About Montserrat BWI

Where is Montserrat British West Indies?

Montserrat aka The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean is a tiny British Island in the Eastern Caribbean roughly 39.5 square miles, located approximately 1,500 miles South of Miami, 300 miles South of Puerto Rico and 25 miles Southwest of Antigua.  

From Antigua’s V.C. Bird International Airport you can take one of two 17 to 20-minute flight, on either SVG Air or Fly Montserrat, and a seasonal ferry service which can take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the Caribbean Sea.

There are two Montserrats: Pre-Volcano eruption and Post-Volcano eruption. Before the eruption, Montserrat had approximately 13,000 inhabitants, a bustling capital (Plymouth) with a busy port, several hotels, clubs, a beautiful waterfront, an advanced hospital, a 3,000-foot airport runway, one of the best golf courses in the Caribbean, various food exports and the list goes on. In 1995 the 400-year-old sleeping Soufriere Hills Volcano rumbled back to life and within a year of constant volcanic eruptions, 2/3 of the island was destroyed. The Capital City Plymouth, the airport, several villages from the middle of the island southwards were devastated. Overtime, businesses, homes, churches, trees, everything were either buried or fell into disrepair due to the fact that the area was deemed a hazard zone and people were no longer allowed to visit much less inhabit those areas…a modern day Pompeii. During the height of volcanic activity, the population fell to approximately 2,000 with most of the natives migrating to England, United States and other Caribbean islands. Today, the population has bounced back to approximately 5,000, with most living on the Northern 1/3 of the island.  

Montserrat has a rich culture, with its roots deeply in-trench in African and Irish traditions. The national dish is a semi-thick, brown stew called goat water, which is eaten steaming hot with a homemade roll or piece of bread. There are many locally made drinks like sorrel, ginger beer, other fruit drinks and locally made wines. The locals love to enjoy themselves by dancing to the Caribbean sounds of Calypso, Reggae, Soca, Cadas, and Meringue just to name a few.

The months of March and December are the two busiest times of the year. For 10 days in March, in the southernmost village of Salem, a slavery uprising and Irish heritage are celebrated with activities, shows, events and lots of food. Carnival pretty much takes up the most of the month of December into the first few days of January with Calypso Show, Queen Show, Calypso Monarch,  Street Jam, Costume Parade and more.

The island is absolutely very safe, where locals still leave their home and car doors unlocked, and if one should lose something while traveling around, don’t worry, it will most likely turn up at the Radio Station ZJB FM 98.8 where they’ll announce it was found and that you can come to retrieve it.

There are activities for visitors such as hiking, scuba diving, visits to Plymouth (the old city) around the island boat tours, swimming, bar hopping, liming, or just relax in peace and tranquility. 

This is just a brief sample of what awaits you when you come to, Montserrat, The British Isle of the Caribbean (in the West Indies).