what's the truth about jealousie beach

:D I have read that is the beach is crowded.rocky with murky water and dominated by the private hotel,on the other hand,I have read it is spectacular with great snorkling and ample space.We will be there in Nov...any thoughts???:rolleyes::rolleyes:

:D I have read that is the beach is crowded.rocky with murky water and dominated by the private hotel,on the other hand,I have read it is spectacular with great snorkling and ample space.We will be there in Nov...any thoughts???:rolleyes::rolleyes:

It is a spectacular beach that does have a lucury hotel located on it. The resort provides free chairs for visitors in one small area off to the right (when facing the ocean). This is a small area and can feel crowded with the chairs that are put there. This small area is also somewhat rocky - it is sort of up against the hillside area. The snorkeling is excellent - it is part of the marine reserve area.

The rest of the beach is completely public - you can walk all along it, put your towel down somewhere else along the beach, etc. You cannot use the other loungers unless you rent them from the resort and the other shade provided - sunhuts/umbrellas, etc. unless you rent them also. there is a fairly large tree in front of the beach bar you can put your towel under for a bit of shade. The beach is not a huge long beach, but it is fairly decent for a walk along, the water is lovely shades of blues and there are some rocks - St. Lucia is a volcanic island, our beaches are not soft coral sand. It is a bit rocky under the water - water shoes are not a bad idea. The beach itself in front of Jalouise Resort is imported white sand, but once you enter the water it is the natural volcanic sand and a bit rocky.

Also - you can patronize the beach bar/restaurant if you want- just be dressed appropriately - you need cover-up and shoes. (and it's expensive!)

All in all it is a beautiful beach and the surrounding scenery is stunning with very good snorkeling. hope that helps!

I had the DISpleasure of booking a ship excursion called Snorkel beneath the Pitons that stopped at this beach. We received 20% back after the terrible tour. The beach on the resort side is very nice. The lounge chairs are wonderful, but not available to anyone but resort guests. The rest of the chairs are shoved over to the side, on a rocky space. There are so many boats coming in and out of the beach area here that the water is muddy and murky. We had a terrible snorkeling experience. I would never return here as it was not worth the time or expense.

Hmmm. Interesting...

We had a great experience with Spencer Ambrose and his Jalousie Beach Break tour in February. We got there before anyone else, so we picked out a couple of nice loungers under a palapa right in front of the area roped off for snorkeling.

It's a nice, sandy beach, but once you're in the water it's rocky, so you'll need water shoes. We found the snorkeling to be pretty decent.

The beach can get a little busy, but we didn't find the boat traffic to be all that bad. The area for snorkeling is roped off, so you're not worried about tangling with boats while you're in there...

All in all, I found this excursion to be one of the better ones we did on our 2-week cruise.

Cheers, P:)

I had the DISpleasure of booking a ship excursion called Snorkel beneath the Pitons that stopped at this beach. We received 20% back after the terrible tour. The beach on the resort side is very nice. The lounge chairs are wonderful, but not available to anyone but resort guests. The rest of the chairs are shoved over to the side, on a rocky space. There are so many boats coming in and out of the beach area here that the water is muddy and murky. We had a terrible snorkeling experience. I would never return here as it was not worth the time or expense.

Hmmm. Interesting...

 

We had a great experience with Spencer Ambrose and his Jalousie Beach Break tour in February. We got there before anyone else, so we picked out a couple of nice loungers under a palapa right in front of the area roped off for snorkeling.

 

It's a nice, sandy beach, but once you're in the water it's rocky, so you'll need water shoes. We found the snorkeling to be pretty decent.

 

The beach can get a little busy, but we didn't find the boat traffic to be all that bad. The area for snorkeling is roped off, so you're not worried about tangling with boats while you're in there...

 

All in all, I found this excursion to be one of the better ones we did on our 2-week cruise.

 

Cheers, P:)

I thought I had read that the resort will rent out their loungers for a fee if visitors choose to use that area instead of the free chairs. Is that no longer so?

I thought I had read that the resort will rent out their loungers for a fee if visitors choose to use that area instead of the free chairs. Is that no longer so?

It was not the case when we were there in February.

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I thought I had read that the resort will rent out their loungers for a fee if visitors choose to use that area instead of the free chairs. Is that no longer so?

Yes, the resort rents out nicer lounge chairs at around $20US per chair or something along those lines. These are not the ultr-luxury ones the resorts guests use, but they are nicer than the free ones the resort provides for visitors (which is quite generous as they don't have to provide anything at all) The ones for rent are padded and can be rented from the watersports hut or from the front desk.

We just did the Spencer Ambrose Jalousie Beach Break tour last week. I have to say that this was one of the best snorkel spots that we had all week. Beautiful fish and very good visibility. As the others said, the water when you first get in is rocky but I just floated on my belly right away to avoid stepping on rocks lol. The beach in general is beautiful. You can rent the loungers in front of the resort for a fee, but we didn't think that there was any wrong with the free ones especially because we spent most of our time in the water snorkeling. We got free rum punch and lunch on our tour so I didn't experience the bar and food prices. All in all we had a great time and the snorkeling was definitely memorable. :)

We visited Jalhousie Beach with Cosol Tours. Visitors are herded into a small area over to one side. It's rocky, but that's to be expected due to its volcanic nature. Water shoes aren't a bad idea. We spent most of our time swimming and snorkeling, so the lack of chairs or the rocky parts didn't really bother us. And it can be busy with boats coming and going. The day we were there, the snorkeling wasn't anything special, it was okay but we didn't see alot of fish or anything.

BUT - it was a gorgeous sunny day with blue skies and the water was warm - we were snorkeling in an area that has been featured in National Geographic, in the shadow of a World Heritage Site. It's beautiful and amazing and I felt privileged to be there. That, IMO, makes up for any minor inconvenience like a shortage of chairs. It's absolutely worth a visit. :)

Just got back from our Victory cruise and stopped at Jalousie on our Cosol Tour last week

We weren't really herded to the left side - only if you wanted a free lounge chair. The entire beach and water was available for us to use as we pleased.

The water was very clear and we did not need water shoes - the beach isn't really fine sand but as previously posted, more the volcanice gravelly sand. Didn't bother our feet at all....

We did the Spencer Ambrose Tour (Jalousie Beach Break). Bus ride to tour the island, short motor-boat ride to Jalousie, picnic & drinks (very strong), time to enjoy beach & snorkel. Then we had chosen a speedboat ride back to the ship, and that was fun! Very fast, fun ride!

We really enjoyed that day.

We did the Spencer Ambrose Tour (Jalousie Beach Break). Bus ride to tour the island, short motor-boat ride to Jalousie, picnic & drinks (very strong), time to enjoy beach & snorkel. Then we had chosen a speedboat ride back to the ship, and that was fun! Very fast, fun ride!

 

We really enjoyed that day.

Thanks for posting. Sounds like you may have done Spencer's Land and Sea Adventure if you toured the island by bus as well. We are considering booking the Beach Break, which includes the sea portion only. Can you tell us a bit more about the beach? Were there enough chairs, were you restricted to one area, was the water clear for snorkeling? Any other thoughts on Jalousie?

Yes, the resort rents out nicer lounge chairs at around $20US per chair or something along those lines. These are not the ultr-luxury ones the resorts guests use, but they are nicer than the free ones the resort provides for visitors (which is quite generous as they don't have to provide anything at all) The ones for rent are padded and can be rented from the watersports hut or from the front desk.

For the $20 chair fee, do you get an umbrella or palapa? Would need shade in addition to a chair for my elderly parents.

When we went to Jalousie with Spencer (Feb.14), we were the first ones there. We got two loungers under a palapa for free right in front of the snorkeling area.

The beach was not overly busy when we were there, so there seemed to be enough loungers for everyone in our group. It didn't feel crowded at all.

The loungers in this area are free (nothing fancy, but good enough to sleep off a rum punch buzz). You are not restricted to staying only in this area. You can walk or swim anywhere along this stretch of beach.

The snorkeling area is roped off , so no boats can go into that area. The visibility was quite clear when we were there.

There are a few palapas and natural shade tress in that area - if you get there early enough, finding shade for free shouldn't be a problem...

Cheers, P:)

All beaches in St. Lucia are public. As already mentioned, the Jalousie Plantation provides complimentary loungers under palapas on the snorkeling side of the beach--but that doesn't mean you are restricted to stay in that area. You can put your towel down and access the beach anywhere along that stretch. If you would like to "upgrade" to a luxury padded lounge chair you can rent one for $20.00 from the resort.

For the $20 chair fee, do you get an umbrella or palapa? Would need shade in addition to a chair for my elderly parents.

Here is a photo of the luxury padded chairs available to rent on the resort side of the beach.

Jalousie Beach is a beautiful and scenic white-sand beach located right between the Gros and Petit Pitons.

This is the snorkeling side of the beach and the lounge chairs the resort provides free of charge.

dz63, thank you for posting the photos. They are very helpful.

Can you get to Jalousie Beach without doing a tour? Can you take a taxi there? What would be the cost?

Thanks for any info. Carol

Can you get to Jalousie Beach without doing a tour? Can you take a taxi there? What would be the cost?

Thanks for any info. Carol

Yes, you can hire a taxi for the day to take you to Jalousie if you want. A taxi from the port round trip will cost about $180US for up to 3-4 passengers. It is about a 1-1.15 hour drive down to the resort. The taxi driver can take you to the parking lot, from there you either have to walk down and back up or can take the resort shuttle for a small fee. It's about a 10 minute walk down, probably more coming back up. Sometimes they charge for the shuttle and sometimes they don't - good luck.

Chairs are available for rent if you want or you can put your towel down anywhere along the beach (not under the hotel's palapas or umbrellas obviously) or try for one of the free chairs the resort provides for visitors on the side, as shown in the pictures above.

Enjoy your visit!

Can you get to Jalousie Beach without doing a tour? Can you take a taxi there? What would be the cost?

Thanks for any info. Carol

Yes, you can hire a taxi for the day to take you to Jalousie if you want. A taxi from the port round trip will cost about $180US for up to 3-4 passengers. It is about a 1-1.15 hour drive down to the resort. The taxi driver can take you to the parking lot, from there you either have to walk down and back up or can take the resort shuttle for a small fee. It's about a 10 minute walk down, probably more coming back up. Sometimes they charge for the shuttle and sometimes they don't - good luck.

Chairs are available for rent if you want or you can put your towel down anywhere along the beach (not under the hotel's palapas or umbrellas obviously) or try for one of the free chairs the resort provides for visitors on the side, as shown in the pictures above.

Enjoy your visit!

Since the price to take a taxi from the port to Jalousie Beach is high, you probably are better off taking a tour--something like Spencer Ambrose's Jalousie Beach Break. For $80 this includes boat transportation to the beach, coastal sightseeing tour, lunch and beverages....just something else for you to think about :rolleyes:!

Thanks for posting. Sounds like you may have done Spencer's Land and Sea Adventure if you toured the island by bus as well. We are considering booking the Beach Break, which includes the sea portion only. Can you tell us a bit more about the beach? Were there enough chairs, were you restricted to one area, was the water clear for snorkeling? Any other thoughts on Jalousie?

Yes, I realized after posting we had done the Land & Sea Tour.

Our tour included food, and that was set up on the far left side of the beach (looking from the water.) All the chairs were occupied when we got there, and our group of 30 strangers had 2 women in their 80s. I tried to get a free empty lounge chair for them, but was told "Oh, no - that's for my husband..." (Three times....never did see aforementioned husbands use the chairs) The woman supplying the food for our group was able to get a lounger, had it put in the shade, and the 2 ladies shared it. The rest of us stood, walked about, or put towels on the sand.

Our group bonded really well, and we had a fun time on the buses, and on the beach. Especially after the Rum Punch appeared!

We rented snorkeling equipment for my daughter, and she said she enjoyed the snorkeling. The beach is really in a lovely spot.

I see others supplied photos. I would book it. I think you will enjoy it.

Yes, I realized after posting we had done the Land & Sea Tour.

 

Our tour included food, and that was set up on the far left side of the beach (looking from the water.) All the chairs were occupied when we got there, and our group of 30 strangers had 2 women in their 80s. I tried to get a free empty lounge chair for them, but was told "Oh, no - that's for my husband..." (Three times....never did see aforementioned husbands use the chairs) The woman supplying the food for our group was able to get a lounger, had it put in the shade, and the 2 ladies shared it. The rest of us stood, walked about, or put towels on the sand.

 

Our group bonded really well, and we had a fun time on the buses, and on the beach. Especially after the Rum Punch appeared!

 

We rented snorkeling equipment for my daughter, and she said she enjoyed the snorkeling. The beach is really in a lovely spot.

 

I see others supplied photos. I would book it. I think you will enjoy it.

Just proves the Chair Hogs are everywhere! :D

If we do the Beach Break we would be spending a good part of the day there. We may consider renting the resort loungers (not sure if it's orth the $40)

Thank you.

If you go with Spencer, he'll likely get you there before anyone else, so you'll have your pick of whatever lounger you want...

Cheers, P:)

If you go with Spencer, he'll likely get you there before anyone else, so you'll have your pick of whatever lounger you want...

 

Cheers, P:)

Spencer's Jalousie Beach Break will get you to the beach before the other tours get there--since you are heading directly to the beach you will arrive there before those who are doing a land or land/sea tour. Also keep in mind, that during the peak cruising months, Jalousie Beach will be much more crowded than it would be during the summer months. We have always visited there in the summer, and as you can tell from the photo I posted in post #17, there were lots of complimentary loungers available.

It seems to me there are three options to visiting this beach -

1: Go with a tour such as Spencer's and get herded into a small, crowded rocky area of the beach.

2: Take the hotel's own boat from the cruise port and back again. They charge $50 and you get an armband which allows you to sit on the hotel's loungers and use their toilets but not the swimming pool. You also get a $25 credit to use at the beach bar/restaurant.

3. Take a day room at the hotel, look down at the beach but use the pool and have all the amenities of a proper hotel room.

For me, it's a no-brainer. But I'd welcome other people's ideas as I'm going in a month's time and I'm considering option 4: stay on the ship!