You can fly directly into Barbados from the UK - you'll then need to take a connecting flight on to the Grenadines.

• Currency: Caribbean Dollar 
• Time difference: GMT -4 
• Flight from UK: 8.5 hours to Barbados, plus connecting flight time 
• Visa: Not required 
• Language: English 
• National drink: Sea moss 
• National dish: Roasted breadfruit with jack fish

The Grenadines Activities

While we wouldn’t blame you if all you did on your holiday to the Grenadines is laze on the beach, there are plenty of activities to keep you busy (if that’s what you’re after!) Hike the forested peaks of Mount Peggy or Mount Royal – see if you can spot St Lucia from the latter. Snorkel with turtles in the protected coral reefs of Tobago Cays, hire a boat and sail around the islands like an A-lister or swing your clubs on the 18-hole championship golf course on Canouan Island.

The Grenadines Food & Drink

As a collection of islands, it’s not surprising that seafood takes top billing on menus in the brightly coloured restaurants and bars across the archipelago. Must-try dishes include the popular roasted breadfruit and fried jack fish, curried conch and billjau, a stew with salted fish and hot peppers. Cleanse your palette with a drink in one of the many rum bars (this is the Caribbean after all) or sample the national drink of sea moss mixed with lime, water, milk and spices.

The Grenadines Attractions

Think the Grenadines and visions of pristine white sands are sure to come to mind – a few of the most popular are Princess Margaret Beach (named after Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret) and Lower Bay, both on Bequia. Sail the seas and you may spot the tiny islets used as filming locations for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or come across a population of iguanas on the island of Baradal.