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St. Lucia General Information
Where should I stay? North or South?
The People
Should I rent a jeep?
What is there to do?
Which airport should I fly into?
Where should I eat?
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Where should I stay? North or
South?
This is a very important question because there is an hour's drive
between the Castries and Soufriere areas. In short, the Castries area
has almost all of the commerce. Castries has numerous accommodations,
shopping centers, beaches, and restaurants. The Soufriere area has the
good snorkeling, tourist attractions, and beauty. If you stay in
Castries and spend a lot of time in Soufriere then you will be spending at
least two hours a day commuting. But if you stay in Soufriere then you
are VERY limited on your accommodations and restaurants. (very rural)
Our advice is to stay on both parts of the island. If we had to choose
between the two, we would pick the Castries area. |
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The People
St. Lucia is a very economically depressed island. Recently their
banana market has dried up, depriving a lot of islanders of their livelihood.
Most people were very friendly and cordial. It seemed that the further
south we went the more people approached us for money. Most of the
tourist spots have islanders selling items or offering their advice for a
donation. We were never harassed. A firm NO
sufficed.
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Should I rent a jeep?
If you plan on traveling between the north and south you will definitely
need a jeep. If you plan on lying by the pool and taking some organized
tours, then you might not need one. We love renting jeeps because it
gives us freedom to explore the island. The steering wheels are on the
RIGHT and the driving is on the LEFT. It was pretty awkward at first,
but after a day or so I was used to it. Overall the roads were in
very good shape.
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What is there to do?
Most of the "tourist" attractions are in the south. There
are botanical gardens, waterfalls, sulphur springs, rain forests,
snorkeling, diving, shopping, plantations and relaxing on the beach.
We particularly liked the Torallie Waterfall park. It was only $2 for
entry and was very nice. We did not get to the sulphur springs or
rainforest due to time. (there is just so much to see)
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What airport should I fly into?
The airport at Vieux Fort is on the south side of the island. If
you fly into Vieux Fort and are staying in Castries, then you can expect an
hour and a half drive to your accommodations. We flew into SLU
(Castries) and it was located within a mile or so of town. It is a
little over an hour from the Castries airport to Soufriere. |
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What are some places to eat?
Our favorite place for dinner was Dasheene at Ladera. It has a
spectacular view, the food was excellent, and the service was great.
We also liked the Old Courthouse in Soufriere. It is located on the
beach in downtown Soufriere and the food was good and reasonable. In
Castries we liked Key Largo and Spinnakers. We do NOT recommend The
Wharf, next to Villa Beach Cottages. We had such bad service that we walked
out.
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This is a view of the city of Castries. |
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The beach to the left is the beach at the Hilton.
Around the corner from the beach is a place called "Bang". Very
cool little place on the water. Can't really explain the charm.
You will have to experience it for yourself. |
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