Island Paradise in St. Lucia
The Caribbean's best spot for any kind of tourist
A jewel strung along the windward island chain of the south Caribbean Sea, St. Lucia offers something for everyone. The only thing you can't do on this island is have a bad time!
For the nature lover
The island’s 238 square miles are filled with vast tropical rainforests, beautiful waterfalls, and scenic mountain peaks. St. Lucia is also a favorite spot for the avid snorkeler and scuba diver. An added bonus of being nestled in the center of the Caribbean is that a quick hop to any of the other nearby islands is usually cheap, sometimes as low as $30 USD for a round trip.
Partiers welcome!
If you’ve never been to a carnival before (not the kind with clowns and cotton candy—the kind with half-naked women and beer trucks), then watch out. St. Lucia’s carnival in July is an event that has started many a traveler’s lifetime addiction to the ultimate party scene. But you don’t have to wait until the carnival season to party in St. Lucia; the weekly “jump ups” in Rodney Bay and Gros Islet, where soca, reggae, and hip-hop fill the air, will have you “shakin’ that thang” in throngs of fun lovers from the West Indies and the rest of the world. (Caution! If you think you can dance, you haven’t danced with a Lucian!)
Beautiful island, beautiful people
Yes, it is a tourist destination, but it’s also the home of a fascinating people with a rich and complex history. Like most Caribbean islands, the lifestyle and culture are as diverse as the biology of this tiny little rock. You can hang out with the rich and fabulous in Marigot Bay, site of one of Oprah Winfrey’s get-away villas, or hike a river running through a banana plantation to a waterfall and hot spring and spend the day relaxing by a Rasta rum shack while you soak in purifying mineral waters. Catch acrobatics and fire twirling acts at the Hilton in the south of the island, then join a pick-up game of football (soccer, for the state-siders) in a local village the next day.
St. Lucia is home to one of the proudest, loudest, and most colorful of the West Indian cultures. From the northern capital city of Castries to the southern fishing town of Soufriere, you’ll come to know Lucians as friendly, sophisticated, and straightforward people. Smiling faces will greet you at open-air markets, road-side stands, and impromptu barbeques. You might even pick up a little of the local Kweyol dialect, a pigeon language derived from the island’s African, French, and British influences.
Come hungry!
There’s not enough space here to describe the bounty of plenty that is St. Lucian cuisine, so here’s a short list of “must eats” when you arrive in the emerald paradise: cassava bread, cook up, Caribbean lobster, fried breadfruit, fresh papaya, and of course, the local spice rum.
Highlights:
- The Pitons: These twin peaks at the southern tip of the island are St. Lucia’s premier icons. Ascending the Gros Piton (797 meters) is a fantastic journey through several tropical climates inhabited by ancient trees and exotic flora. Hiking the Petit Piton (750 meters) is discouraged due to erosion and hazards, but some guides will take you.
- Drive-in Volcano: If you can stand the overpowering sulfur fumes, don’t miss this exotic moonscape boiling and bubbling amidst the island’s lush tropical forests. Join the locals for a bath the hot springs and feel rejuvenated.
- The Maria Islands: A completely protected national park with beautiful white sand beaches and two species found nowhere else in the world: the Kouwes Snake and the Zandoli Terre Lizard.
- Anse Chastanet: A privately owned resort in the south of the island, it is distinct from the “overdone” tourist havens of the north and the somewhat generic environs of the Hilton. Anse Chastanet was one of the first hotels on the island and has kept its character and charm throughout the boom years of Caribbean tourism. It sits on the most idyllic beach on St. Lucia where first-rate snorkeling and diving are easily accessible. The resort is also a short boat ride from Soufriere where, if you are feeling adventurous, you can go to party in true “island-style.”
- Jungle: Yes, you should visit the national rainforests and search for parrots and boa constrictors, but “Jungle,” the taxi boat driver in Soufriere, is as much a part of St. Lucia as its tallest Banyan tree. You’ll hop off his Rasta-colored motorboat with a smile as big as a ripe banana.
