Tobago Cays

The Tobago Cays Marine Park is the centrepiece of the Grenadines — five small uninhabited islands set inside the curve of Horseshoe Reef, three nautical miles offshore. The water is shallow and clear; the reef breaks the swell; sea turtles graze the seagrass meadows in the leeward shallows. There are no buildings, no roads, no permanent population. Just sand, reef, and a handful of yachts at anchor.

We sail in from Canouan in two hours, pick up a mooring in the lee of one of the cays — usually Petit Bateau or Petit Rameau — and stay for a full day. The morning is for snorkelling: the turtle sanctuary at the southern end of Baradal, the reef edge for stingrays and reef sharks, the wreck of the Antilles on the eastern shoals. Lunch is on deck. The afternoon is for paddleboards, beach time, and a swim across the gap between the cays.

Local boatmen come around the anchorage selling lobster — pulled from the reef that morning, grilled over a coal pot on the beach at sunset, served with rice and breadfruit. It's the best meal in the Grenadines and one of the few outside experiences that justifies booking ahead by VHF.