Villa Beach; just 10 minutes outside Kingstown is strip of yellow black
sand onto which calmly rolls a clear sea with water that has as many shades
of blue green as is possible to find in the Caribbean.
Protected by coral reefs offshore and Young Island which lies about 200
yards away, Villa Beach is a gentle oasis of water and sand where the sea
just slowly laps onto the shore. At Villa you can calmly sit back and watch
the yachts at anchor offshore while seeing the occasional sea gull swoop low
across the ocean or see periodic boats as they sail from St Vincent to the
Grenadine Islands.
Villa Beach is ringed by hotels, houses and restaurants however in St
Vincent all beaches are public and so everyone can enjoy this beauty of
Caribbean nature. There are two main pedestrian entrances to the beach, with
one on either end of the beach. The northern end of the beach is the best
for relaxing on the shore as it has the expanse of sand while the opposite
end although having the same crystal clear water has a slightly rocky
shoreline.
The crystal clear ocean also provides a good opportunity for snorkeling.
At the northern end along the cliff there are fallen boulders in the water
and tropical fish can be seen darting among the boulders. As you proceed
away from the shore along much of this beach there are patches of green and
these indicate the presence of sea grass beds where juvenile fish can be
seen. Among the sea grass beds numerous sea eggs can be seen while on the
boulders is a proliferation of sea urchins.
One point to be noted is that being so close to the capital and main port
of Kingstown this is a popular destination for cruise ship visitors when a
cruise ship is in port. On other days however the beach is a quiet calm
oasis.
Indian Bay Beach is another of the beaches that is close to Kingstown the
capital of St Vincent. There are two main entrances to this beach, one of
which is along the main road and can be found by turning at the empty lot
with large trucks parked in the lot. Following this road leads directly to
the beach, On this section of the beach there are changing rooms and snack
vendors. The sand here is a dark yellow color with small pebbles but with
that amazingly clear ocean that can be found along this section of St
Vincent's coast and protected by offshore reefs the water at this beach is
very calm. The actual beachfront is very narrow on this side of the bay, so
there is not much area for lounging on the beach front at high tide.
Just off the beach is a small islet with a large white cross at the top.
This islet is known as Dove Island and it is owned by Sylvester Gonsalves De
Freitas. it is said that in 1967 when he died his son buried his body
standing straight up with arms outstretched inside the cross. The son's wish
was for his father to continually look across the Indian Bay Estate where
the family owned several properties. At the base of the islet there are
submerged rocks that provide snorkeling opportunities.
The other entrance to Indian Bay Beach is by turning off the main road at
Villa Lodge Hotel and again following the road downhill to the beach. This
section of Indian Bay has a slightly different feel. The sand here is more
golden in color and without the pebbles found at the other section of the
beach. At this section of Indian Bay the beach is backed by almond trees
providing shade on hot days. The water is this part is also calm and rolls
gently onto the sand.
It is possible to walk between the two sections of the beach at low tide,
however there are several large rock in the center of the bay and at high
tide the sea rolls all the way up the beach so the rocks block the passage.
