Snorkeling & Mud Baths

St Lucia is on our cruise in January but there are several other ports with great snorkeling. Is snorkeling good in SL? Can anyone compare it to snorkeling in Bonaire, Cozumel or some other good places? Since we're snorkeling in several other ports I don't want to waste time and money if it isn't good.

I've also read about the mud baths. What tour would do you recommend going on to do this? Or is it worth it? Are you herded in the bath with a bunch of other people?

Anything else you recommend on SL or should we stay on the ship and rest that day?

St Lucia is on our cruise in January but there are several other ports with great snorkeling. Is snorkeling good in SL? Can anyone compare it to snorkeling in Bonaire, Cozumel or some other good places? Since we're snorkeling in several other ports I don't want to waste time and money if it isn't good.

 

I've also read about the mud baths. What tour would do you recommend going on to do this? Or is it worth it? Are you herded in the bath with a bunch of other people?

 

Anything else you recommend on SL or should we stay on the ship and rest that day?

St Lucia is spectacularly beautiful, and fairly unique in scenery in the Caribbean. The Pitons are iconic, breathtaking rising out of the sea..

There's lots of great tours that show many of the highlights - consider Cosol or Spencer Ambrose , Serenity, Barefoot Holidays, Solar Tours and Taxi , etc..

Pitons, mud baths and volcano, waterfalls, mineral baths, hikes, ruins, snorkeling, diving, fishing, whale watching, plantation tours, zip line , ATV, horseback riding, sailing , mountain biking, segway tours, and so on all options.

Depends on what you're interested in. Definitely not an island to skip, nor is it really one to just walk out and see around the port - there's little to nothing around the docks, Castries is not a quaint Caribbean village but rather very much a working, gritty capital city. You need to get out of the area to see what St Lucia has to offer.

Is it only snorkeling or mud baths you're interested in? If so, Spencer's Land and Sea tour would fit perfectly.. . Snorkeling is very good down around the Pitons, healthy reefs, lots of fishes and other sea life, etc.

St Lucia is on our cruise in January but there are several other ports with great snorkeling. Is snorkeling good in SL? Can anyone compare it to snorkeling in Bonaire, Cozumel or some other good places? Since we're snorkeling in several other ports I don't want to waste time and money if it isn't good.

 

I've also read about the mud baths. What tour would do you recommend going on to do this? Or is it worth it? Are you herded in the bath with a bunch of other people?

 

Anything else you recommend on SL or should we stay on the ship and rest that day?

We used Joe Knows Tours in St. Lucia our last two times there. They take a speedboat ride out to the volcano and mud bathes, the advantage there is you get there before the buses and other people driving there from the cruise port. They are 5 star rated on Trip Advisor. I thought the snorkeling there was just OK while some folks rave about it. Good luck!

This will be the 6th port in a row and I'm not sure we'll want to be on a 5 or 6 hour tour. Plus we will have snorkeled Curacao, Bonaire and Barbados before this. The mud baths and waterfall sound interesting, as does a beach lunch or something. Would there be taxis at port to do a private tour with? Something quick and easy? Any idea of a cost for something like that?

This will be the 6th port in a row and I'm not sure we'll want to be on a 5 or 6 hour tour. Plus we will have snorkeled Curacao, Bonaire and Barbados before this. The mud baths and waterfall sound interesting, as does a beach lunch or something. Would there be taxis at port to do a private tour with? Something quick and easy? Any idea of a cost for something like that?

Yes, there's taxis and tour operators available at the port.

The problem is - rhe mud baths, volcano , etc is 1.15-1.5 hours ine way from port.

So, even a quick trip to just the volcano and mud baths, maybe waterfall swim - you're looking at a 4-5 hour round trip...

It's $90 one way to Soufriere , where the volcano is located.

A "short" tour to volcano , mud baths and waterfall, will run around $75-100 pp.. It's simply a long drive - not much you can do about that.

If you just want s beach day, head to Vigie Beach, 10 minute from port, long long stretch of beach, nice boardwalk with local food and drinks, chairs for rent, lots if natural shade...

It woukd be a bummer to miss the highlights if the island - what makes St Lucia unique amongst the Caribbean, etc.. But if a beach day is it - Vigie is too notch...

Enjoy your visit.

We went with Spencer Ambrose and it was an amazing trip and day! We went to the beach and snorkeled between the pitons and it was absolutely gorgeous! Check out my review in my signature line and it has tons of pictures of the snorkeling there that day. :)