Rodney Bay travel guide

This whole area supports a mass of tourist facilities – hotels, restaurants, shops and clubs – between the lovely beach at Reduit and the first-class Rodney Bay Marina, but it was formerly the site of the US Naval Air Station of Reduit. Built in 1941, the Americans made an attempt to reclaim the swamps and the bay was dredged. It was the first of a chain of bases established to protect the Panama Canal and supported a squadron of sea planes. Closed in 1947, it was not until the 1970s when a causeway to Pigeon Island and a marina were built that the wetlands vanished. Take the left turn off the main road at the junction leading to JQ’s Mall, to reach the hotels and restaurants. At the end of the road there is good access to the beach. Rodney Bay is an excellent base for watersports, both on the beach and from the marina.

The normally sleepy fishing village of Gros Islet, just north of the marina, holds a popular jump-up in the street each Friday night, with music, dancing, bars and cheap food (more tourists than locals but enjoyed by night owls). Things start to get lively and loud from 2200-2300.