Recommendations for St Lucia excursion

We will be on taking Viking Ocean Caribbean cruise this coming November. St Lucia looks like a very interesting port, and we are undecided what excursion we would like to do there. Viking does an included panoramic excursion, but then we are free to take another excursion or explore on our own. Looking at their list of excursions, the Aerial Tram one through the rainforest sounds interesting (3 hours), as does the Historical Creole Traditions one (4 hours) -- that includes Morne Viewpointe and Fond Latisab Creole Park and National Park. What do you think?We are not that interested in beaches or snorkeling. Any suggestions would be welcome.

We will be on taking Viking Ocean Caribbean cruise this coming November. St Lucia looks like a very interesting port, and we are undecided what excursion we would like to do there. Viking does an included panoramic excursion, but then we are free to take another excursion or explore on our own. Looking at their list of excursions, the Aerial Tram one through the rainforest sounds interesting (3 hours), as does the Historical Creole Traditions one (4 hours) -- that includes Morne Viewpointe and Fond Latisab Creole Park and National Park. What do you think?We are not that interested in beaches or snorkeling. Any suggestions would be welcome.

For first time visit I suggest going Soufriere route though it would mean missing out on your free Viking cruise. The pitons, drive in volcano, mud baths, waterfalls are must see. You can always include the historical stops. Perhaps you can take a taxi there from the cruise port. Aerial Tram is a great choice, they also offer zip line or a combination of the two(tranopy). Not sure if Fond Latisab still operates but it was nice the last time I visited. If you are going to the Morne, pop into Caribelle Batik, they have really upgraded their tour and have some very interesting things happening. Enjoy your tour!

We will be stopping in the port with Viking on our return from the Amazon. It sounds like the main sights are quite a long drive on twisting roads. My stomach cannot hmdle that and we want to see as much of this beautiful island as possible.

Friends on CC (OBX Cruiser)just recommended seeing the island by water to that side rather than travel via bus.....specifically they suggested the water & land excursion that Spencer Ambrose tours offers....he has a few varying options and might be worth looking into.

Can I recommend an Island tour with Cosol tours.

We had an absolutely brilliant day and felt very looked after by our guide Yellowbird.

The tour took us to all the highlights of the island and we also were given a buffet of island dishes.

Have a look on the cruise critic and TripAdvisor reviews.

Could I ask you Katomerikaf if the Cosol tour consisted of a lot of driving on very winding roads in a bus? How much of that tour were you driving vs being out in locations?

I am not suggesting that is a bad thing - just wanting to clarify for information. Thank you

Could I ask you Katomerikaf if the Cosol tour consisted of a lot of driving on very winding roads in a bus? How much of that tour were you driving vs being out in locations?

I am not suggesting that is a bad thing - just wanting to clarify for information. Thank you

There were some winding roads but also some straighter ones. We never felt that we were being thrown around or unsafe. As for the time spent in or out of the vehicle, that's a bit more tricky.

Personally I think they had it about right.

We had several very short stops that were designed for us to have a quick photo stop at great view points - 5/10 mins or so - which was long enough to stretch our legs etc. We didn't feel rushed though into getting back into the bus.

We also made longer stops at various points such as the banana plantation, rum shack, piton viewpoint, bread and cheese stop etc where we spent around 20/30 mins.

We then went to have an early lunch, volcano and sulphur baths - around 45 mins. There was also a trip on a boat to the beach between the Pitons where we had an hour or so. At each stop the separate bar bus opened to share it's wares of water, beer, soft drinks!

Hope this helps!

Thank you.....I appreciate your response.

Could I ask you Katomerikaf if the Cosol tour consisted of a lot of driving on very winding roads in a bus? How much of that tour were you driving vs being out in locations?

I am not suggesting that is a bad thing - just wanting to clarify for information. Thank you

We did the Cosol tour when in St Lucia the second time. There is a bit of time spent in the Van not a bus. It has some winding roads but I didn't feel like it was that much. My husband gets car sick easily and had no trouble with this tour. You do make quite a few stops which breaks up the driving time. You do spend time off the bus at the place where you sample all kinds of foods and also the time you spend at the beach between the Pitons. There are also shorter stops where you get off the van. And it is nice to have a van since that means the group is small and not large like you would have on a bus.

This was a better tour than the first time we went to St Lucia. That time we were a group of 13 that rented a catamaran that went down towards the Pitons. We never got there. We did a little snorkeling at a couple of spots and had lunch at the Chateau Mygo House of Seafood in Marigot Bay. Personally we enjoyed the Cosol tour more. We got to see more of the island. On the catamaran we mostly saw the island from the water.

Thank you all for your recommendations. You have given us some interesting choices. The Cosol tour sounds intriguing as well as the Soufriere route -- or does the Cosul tour do that route? I will look further into those. Thanks again

Could I ask you Katomerikaf if the Cosol tour consisted of a lot of driving on very winding roads in a bus? How much of that tour were you driving vs being out in locations?

I am not suggesting that is a bad thing - just wanting to clarify for information. Thank you

All Island tours consist of a lot driving. The road is serpentine and mountainous but local operators do have the experience to be extra careful. It doesn't hurt to let them know that you don't do well on the roads. You can also halve an all sea tour which though it's very beautiful I would say you will miss out on the amazing experience of doing the tour via land. i recommend doing half land, half sea tour. i believe Spencer offers that or you can take a look at Barefoot holidays, Serenitytvl. St. Lucia reps etc. they all offer a version of that.

Thanks all. Yes, I agree, all islands don't have straight roads!:) some ports are just too far from where you want to be so it's a bus/van or a boat!

We have contacted Spencer based on the ability to combine land and sea without the long drive over to the opposite side of the island where most of the sights are. For us, that will be a wonderful solution!