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Rustic UNION ISLAND , the southernmost of the Grenadines, is primarily a stop-off for visitors to the Tobago Cays and a point of entry for yachters into St Vincent and the Grenadines. The terrain of this roughly three-mile-long and one-mile-wide island is less than spectacular, its low scrubby hills rising to a height of 1000ft at Mount Taboi, the tallest peak in the Grenadines, but the untamed scruffiness is much the point of it all. As such, it's a nice daytrip away from any resort pretension. The commercial centre, Clifton , has whatever tourist information you might need (daily 9am-noon and 1-4pm), as well as the airport, ferry jetty and a local market. On the waterfront, east towards the airport, the complex at Bougainville Centre holds most of the local facilities, including Maggie: A Union Island Bus (tel 784/45-8843), a tour operator that organizes trips around the island for EC$100. Above the small village of Ashton , towards the centre of the island, a few hiking trails wend their way through the hills, offering good walking terrain and excellent views of the surrounding Grenadines, while the remote beaches of Richmond and Big Sand Beach on the northern end of the island can be reached by road from Clifton. The best snorkelling to be had is at Lagoon Reef , which protects the southern coast of the island. Teeming with colourful marine life and rarely visited, the reef provides excellent conditions, especially around Frigate Island . If you want to venture beyond Union Island, Captain Yannis (tel 784/458-8513, fax 458-8976, yannis@caribsurf.co ,), based at the Clifton Beach Hotel , operates day trips on 60ft catamarans to the neighbouring islands of the Tobago Cays and Palm Island for EC$140; a filling lunch, drinks and the use of snorkelling equipment are included in the price. Diving can be arranged through Grenadines Dive (tel 784/458-8138, fax 458-8122, ), which offers easy to adventurous dives; among the latter is a dive to a 90ft volcanic valley complete with a bubbling seabed.
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