St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Climate
Temperatures the year round average between 77°F and
81°F (25-7°C), moderated by the trade winds; average rainfall is 60
inches on the coast, 150 inches in the interior, with the wettest
months May to November. Best months to visit are therefore
December to May. You can expect a shower most days, though. Low
season is June to mid-December.
Documents
All visitors must have a passport and an onward, or
return, ticket. Nationals of the UK, USA and Canada may enter for up
to six months on proof of citizenship only. As well as the three
countries already mentioned, citizens of the following countries do not
need a visa: all Commonwealth countries, all the EU countries
(except Eire and Portugal), Chile, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela. You will
be asked where you will be staying on the island and will need a
reservation, which can be done through the Tourist Office at the
airport, before going through immigration (or you can make one up). If
you are only given entry of a few days and want to stay longer,
extensions are easily obtained for EC$20.
Customs
200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco, and
40 fluid ounces of alcoholic beverage may be imported duty free.
Hospitals and Medical Facilities
Kingston General Hospital,
T4561185. Emergency T999. Bequi: Hospitals & medical services
Bequia Casualty Hospital, Port Elizabeth, T4583294.
Official Time
Atlantic Standard Time, four hours behind GMT, one
hour ahead of EST.
Voltage
220/240 v, 50 cycles, except Petit St Vincent and Palm
Island, which have 110 v, 60 cycles.
Money Click Here For Currency Exchange
Currency: The East Caribbean dollar, EC$.
Departure Tax: There is a departure tax of EC$30, or
US$12.50.
Banks
Barclays Bank Plc, Scotia Bank, Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce, National Commercial Bank of St Vincent, all
on Halifax Street, Caribbean Banking Corporation, 81 South River
Road, Kingstown, and at Port Elizabeth, Bequia. Barclays Bank has
a branch on Bequia; National Commercial Bank has branches at
ET Joshua airport, Georgetown, Barrouallie, on Bequia and Union
Island and agencies at Layou and Chateaubeleair. On Canouan,
National Commercial Bank, T4588595, open Monday-Thursday
0800-1300 or 1500, Friday 0800-1500 or 1700, depending on the
bank. When you cash TCs you can take half in US dollars and half in
EC dollars if you wish. Lots of banks have 24-hour ATMs, but they
will not necessarily accept your card.
Hours of Business
Shops: 0800-1200, 1300-1600 Monday-Friday
(0800-1200 only, Saturday); government offices: 0800-1200,
1300-1615 Monday-Friday; banks: 0800-1200 or 1300 Monday-Friday,
plus 1400/1500-1700 on Friday. The bank at the Airport is open
Monday-Saturday 0700-1700.
Clothing
Wear light, informal clothes, but do not wear bathing
costumes or short shorts in shops or on Kingstown’s streets.
Laundry
Call on VHF, or phone, for Daffodils or several other
companies to come and pick up. Laundrymat is available with several
washers and dryers if you wish to do it yourself.
Public Holidays
1 January, St Vincent and the Grenadines Day (22
January), Good Friday and Easter Monday, Labour Day in May, Whit
Monday, Caricom Day and Carnival Tuesday (in June), August Bank
Holiday first Monday in August, Independence Day (27 October),
Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
