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Sunset at Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau

Salt Whistle Bay Mayreau is one of the bays on this small island located between Canouan and Carriacou in the Grenadines. Saltwhistle Bay incorporates the entire northern tip of Mayreau. Thus it offers two beautiful beaches to choose from – the leeward and the windward. Windsurfers and kiteboarders frequented the world-class beach area, the Windward.

Saline Bay and Village, Mayreau

Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the Grenadines, with an area of about 1.5 sq. miles and a population of about 300. The population is centered in an unnamed village located on a hilltop southwest of the island. It is an isolated community, accessible only by boat. Electricity was provided only recently (2002) by a central generator located on Saline Bay.

There is a single-lane concrete road leading from the pier on Saline Bay through the village to Saltwhistle Bay. The top of the island is crested with the small elementary school, the telecommunications building; the beautiful brick and stone Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, christened on May 12, 1930, and a Pentecostal church. From the crest of the hill behind the Catholic Church, there is a beautiful overlook of the Tobago Cays, Canouan, and Union Island.

Saltwhistle Bay is probably the most picturesque anchorage in the entire Grenadines, with its sweeping crescent beach of white sand lined with tall coconut trees. If there ever was a definitive paradise beach destination, this is it. You will want to brag about this place when you return. Bring your camera and lots of film.

Mayreau also has a boutique resort located on Saltwhistle Bay, a particularly beautiful spot for anchoring yachts. This small anchorage, home to the Saltwhistle Bay Resort, guarantees a reasonably isolated beach experience.

Saltwhistle Bay Mayreau Resort

The Saltwhistle Bay Resort is one of the unique resort properties in the Caribbean. It has eight stone cottages scattered among the palm trees and flowering shrubs, just a few paces from the beach. You have to look hard to see them. As a result, the resort guarantees the privacy of its guests. Each cottage has its separate name, wooden shutters, ceiling fans, a stone-built shower, and batiks on the walls.

In the outdoor dining, guests will see a charming stone and palm thatch in the bar area set in the palm trees along the beach. A circular stone wall on each table is covered by a thatched roof. An experience that you will surely remember is the soft lighting at night that creates a dining atmosphere that is totally amazing. The food is excellent and very reasonably priced, and the service is friendly and personal.

This is a great spot to pull up a cooler full of refreshments and a picnic basket. Watch the afternoon pass slowly by as you recline under the shade of a coconut tree. If you need something from the boat, just swim out.

Local Craft

At the south end of the beach near the dock, island residents have set up several thatched huts from which they sell T-shirts, shells, and various kinds of local jewelry and art. The infamous “Yellow Man” hangs out on this part of the island when he is not out hustling tourists, as this is where he conducts his beach barbecues and cooks the lobsters he sells.

Also, visitors can easily go to a surf beach on the island’s windward side. Visitors would find it definitely worth exploring. If you can’t resist nature’s beauty, follow the beach on the windward side of Saline Bay. The views of the surrounding islands and reef formations make for a great outing, an experience enjoyed by only a few visitors.

The Cross-Island Expressway

You must not visit the island without heading to the village at the top of the hill. There was a time when you had to endure the “wrath of the path” to reach it from Salt Whistle Bay. It featured extreme hazards such as a very steep incline, slippery mud, broken glass, boulders, and various free-range farm animals.

In 2002, the Government made good on a promise to pave that path, and Highway #2 became a reality. Despite the steep grade, the road is totally passable, even at night. This road finally makes access to the four restaurants and services in the village from Salt Whistle Bay totally feasible.

Previously, the paved road from Saline Bay was always recommended for visitors to access the village. Since Saltwhistle is the prettier of the two anchorages, you can now stay here and have it all.

Saltwhistle Bay Mayreau MAP

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