Tobago Cays Archives | Rum Therapy

April 17, 2015April 19, 2021

Petit Bateau, Tobago Cays

Encompassing five small islands and one beautiful marine park, the Tobago Cays are a boaters paradise located close to the island of Mayreau in the Grenadines.

The five islands, Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac and Jamesby, are all in fairly close proximity, each a bit different and each worth exploring.

Petit Bateau – the largest of the five, has a beautiful beach on the north side with views over the shallow channel of Petit Rameau.

The interior of the island has thick vegetation and is home to large number of iguanas and birds.

A short hike to the top will reward you with beautiful vistas of the other Tobago Cays Islands such as Baradal and Petit Tabac as well as other islands in the Grenadines chain.

The tip of Baradal and its beach to the left and Petit Tabac in the distance on the right.

Jamesby to the left and Union Island in the distance on the right.

Petit Bateau is easily accessible by dinghy and we brought a cooler ashore to enjoy a meal among the swaying palms.

The Tobago Cays have gotten a bit more crowded since the first time we visited, but there is still plenty of space to spread out and relax or to explore all that these beautiful islands have to offer.

Have you been to Tobago Cays? Tell us about it!

Petit Tabac

To see more posts on the Grenadines and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

June 18, 2014April 19, 2021

Swimming with the Turtles of Tobago Cays

Turtles are not uncommon to see while snorkeling in the Caribbean, although every time I see one I still get a little excited. But this snorkel was different.

We had some time to explore the southeastern shore of Baradal – one of the small islands in the beautiful chain of islands in the Grenadines known as the Tobago Cays. There is a turtle reserve in the clear shallow waters here and we were told that you almost always will see turtles – green turtles and hawksbill turtles- feeding on sea grass there.

The area is phenomenal for snorkeling period, with it’s ultra clear water and abundant sea life and we were anxious to look below the surface.

Almost immediately I spotted several turtles, one quite close! Now I’m not one to feverishly swim after underwater wildlife (except for that one time that I chased a barracuda while snorkeling – not knowing what it was…NOW I DO.), so I stayed put, calmly just floating in the clearest water I’d ever seen. Both turtles swam away, probably searching for just the right patch of succulent sea grass. But suddenly, one of them turned around and came back my way.

As I floated there over his feeding ground, he swam right up to me! At first I wasn’t sure if I should be a little nervous or what. I’ve never heard of a green turtle attack on anyone so I continued to watch in amazement. He swam around me and under me – did I look different than other snorkelers?

copyright Rum Therapy — Gliding in the grass

He was so close that I could even hear him yanking the sea grass out of the ocean floor.

After what seemed to be quite a long time (it was probably just a few minutes!) my new turtle friend swam off to re-join the others.

Sure enjoyed my close encounter of the turtle kind. Sure nice of him to share his space with me.

To see more posts on The Grenadines and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

June 25, 2013May 29, 2019

Palm Trees in Paradise

Nothing is quite as calming as a pictures of a palm tree next to beautiful blue water, and over the years we’ve amassed a nice collection of these types of pics. So…we thought we’d put some of our favorites together to share with you. Actually, we can’t verify that they are all palm trees – sorry- we’re far from palm experts, but they’re definitely palm looking plants that give us the same tropical feel! Since we couldn’t narrow it down any more than this, this is a sort of Tropical Palm Pictorial Journal. Pull up a glass of rum and enjoy a little tropication!

No wonder it’s called “Palm” Island…(The Grenadines)

Gorgeous palms on Saltwhistle Bay Beach, Mayreau.

Shoal Bay, Anguilla. This one gets extra points for the hammock :)

Palm Tree Tire Swing in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola

O.K, these are palm fronds on a palapa (and a small palm to the right), but we’re gonna count it anyway because it’s just super fun to look at and remember. Extra points for the rum punch at Guys Driftwood Boat Bar in St. Maarten.

Hard to believe there could be palm trees on a manmade conch shell island off of Union Island in the Grenadines, but as you can see, there certainly are palms on Happy Island!

Lovely palms and boats at Smathers Beach, Key West.

Gorgeous palm sunset on Kauai…

Cool leaning palm at Bolongo Bay, St. Thomas

Amazing palms and scenery of Tobago Cays, The Grenadines

The palms burned (cinematically – thank goodness) on Petit Tabac in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

The perfect twin palms of Maho Bay, St. John

A palm tree shadow at the gorgeous Magens Bay Beach, St. Thomas

View of the palms at Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda from the crystal clear blue water

A palm and a beautiful beach, what more do you need on Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla?

A palm and a view at Smuggler’s Cove, Tortola

And I guess it wouldn’t hurt to end up with a palm (or two) and a Painkiller (or two) on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in front of the Soggy Dollar Bar…would it?

To see more posts on these and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

May 2, 2013April 18, 2021

Petit Tabac, The Grenadines

While sailing the Grenadines a few years ago, we made a stop at the stunningly beautiful Tobago Cays. From our anchorage, we could see an island in the distance called Petit Tabac. Our Captain informed us that this pretty little island was a location used in the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Specifically, it was the island that Capt. Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth ended up on when forced to walk the plank.

Intrigued, we asked if we could sail over and explore it and he happily he obliged.

The grove of palm trees shown burning in the film were very recognizable as we approached. Thankfully the burning palms were merely cinematic wizardry as the the palms were alive and well.

The plan was to find the rum. If you’re familiar with the film, when Jack Sparrow was marooned on this island with Elizabeth Swann, he knew of a rum stash and set out to find it.

Knowing that we’d find no actual rum, our Captain and Cook prepared a large jug of rum punch for us to enjoy as we explored the island.

We then paced off in the same area Jack Sparrow did while looking for his rum stash in the film.

Of course, we didn’t find anything, but enjoyed re-enacting the antics of Captain Jack – and the rum punch didn’t hurt either.

The deserted little island was beautiful and we took our time walking the entire perimeter.

We were the only ones on Petit Tabac that day.

From Petit Tabac we could see Union Island,

And the other Tobago Cays.

From our perch in the shade we took the amazing beauty of the area in,

The almost blindingly white sand against the vibrant blue water was stunning.

We reluctantly headed back to the boat after a day on a deserted island filled with rum and browned by the sun and looked forward to our next adventure in the Grenadines.

Have you been to Petit Tabac? Tell us about it!

To see more posts on the St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

February 8, 2012June 6, 2019

Island Windjammers

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by….
Sea Fever by John Masefield

For those of you that have followed us for a while, you know that not only do we love beautiful tropical beaches, island vacations and rum, we have also grown to love sailing…so, when we got an invitation to participate in a week long sail on the Tall Ship Diamant through Island Windjammers, we jumped on it! The Diamant sails from Grenada through the Grenadine Islands on a 6 day sail for most of the year, but also offers several longer cruises.

The Diamant has 6 cabins for 12 guests and a crew of 6. Meals and most beverages are included – and believe me, you are well fed! During our 6 day sail, we covered 144 miles and saw 9 different islands – some of them completely uninhabited. The sailing was incredible, the food was amazing and the sights were…well, indescribable.

Tobago Cays, The Grenadines

We boarded not knowing any of our fellow passengers or crew, but left with lots of new friends!

Our shipmates and new friends enjoying some Rum Punch on Happy Island

We took, oh, about 2,000 pictures during our sail and so we thought we’d give you the highlights of our trip through pictures. As they say, take only photographs and leave only footprints!

Our berth for the week, Cabin #2. Diamant Deck Configuration: Roll your mouse over the diagram to see pictures of cabins.

A beautiful beach on Carriacou

Carriacou Sunset

Princess Margaret Beach – Bequia

Enjoying Lobster Pizza at Mac’s in Bequia

Conch Fritters for Happy Hour

A great cheese plate (complete with jalapeño mice) for the wine and cheese party.

Had a great time gettin’ happy at Happy Island.

Kite surfers giving us a show at Happy Island

Enjoying the cultural walk, er – bar crawl on Mayreau

Shopping, island style, on Mayreau

We were treated to a rainbow over Sweezle Time – the name of the new dinghy

Enjoyed a picnic and an afternoon in the sun in Tobago Cays

Snorkeling with the turtles in Tobago Cays – awesome experience!

Captain Nervo demonstrating the proper rope swing dismount. Apparently he’d done this a few times before…

Every evening during Happy Hour, Brandon served up the infamous Diamant Rum Swizzles (or Sweezles as Capt. Nervo calls them). I asked for Brandon’s recipe and he said, oh, just a bit of this juice and that juice and some rum. Hmmm…code for TOP SECRET RECIPE?? Anyway – they’re delicious!

One last day of sun, sand and snorkeling on beautiful Sandy Island. We look pretty stressed, huh?

One last sunny sail back to the island of Grenada. Great adventure, great time.
Thank you Island Windjammers!

To find out more about Island Windjammers, check out their website:
http://www.islandwindjammers.com/default.aspx
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/IslandWindjammers
Email them at:
[email protected]
Or call:
877.772.4549

To see more posts on The Grenadines and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC