Mustique

WHEN TO GO

Celebrity sightings are most common between December and April, but if hobnobbing with the rich and famous isn't a priority, the weather remains pleasant and rates are significantly lower from May through August. Avoid mid-September to mid-November (hurricane season), when many restaurants and the island's only real hotel, Cotton House, closes.

HOW TO GET THERE

The easiest way to reach Mustique is via private jet, naturally. For regular folk, there are no direct flights from the United States. Most people fly first to Barbados, served out of the United States by American Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, and Air Jamaica. From Barbados, a 50-minute flight to Mustique can be taken on either Mustique Airways (347-448-4368; www.mustique.com) or Grenadines Air (784-457-5124; www.svgair.com), which offer both scheduled and charter services. Mustique Airways also flies daily from St. Vincent—a trip barely ten minutes long. Alternatively, there is catamaran service between Bequia and Mustique on the Friendship Rose, a 100-foot schooner offering scenic jaunts between the two Grenadine islands. The journeys—on Tuesdays and Fridays—are meant more as day-trips than practical transportation, so they include pit stops for snorkeling and sportfishing, as well as cocktails and catered lunch onboard. (784-495-0886; www.sailrelaxexplore.com).

GETTING AROUND

The customary way to traverse Mustique is by renting a Kawasaki Mule, a small golf cart–like vehicle. Pecky's taxi also provides transport around Mustique (784-488-8000). And Mustique Mechanical Services can arrange Jeep, Mule, motorcycle, and mountain bike rentals (784-488-8555).