Welcome to Union Island
Welcome to Union Island, one of the undiscovered treasures of St. Vincent & The Grenadines. Unsophisticated, relaxed and friendly, Union is still off the beaten track. A charming destination and a great base to pick up a mooring and explore the natural beauty of this region, Union is a paradise for yachting enthusiasts, scuba divers, hikers and sun worshipers.
WHAT TO DO ON UNION ISLAND
Southern gateway to St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Union Island is a superb destination for sailing, adventuring off the beaten track, hiking, and relaxing on fabulous white sand beaches. Snorkel, scuba dive, take a boat trip, free up at Easterval. Sun, sea and surprise, all in perfect Union.
UNION ISLAND BEACHES
Union’s pretty white sand beaches are protected by reefs, making them ideal for swimming. Most beaches are very quiet with no bars or restaurants nearby.
Chatham Bay Beach is one of the most popular and is accessed either by boat or a fairly steep forest trail. Big Sands Beach at Belmont Bay has a hotel and restaurant located nearby, and the sweeping Richmond Bay Beach is excellent for bathing. Bloody Bay has a couple of very isolated white sand beaches with access via boat or forest trail.
Other beaches include Anchorage, Ablo, Belmont and Campbell.
DIVING & SNORKELING ON UNION ISLAND
Snorkeling and scuba diving around Union Island is fun and easy.
The fairly flat and shallow reefs are great for beginners and have lots of colourful fish as well as interesting coral reef formations.
Popular dive sites include Round About Reef and Clipper’s Point. Lagoon Reef is a fairly shallow inshore reef system around Frigate Island that also makes for easy and enjoyable snorkeling.
Union Island’s dive operators regularly venture a little further afield to dives sites at the Tobago Cays, Mayreau and PSV.
UNION ISLAND HIKING
There are a number of good hiking trails on Union though none are marked.
You can purchase an Ordnance Survey map of Union Island from the Land & Surveys office in Kingstown, St. Vincent, that shows the locations and routes of many of these trails. Alternatively, you could ask about trail guides at the Union Tourism Association office in Clifton.
An easy trailhead to find is the one that begins where the paved road ends beyond Ashton and Campbell at our island’s south westerly tip. One track runs down to Chatham Bay, the other runs along the ridges of Union’s rocky interior and joins up with others that take you to different parts of our island, including the peak of Mount Taboi. If you do choose to hike, be sure to let someone know where you are going, take some form of sun protection and also plenty of water with you. Long pants are also a good idea as some of the trails can be a little overgrown with sharp, low-growing dry forest scrub.
If unsure of your route, ask for directions. We are very friendly and always willing to help!
Hikers should also keep an eye out for a new species of lizard that was discovered as recently as 2005. A gecko of the genus sphaerodactylus is thought to be endemic.
SAILING, CHARTERS & EXCURSIONS
For visiting yachts Clifton Harbour is our most popular mooring. It is within close proximity to numerous restaurants and bars, provisioning services, hotels and guest houses, and tourist information services.
Charters
Clifton has a number of operators offering boat excursions around our island as well as to Mayreau and Tobago Cays.
