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Lace up your walking shoes, it’s time to take part in the best bar crawl in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s called  Cultural Crawl and it takes place on the tiny island of Mayreau. If you haven’t been to Mayreau and are researching for a visit, you are going to love it! It was my favorite stop during my visit to the islands.

If you are looking for more information on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, here is a guide book that will help you out.

I said this before, Mayreau really surprised me. At only 1.5 square miles and a population of around 300, Mayreau really packs in the fun and island beauty. Not only is it home to Salt Whistle Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Grenadines if not the Caribbean, it’s also home to the famous Cultural Crawl.

Here is an episode from our Caribbean Castaways podcast that walks you through the streets and bars of Mayreau.


What is the Mayreau Cultural Crawl? The small village on Mayreau contains a handful of restaurants and bar, each uniquely different with its own personality and charismatic owners. It’s an amazing density of bars for such a small island. The village and bar owners rely on the boater and cruise ship passengers that anchor off Mayreau for their lively hoods. If you’re coming on a cruise ship don’t just go to the beach, take a walk up the hill and explore this interesting little place. You’ll be glad you did.

Half way through our week long cruise aboard the Diamant we found ourselves anchored off the lee side of Mayreau. After another wonderful dinner on the aft deck under the nearly full moon, a few of us were planning our nights entertainment. Two of the Bama Babes, Crystal, Captain Matt and myself decided to drag our sea legs ashore and take part in the well known Mayreau bar crawl.

We dinghy up to the concrete jetty and march up the steep hill to get to the village. The hike up the hill takes about 8 minutes and I guarantee you you’ll be sucking wind by the time you reach the first level ground where the bars start. Makes that first drink taste all that much sweeter!

Mayreau Cultural Crawl

Dennis’ Hideaway, Mayreau

Dennis’ Hideaway

Our first stop was a fantastic place called Dennis’ Hideaway. This place had it all, a pool, restaurant, observation tower, guest rooms and a bar with good good rum. We were greeted by Dennis who was happy to tell us about his place. It seemed like Dennis and Captain Matt were good friends, which made for good conversation. Nothing quite like a smooth drink, and good intimate company on a Caribbean island.

Dennis Hideaway Mayreau

Dennis’ Bar, Mayreau

Dennis Hideaway

Pool and Observation tower at Dennis’

After saying goodbye to Dennis, we continued our Cultural Crawl up the hill to what was to become my favorite stop on the crawl. Our next stop was a place you could smell before you could see it. Up the hill and around the corner sat a colorful rasta bar called Robert Righteous & de Youths Seafood Restaurant & Bar. I’ll let you figure out what smell was oozing from this “interesting” place.

Robert Bar Mayreau

Robert Righteous & de Youths Restaurant and Bar

Robert Righteous & De Youths Restaurant & Bar

We were greeted with a big smile by the owner Robert. Robert is a tall slender gentleman who is happy to serve up good drinks and entertain is customers. Our Diamant group ordered pina coladas and wandered the eclectic bar taking in all the photos, Bob Marley art and random graffiti. We hit Robert with a ton of questions about is establishment and he eagerly answered with some great stories. We noticed an old torn Magic Johnson poster on the wall and asked Robert about it. He informed us that he just heard that Magic had gotten the AIDS virus. We all look at each other with a puzzled look and let Robert know that the Magic Johnson announcement happened about 20 years ago. We all had a great laugh and continued to suck down our frozen boat drinks. I guess it does take awhile for news to travel to the far reaches of the Caribbean.

Robert's Mayreau

Robert

Robert gets up to turn the stereo on for us. We all expect some Bob Marley or other reggae beats, but Robert surprises us again. He flips the switch and turns up the volume on some old school Celine Dion. What! Celine Dion blasting in a rasta bar! Yup, Robert has a huge crush on Celine and proudly plays and sings right along with her music.

Roberts Mayreau

One of the Youths

Island Paradise

Our next and final stop on the Cultural Crawl is at a place up the hill a little more called Island Paradise. It was a quiet laid back place with a great view down the hill and out over the Caribbean towards Union Island. We order up a round of rum punch and talk about the amazing trip we’ve had so far and that we never want it to end. I’m sure every Diamant passenger speaks the same scripted words when they reflect on the amazing trip.

Island Paradise Mayreau

Island Paradise Bay and Restaurant, Mayreau

We end our crawl here and make our way down the dark street towards our waiting dinghy. We passed several other bars in the village but our group was feeling the day spent in the sun at the Tobago Cays. It was time to climb back aboard the Diamant and find our way to our comfortable cabins. The gentle sway of the ship quickly sends us all into a deep sleep, ready for the next day of sailing the high seas.

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Mayreau Island

 

If you’ve been to Mayreau and have done the “Cultural Crawl” let us know. I would love to hear about the bars you hit and the fun you had!

Cheers!
RumShopRyan

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About the Author: RumShopRyan

Just a salty pirate looking to explore and document the wonders of the Caribbean. Professional blogger, rum judge, consultant, marketer, and consumer of blue water beauty. To learn more, visit our About Us Page.