Montserrat Travel Guide

Montserrat travel guide flagMontserrat is at southern end of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. The island is 39 square miles and has a population around 5000, which is 1/3 of the population before the evacuation

Montserrat travel guide - Plymouth

The buried capital of Plymouth

due to the southern volcano beginning to erupt in 1995. The island is recovering and use of the northern third of the island poses zero problem from the still sputtering volcano. The southern 2/3 of the island is an exclusion zone and off limits, including the former capital of Plymouth, which is buried in mud flows.

Helpful Info
Population – 5,200
Money – shares the Eastern Caribbean dollar with 6 other countries and 1 British island (fixed at US$1 = EC$2.70)
Language – English
Religion – 78.7% Christian (with 67.1 being Protestant)
When to go – Dec-June is most popular. Summer is nice also, but a little hotter and more humid. Hurricanes most active Aug-Oct.
World Heritage Sites – 0 – None
Country formed – Settled by the United Kingdom in 1632 and remains a colony today

Christopher Columbus visited the island during his second voyage and named the island after the Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain, which means “serrated mountain” in Catalan. The island has been claimed by Britain since Irish settlers arrived in 1632 and plantations were set up to cultivate sugar.

My Visit

I visited Montserrat in the spring of 2017 as part of the six-week cruise I did through the Leeward Islands. Montserrat was one of the places I was most looking forward to and am glad that we got to visit for three days.

Likes, Dislikes, and Recommendations

Montserrat travel guide - Rendezvous Beach

The perfect Rendezvous Beach

The people of Montserrat are extremely welcoming and as soon as we checked in we were invited to watch the cricket match going on (I must admit I didn’t know the rules, so I was lost). The two things I enjoyed the most are hiking to Rendezvous Beach, just north of Little Bay and an island tour looking at the volcano and its destruction.

The only negative about the island is the only anchorage is at Little Bay and does not provide much protection if the weather is rough.

Montserrat travel guide - Plymouth Police station

The completely buried police station in Plymouth

When you visit I recommend you hire Joe Phillip (664-492-1565) for a tour around the island and make sure you pay the extra fee to go into the old capital of Plymouth. You will be humbled to see the destruction caused by the volcano and Joe does a great job of helping you comprehend with photos and stories from before the eruption.

Below you can get even more helpful hints by watching the travel video I made for Montserrat. Also, you can read what all I did there in my blog posts located below the video.

All Blogs From Montserrat

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