We have traveled to St. Lucia twice. The first time we stayed at an all-inclusive Sandals resort and didn't get to see the beauty of the island or experience the day to day life. So, it bothered me until we were able to travel to St. Lucia again. This time we stayed in a Vacation Rental Buy Owner, VRBO, and made sure we saw as much of the island as we could in seven short days. St. Lucia is not known for its beaches but it is definitly know for the magestic Pitons and the kindness of its islanders.
“St. Lucia is one of my favorite Carribean islands with the volcanic Pitons, lush green mountsides and colorful buildings in the villages. The islanders are friendly and appreciative of the tourists. We have been there twice and hope to get there again someday!"
Below are my favorite views the Pitons, the iconic and most famous landmarks on the island of St. Lucia! I could never get tired of looking at these gorgeous volcanic rocks known as Gross Piton and Petit Piton. They are located on the southwestern end of the island and are considered dormat volcanic plugs. Be sure to take day cruise to the Pitons and snorkel at the base! It is a beautiful experience. Snorkeling is average in St. Lucia. It is much better on other islands but the natural beauty of the island makes up for the lack of good snorkeling.
The village at the base of the Tetons is Soufrière and is best known as the home of the Pitons. Its bright colored buildings, friendly residents, and view of the Pitons make it worth the drive or the boat ride to visit. Both times we visited St. Lucia, we did both, drove to Soufrière and also took a day catamaran trip along with snorkeling. Another location on the island I just love and cannot get enough of. The drive to Soufrière is amazing and the views along the route are worth seeing. Once in Soufrière, we have taken a tour of the Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens, Sulpher Springs, and the Piton Nature Trail.
The beaches in St. Lucia are not the dreamy white sand beaches like beaches on many of the other Caribbean Islands. Due to the volcanic rock, the beaches are a darker beige or gray color and are rocky in some locations. We only found one beach we felt comfortable snorkeling from into the water, Anse Chastanet Beach. It was a pretty beach lined with beautiful palm trees and crescent shaped but the couple of days we spent on the beach the water was not the clearest or calmest for snorkeling. But the drive to get there was beautiful and scenic and the beach was well worth seeing!
Our second visit to St. Lucia we stayed in Gros Islet on the northwestern side of the island. It was a beautiful location north of the capitol, Castries. We did a few day trips driving from
Gros Islet to another cool town, Canaries and then on to Soufrière. There are many vantage points along the way to stop and take photos as well as banana farms everywhere! We also would stop at Anse Chastanet Beach to enjoy the views and try snorkeling.
A must see is Marigot Bay where there is a marina and resort. The views are gorgeous and it is definitley a higher end area of St. Lucia. The bay is famous for and was used as the setting for the 1967 film adaptation of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books. Marigot Bay is south of Castries and the overlook looking down onto the Bay as you drive south is worth the stop to take a photo! Anse Cochran Beach is a favorite stop of the catermaran day trips. The beach is a small sand beach surrounded by palm treas and crystal clear water.
The capitol city of Castries is a larger city with shopping, fish markets, and is the islands busiest sea port. We chose to not spend much time in the City but made sure we stopped to do our duty free shopping, see the fish markets and have dinner.
St. Lucia is definitely an island not to miss! Rent a car and drive the island to see as much as you can. Also take a catermaran trip to the south end of the island to see the Pitons. Better yet, find a VRBO or resort that overlooks the Pitons! Next time that is my plan, stay near the Pitons so I can see them every day! Sunsets are vibrant in St. Lucia and something I also looked forward to everyday.
HOW TO TRAVEL ECONOMICALLY AND GET THE MOST FOR YOUR TIME AND MONEY
I also get asked many times, "How do you travel so often and keep it affordable?" A few tips are below:
For me, planning and researching is part of the excitement of the trip! Visioning is so much fun!!!
I plan all of my own trips and research, research, research on the internet. I utilize TripAdvisor, Frommer's, and blogs from other travelers to find the information I need for my trip. I do ALOT of reading and researching. It takes patience to plan a good affordable trip!
I have a budget in mind for each trip and challenge myself to stay in the budget. Depending on the location, I typically start planning and booking hotels, cars, etc., approximately 9 months out. Hotel prices usually get more expensive the closer to the trip unless you are willing to do a last minute internet deal. Car rental and airline prices also go up the closer it is to your trip. Occasionally you can get a last minute deal but something else may be more expensive and you are really not saving. I like to plan!
For hotels, I use Booking.com, or Priceline.com. I look for hotels with good reviews, pay when you stay, and free cancellation in advance. We look for smaller boutique hotels with good amenities and great locations.
We have done all-inclusive in a couple of tropical locations years and years ago but found that we do not eat and drink enough to make it worth the extra expense. We like to go off site from the hotel and experience the local cuisine and traditions. We have not done all-inclusive in the last 15 years. However, all-inclusive is wonderful if you want to stay at the resort for all meals, not rent a car, and have the hotel shuttle you to your destinations. That has worked for us in Jamaica and it was very relaxing! But I would not drive in Jamaica so all-inclusive was the smartest option! If you enjoy all-inclusive, the earlier you book the trip the lower the price. Unless you are game and are not a planner, and are willing to travel where the last minute deal is advertised. Then you could get a great all-inclusive deal!
If we are flying, I use the Skyscanner app to check airfare prices and I try not to buy until about 60 to 75 days out. There are times where I will by earlier if the price is super reasonable. I usually do not book on Skyscanner. It will tell me the site that is the most affordable to purchase the tickets and if it is a more well known trust site, I go directly to the site to purchase the tickets. Many times Skyscanner will take you right to the airline website. Skyscanner will search all airlines and will sort by price, times, shortest trip, etc.
Have a credit card that gives you miles or hotel points. We will use points for many of our trips. We are American Advantage members and have an Advantage credit card. We try to fly American as often as we can to earn points and then use those points for future airline tickets. Our credit card is tied to our Advantage numbers and awards points as well.
We drive if the location is in the United States and we can drive and sightsee along the way. If we need to rent a car, we reserve online using Booking.com, Orbitz.com, or Priceline.com. They are usually the most reasonable. I watch for specials and never book a luxury vehicle! We also have a credit card with a low limit that we use for vehicle rentals that provides insurance as a credit card benefit. We always decline the insurance when we are in the United States. If we are traveling out of the United States, we check with the credit card if the insurance is valid internationally. We have found it is valid in Europe, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, but in other locations, we are forced to purchase the liability insurance from the rental car company.
While there are free maps online for most destinations, I always go onto Amazon and buy a map of my destination, especially if it is international. I do not buy maps for tropical Caribbean islands. I just get one when we arrive. But for countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, England, Canada, Germany, France, etc., I always purchase a good map. As you do you research, you can use the map to highlight the places you want to visit and the sites you want to see. I have it as a reference later for putting my memories and photos into a photobook!
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