amazingly blue seas to Petit St Vincent. 

Why Visit Petit St. Vincent?

Now comes the royal bit…

As the big white launch approaches the jetty we see the manager waiting for us with his wife and a number of smartly uniformed staff who take our luggage and hand us chilled towels and cool drinks. Then, after hand-shakes, we are helped into a small fleet of genuine 1970s Mini-Mokes and driven across this almost impossibly beautiful island to our luxury cottages.

A Caribbean Robinson Crusoe Experience

And when I say luxury, I really do mean that the 22 villas hit the right spot on so many levels. Yes, they are luxurious - but also they have an architect-designed air of solidity and permanence, mixed with the sort of light, airiness you need when you are located just 11 nautical miles from the Equator.

The manager Matt Semark later tells me that although the cottages look as though they were erected on the island within the last couple of years - they were in fact built nearly half a century ago at a time when air-conditioning was unheard of. They were built, indeed (completing my royal theme), at a time when Princess Margaret was regularly visiting Mustique, which is just a few islands up the Grenadine chain. Anyway, with no a/c at the time (there is now) the architect designed the cottages to be as airy and cool as possible, even in the warmest of tropical heatwaves.  

Staying on a Private Island

The Atlantic breeze constantly wafted through my large airy cottage which was situated on a bluff above a white, palm-strewn beach. Indeed, the Trade Winds never ceased, which is why even in the depths of the night I could hear the crashing of waves on the distant reef which protects PSV and which, to some extent, makes the isle what it is. 

By which I mean, a holiday paradise.    

Staying on a Private Island

I say that as a person who’s been fortunate to work on travel articles for more than 30 years. Of course, every person in need of a vacation will have a different idea about what paradise is - so let me outline the boxes PSV ticks. 

For a start, it is exclusively a holiday island. Before the accommodation and basic infrastructure was put in decades ago, the isle was owned by an old lady from the neighbouring isle of Petit Martinique, who used it to graze a few sheep. And nothing more. No one lived there. 

So this isn’t one of those garish, security-conscious, all-inclusive resorts that some parts of the Caribbean go in for where a big company has bought up land, kicked the locals out, and put a big fence around the whole caboodle. You do not feel like you are locked away in some exclusive preserve.

Beaches and Crystal-Clear Seas

On PSV, most of the staff commute from nearby islands and they are among the most friendly and attentive folk you will ever find at any resort. And because the owners bought an entire uninhabited island, they were able to place the cottages around the place in a way that means no one really looks in on anyone else. A sense of privacy pervades PSV. Indeed, you could say it is paramount. 

Here is an example of the privacy at work: each cottage as a flagpole outside the door of its extremely private walled garden - and on each pole there is a red and a yellow flag. Hoist the red one and it means you do not want to be disturbed - not by the cleaning staff or anyone else…

Hoist the yellow flag, though, and it means you require some kind of service. In each cottage there are pens and parchment with which you can order anything you like (breakfast, dinner, champagne, whatever). Roll up your message, go out to the flagpole and insert it in the small hole. Every 20 minutes a butler will drive around the little roads that service PSV, see your yellow flag and duly take the order so that it can be brought to your cottage at the requested time. 

This “travelling room service” all comes under the cover price - but I have to say I didn’t use it much as I was there alone and so enjoyed walking through the woods to the main restaurant or the beach-bar for meals and drinks. I had plenty time to chill-out alone throughout the rest of the day. However, if I’d been some kind of weary executive desperate for an oasis of calm - and if I’d taken my wife - I’d have used it all the time. 

But even then I’d have got out and about - because PSV is lined with fabulous white beaches offering superb underwater swimming. These beaches are dotted with hammocks, sun-beds and shady areas - and each has its own butler service with waiters who come around on bicycles. 

Very delicious the food is, too. Before he worked on PSV, Matt and his wife ran similar operations in Indonesia, so they’ve brought a chef team who produce the most amazing fusion food that combines South East Asian and Caribbean cuisine. 

Many members of the island spa-team are also from South East Asia, and there’s a good range of relaxing Indonesian style therapies. I had a massage during a violent thunder and lightning storm, and still managed to sink into a deep sleep on the massage table. 

Continuing the chill-out theme - you will certainly get your digital detox on PSV. There is wifi at the main reception, but you can’t pick it up in the cottages - so you really do find yourself turning into a kind of fortunate, well-fed, Robinson Crusoe.     

But, unlike Crusoe, you can escape. The island has an elegant sailing yacht at its beck and call and her local crew took us up to the fabulously beautiful Tobago Keys national park where we snorkelled and were served fabulous barbecued food on deck. 

Back in my cottage that night, I lay alone on a huge white bed watching a massive white moon rise beyond the palm trees over the white-tinged reef and white sand beach, and I tried to dream up ways of staying for just a little bit longer on what seemed to me to be my very own treasure island. 

FACT FILE

For further information, visit www.petitstvincent.com | +1 (954) 963 7401

Martin flew to Barbados with Virgin Atlantic

Country: St Vincent and the Grenadines

Island: Petit St. Vincent

Region: Southern Grenadines

Nearest airport: Union Island (when operational) or Barbados/Canouan with onward transfer

Best for: Honeymoons, couples, luxury travel, diving, digital detox

Accommodation: Private cottages

Ideal stay: 5–10 nights

FAQ section

Where is Petit St. Vincent?

Petit St. Vincent is the southernmost island in St Vincent and the Grenadines, close to the border with Grenada in the southern Caribbean.

Is Petit St. Vincent a private island?

Yes. The entire island operates as an exclusive private island resort with just a small number of guest cottages, offering exceptional privacy.

How do you get to Petit St. Vincent?

Most visitors fly to Barbados or another Caribbean hub before taking onward flights and boat transfers to the island.

What makes Petit St. Vincent special?

Its secluded beaches, limited number of cottages, lack of televisions and phones, outstanding food and unspoilt natural beauty make it one of the Caribbean's most exclusive island retreats.

Is Petit St. Vincent good for snorkelling?

Yes. The island is surrounded by coral reefs and warm Caribbean waters that are ideal for snorkelling and scuba diving.

When is the best time to visit Petit St. Vincent?

The dry season, generally from December to April, offers warm sunshine and calm seas, although the island enjoys pleasant temperatures throughout much of the year.