Anse Chastanet or other non-Jalousie excursions

We will have a stop in St Lucia on our cruise in April and are having trouble finding the right excursion. I'm hoping people have some ideas.

Two adults, no kids. We've never been to St Lucia.

We definitely want to see the Pitons. That is a priority. But we want to see something else too.

Ideally, there'd be a beach that is good for both snorkeling and lounging with shade. I'm not so into Jalousie beach. It sounds very crowded, and I don't like that there's no guarantee for a beach chair.

We'd also consider hiking or kayaking instead of, or in addition to snorkel/beach time.

The volcano doesn't hold much interest. No to ziplining.

We want to minimize our time in vans or on the roads, or on crowded, larger boats. Short distances are ok.

A boat to Anse Chastanet sounds like it would meet our needs, but it doesn't seem like there are any excursion groups that provide such a service. And I'm not sure how long the boat ride there would be, or if it's even possible to do in the time slot (8-5:30).

Other ideas or suggestions on how to do Anse Chastanet? Thanks!

We will have a stop in St Lucia on our cruise in April and are having trouble finding the right excursion. I'm hoping people have some ideas.

 

Two adults, no kids. We've never been to St Lucia.

 

We definitely want to see the Pitons. That is a priority. But we want to see something else too.

 

Ideally, there'd be a beach that is good for both snorkeling and lounging with shade. I'm not so into Jalousie beach. It sounds very crowded, and I don't like that there's no guarantee for a beach chair.

 

We'd also consider hiking or kayaking instead of, or in addition to snorkel/beach time.

 

The volcano doesn't hold much interest. No to ziplining.

 

We want to minimize our time in vans or on the roads, or on crowded, larger boats. Short distances are ok.

 

A boat to Anse Chastanet sounds like it would meet our needs, but it doesn't seem like there are any excursion groups that provide such a service. And I'm not sure how long the boat ride there would be, or if it's even possible to do in the time slot (8-5:30).

 

Other ideas or suggestions on how to do Anse Chastanet? Thanks!

Perhaps, you can arrange for a water taxi to take you to Anse Chastanet when you get there. You can easily go to the information desk and have them arrange something for you. Otherwise you can always prearrange a speed boat to take you down there. Take a look at Mystic man, spencer ambrose, Serenitytvl etc. You can also look into Pigeon Island national Landmark. There is some snorkeling, snuba, hiking, beach chairs. no umbrellas but sufficient shade. There is a restaurant on site or there are a few local canteens on the outside. It is only 20-30 minutes drive from the cruise port which is a $25.00-$30.00 4 people sharing. Entrance to the park is $7-$8 with chairs. Serenitytvl offers a tour to Pigeon Island on their site for $40.00 per person.

Perhaps, you can arrange for a water taxi to take you to Anse Chastanet when you get there. You can easily go to the information desk and have them arrange something for you. Otherwise you can always prearrange a speed boat to take you down there. Take a look at Mystic man, spencer ambrose, Serenitytvl etc. You can also look into Pigeon Island national Landmark. There is some snorkeling, snuba, hiking, beach chairs. no umbrellas but sufficient shade. There is a restaurant on site or there are a few local canteens on the outside. It is only 20-30 minutes drive from the cruise port which is a $25.00-$30.00 4 people sharing. Entrance to the park is $7-$8 with chairs. Serenitytvl offers a tour to Pigeon Island on their site for $40.00 per person.

Thanks! Any idea how much water taxis or speed boats will be?

Pigeon Island is in the opposite direction of the Pitons. Are there tours that do both? I've looked into the companies you suggested, and all of them require going to Jalousie if you want to see the Pitons.

Thanks again for your suggestions!

Thanks! Any idea how much water taxis or speed boats will be?

 

Pigeon Island is in the opposite direction of the Pitons. Are there tours that do both? I've looked into the companies you suggested, and all of them require going to Jalousie if you want to see the Pitons.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions!

Here is another company you may want to look into. Maybe this one would better suite you, though Pigeon Island is not included.

http://www.carnivalsailing.com/tours/paradise-beach.php

Thanks! Any idea how much water taxis or speed boats will be?

 

Pigeon Island is in the opposite direction of the Pitons. Are there tours that do both? I've looked into the companies you suggested, and all of them require going to Jalousie if you want to see the Pitons.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions!

All of then require Jalousie to see the Pitons because you can't see the Pitons from Anse Chastenet beach! Anse Chastenet is behind a peninsula and you can't see the Pitons from that beach at all. You would be able to see them from the road out to AC or from the boat trip down and back....Water taxi would run about $250-300 r/t and land taxi would run about $200 r/t to AC. Consider that it's a 1.15-1.5 hour drive one way, or a 35-45 minute water taxi ride one way.

Mystic Man offers a snorkeling trip that includes two or three beach stops, usually including AC if the current are good..... Jalousie is hardly crowded or over busy, especially if you're on Spencer's Beach Break who gets there first. The beach itself is public, you can enjoy any portion of it you like along the entire length. If you want more comfortable chairs, you can rent them from the hotel. Great snorkeling at the base of Petit Piton. Worth considering..

If hiking and snorkeling and kayaking are priorities, consider Pigeon Island. No, there is no tour that covers both - the distances/time involved in travel are too much o do in a short cruise stop. Pigeon Island has two hikes, ruins and history, beach, snorkeling, restaurant, etc.. Serenity offers a good combo tour with transport, entrance fee, chairs and drinks cooler. Or you can do it on your own, $35 one way, $7 pp entrance fee, around $20 for two chairs, etc...

All of then require Jalousie to see the Pitons because you can't see the Pitons from Anse Chastenet beach! Anse Chastenet is behind a peninsula and you can't see the Pitons from that beach at all. You would be able to see them from the road out to AC or from the boat trip down and back....Water taxi would run about $250-300 r/t and land taxi would run about $200 r/t to AC. Consider that it's a 1.15-1.5 hour drive one way, or a 35-45 minute water taxi ride one way.

Mystic Man offers a snorkeling trip that includes two or three beach stops, usually including AC if the current are good..... Jalousie is hardly crowded or over busy, especially if you're on Spencer's Beach Break who gets there first. The beach itself is public, you can enjoy any portion of it you like along the entire length. If you want more comfortable chairs, you can rent them from the hotel. Great snorkeling at the base of Petit Piton. Worth considering..

If hiking and snorkeling and kayaking are priorities, consider Pigeon Island. No, there is no tour that covers both - the distances/time involved in travel are too much o do in a short cruise stop. Pigeon Island has two hikes, ruins and history, beach, snorkeling, restaurant, etc.. Serenity offers a good combo tour with transport, entrance fee, chairs and drinks cooler. Or you can do it on your own, $35 one way, $7 pp entrance fee, around $20 for two chairs, etc...

Great advice, thank you!

We were thinking along similar lines as you (except seeing the pitons was not a must for us) and I found a couple possible excursions...

Jungle Reef Adventures runs excursions out to Anse Chastanet (we are currently booked to do the all day "Jungle Biking" excursion with snorkeling from the beach after). They are picking us up at the cruise port and taking us there via boat (a must for me...I've experienced the roads last time I was in St Lucia and am not anxious to repeat the experience :)).

We were also looking in DFK kayaking as a possibility. They offer a variety of kayaking trips that look enjoyable.

Let me know if you have any other questions...

All of then require Jalousie to see the Pitons because you can't see the Pitons from Anse Chastenet beach! Anse Chastenet is behind a peninsula and you can't see the Pitons from that beach at all. You would be able to see them from the road out to AC or from the boat trip down and back....Water taxi would run about $250-300 r/t and land taxi would run about $200 r/t to AC. Consider that it's a 1.15-1.5 hour drive one way, or a 35-45 minute water taxi ride one way.

Mystic Man offers a snorkeling trip that includes two or three beach stops, usually including AC if the current are good..... Jalousie is hardly crowded or over busy, especially if you're on Spencer's Beach Break who gets there first. The beach itself is public, you can enjoy any portion of it you like along the entire length. If you want more comfortable chairs, you can rent them from the hotel. Great snorkeling at the base of Petit Piton. Worth considering..

If hiking and snorkeling and kayaking are priorities, consider Pigeon Island. No, there is no tour that covers both - the distances/time involved in travel are too much o do in a short cruise stop. Pigeon Island has two hikes, ruins and history, beach, snorkeling, restaurant, etc.. Serenity offers a good combo tour with transport, entrance fee, chairs and drinks cooler. Or you can do it on your own, $35 one way, $7 pp entrance fee, around $20 for two chairs, etc...

Hello Reed Princess. Hoping you can help me. We are planning to stop at Jalousie/Sugar Beach as part of a private island tour. Do you know if there is an entrance fee for Jalousie/Sugar Beach? I was told that they are now charging $50 per person entrance fee. Is there a free public access area to the beach? We are now considering going to Anse Chastenet beach instead since we don't want to spend that much on entrance fees to the beach but did not realize that you can't see the Pitons from there.

Hello Reed Princess. Hoping you can help me. We are planning to stop at Jalousie/Sugar Beach as part of a private island tour. Do you know if there is an entrance fee for Jalousie/Sugar Beach? I was told that they are now charging $50 per person entrance fee. Is there a free public access area to the beach? We are now considering going to Anse Chastenet beach instead since we don't want to spend that much on entrance fees to the beach but did not realize that you can't see the Pitons from there.

There's conflicting reports for Sugar Beach.

You can access via water taxi, no fees/charges, etc - but water taxis can be pricey. (although less than $50USD pp!) And great water views!

You can enter via their land entrance - but apparently you can't drive down to their parking lot or use their shuttle without paying their pp fee - which supposedly is then applied towards food purchases.

You can walk down, no fees.

However - YMMV. There's been very few scattered reports about being charged to enter the property/use parking lot/shuttle. They can't stop you from accessing the beach , but they can stop you from using resort facilities - including parking lot and shuttles..

So, do be prepared.

You cab see the Pitons from many, many viewpoints all around Soufriere. While you can't see them from the beach at Anse Chastenet, there's stunning views of them from the road out to it.

There's beautiful views from Soufriere waterfront besch aka Hummingbird Beach (and great food at Hummingbird, etc) also some snorkeling along the cliffside...