St Lucia
Table Of Contents
Introduction
St Lucia stands out from the constellation of islands that dot the Caribbean because of two iconic mountain peaks known as the Pitons, but also because of the multitude of activities you can do other than just baking in the sun. In St Lucia, you can snorkel, walk into a volcano, dance under waterfalls, make chocolate from scratch, and indulge in the local food. This itinerary sets out the best highlight things to see, do and eat during four days in St Lucia.
Day 1 – Arrival day
A majority of the hotels on St Lucia are exuberantly expensive all-inclusive resorts or chain hotels. None of this appealed to us, but on a very last-minute look (i.e. just one week before we planned to travel), we found Green Fig.
Set into the side of a cliff in the southern end of the island, Green Fig is a true hidden gem. It is both close to the main sights in the south of St Lucia, as well as feeling very private. There’s a choice of open-air rooms or air-conditioned rooms. Regardless of which room you book, you will get a splendid view of the Pitons. We stayed in two different rooms, and one came with an outdoor balcony. There were swimming pools on three different levels. During our visit, we pretty much had it all to ourselves to frolick in.
During our visit, continental breakfast of scrumptious banana bread and a fruit platter was served daily. Lunch and dinner was available from the on-site restaurant, which served both local St Lucian fare and American/British food. Live music played each evening to about 8.30pm-9pm, and then the chorus of the jungle lured us to sleep.
At dawn, one was awoken by the crow of the rooster from the town below. That town is Soufriere. It is bordered by a beach called Hummingbird Beach, which is more of a local beach, rather than a resort-style beach. There are a lot of street peddlers here.
Day 2 – Snorkeling at Sugar Beach and Anse Chastanet
The best snorkelling in St Lucia is in the south. At the following two spots, beneath the shimmering turquoise waters, you will see a dreamy underwater world:
- Sugar Beach is a great spot for beginner snorkellers, as it is just a few steps into the water off the Viceroy Hotel’s shoreline.
- Anse Chastanet is also offshore from a hotel of the same name. But here, you should be comfortable with the occasional strong sea current and deeper depths of water.
Tour operator we booked with: Discover Soufriere (USD $90 pp includes snorkelling equipment, and return water taxi transport from your hotel to Sugar Beach and Anse Chastanet).
After all that swimming and snorkelling, we recommend a buffet lunch of St Lucian food at Beacon Restaurant (approx USD $40 for two persons). Perched high on a mountain above Soufriere, Beacon offers uninterrupted 180 degrees views of the town, sea and of course, the majestic Pitons. The buffet lunch features a variety of local soups, salads and meats. It ends with a bowl of bi-coloured ice cream and cheesecake to chase away the humidity.
Day 3 – Soufriere – chocolate, volcano and waterfalls
Aside from snorkelling, the southern end of St Lucia offers an array of other exciting activities, and we filled an entire day doing that:
The Hotel Chocolat chocolate plantation — here, we grafted a cocoa plant, learned about the harvesting process of cocoa pods, and toured the lush plantation owned by British chocolatier brand. We also made chocolate! This entailed arduously grinding cocoa nibs with a stone mortar and pestle, sifting sugar and stirring cocoa butter into the thick paste. We then allowed it to set in a small plastic mould to take home later.
Tour operator we booked with: Hotel Chocolat (USD $120pp including lunch).
After lunch, we spent an hour hiking the Tet Paul Nature Trail for countless more panoramic views of the Pitons. We munched a wild mango on the way down. (USD $10pp entrance fee, plus mandatory guide).
We then walked straight into a volcano haha. St Lucia is the only place in the world where you can safely do this. There is also an option to bathe in pools of bubbling sulphuric hot springs. (USD $10pp entrance fee, plus mandatory guide).
The best part of the day was having the Diamond Waterfall Botanical Gardens all to ourselves. We glimpsed luminous hummingbirds fluttering between bromeliads and watched the waterfall cascade over colourful striated geological forms. (USD $10pp entrance fee).
For our last activity of the day, we attempted to dance under the powerful jet spray of the La Toraille Waterfall. (USD $3pp entrance fee).
We highly recommend having a sunset dinner at Hotel Chocolat. The food here is infused entirely with chocolate, from its cocoa onion soup to a cocoa chicken curry, and of course to its magnificent desserts. You can read more about all the desserts here.
Day 4 – Northern villages and Pigeon Island hike
On our fourth day, we toured the northern end of the island. Home to many large resorts, the main cruise ship port, and more arid windswept areas, it has a very different vibe from the thickly forested south. We visited:
- Canaries and Anse La Reye – these are quieter fishing villages near Soufriere.
- Castries – this is the main cruise ship port, and typically sees thousands upon thousands of cruise passengers disembark here during the peak season.
- Rodney Bay – we stopped here for a pepper pot lunch. It is an area that screamed “tourist central,” with many a human lobster strolling between colourful international restaurants and a wide array of glossy duty-free shops.
- Gros Islet — with fishing nets draped on the fences of weather-beaten shacks, this town has a more local feel.
- Pigeon Island – the highlight sight of the day was hiking to the top of this island, which is bordered by a calm bay on one side and the Atlantic crushing against it on the other. It is dotted with remnants of military forts, barracks and cannons.
Tour operator that we booked with: Wow Tours St Lucia (USD $90 pp). You get a personal driver who drives you around the northern island for about 5-6 hours. At your preference, you stop at various intervals for photos and walks etc.
Planning Logistics
Getting there
We flew Jet Blue from NYC.
To get to/from Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) to our hotel in Soufriere at the south of the island, it took about an hour by taxi, which we pre-booked through our hotel (approx USD $100). If your hotel is located in the north, expect the journey to take about 1.5 hours.
The roads throughout St Lucia are extremely twisty. Tell your driver to drive slowly. I said bye bye to my meals on two occasions.
Hotel recommendation
We stayed at Green Fig in Soufriere, at the south of the island. I described it above, and highly recommend it. Do note that Green Fig will not be a suitable hotel for those who are elderly or otherwise have mobility issues as there are a lot of stairs.
Safety and mobility
On this trip, I had a travelling companion. Beyond the hotel, we travelled with a driver. Exercise general caution if you are wandering around by yourself. We received some stares and street peddlers came up to sell their wares, but were friendly and not intimidating.
You need a light level of fitness to visit St Lucia using the above itinerary. We were pretty much dropped off at the main sights, so minimal walking was involved. The Tet Paul Nature Trail is a light-moderate hike.
Best season to visit
I typically prefer to travel in the shoulder season, to avoid crowds and extreme temperature differences. The above itinerary is based on a visit in early June, after the giant cruise ship season ends in late May and before the hurricane season begins in late June through to November. The weather was comfortably warm, with slight humidity, hovering at the 30 degrees (Celsius) / 85 degrees (Fahrenheit) mark.
Dreams for the next trip
If we had another 2-3 days, we would have planned to do more snorkelling, the Piton Hike, and to stay in the north to enjoy the beaches there too.