Not to miss on St. Lucia....

My son is going to be married on St. Lucia next August, so we will be spending a week at Windjammer Landings Resort. It will be a different vacation for my wife and I, we are used to cruising for a week, not staying in one spot!

I am just starting to learn about the island and think about planning, and I was wondering if anyone familiar with it could recommend the "not to be missed in St. Lucia" things that we should see. I know about the Pitons, but at this point that is about all.

Thanks ahead!

you already have the number 1 not to miss - the Pitons. In the same region, the volcano and mud baths, botanical gardens and Diamond Falls, snorkeling at the foot of the Pitons, Tet Paul nature trail (easy walk/hike, amazing views), etc.

There are a wealth of things to see and do in St. Lucia, hard to list them all. As this is a cruise forum, I would recommend you head over to Tripadvisor's St. Lucia forum for more ideas of land bases activities, hotel questions, restaurant suggestions, etc. There is a wealth of info about the island, tour groups, sights to see, etc. over there. Definitely worth looking at for more in depth info on the island.

you already have the number 1 not to miss - the Pitons. In the same region, the volcano and mud baths, botanical gardens and Diamond Falls, snorkeling at the foot of the Pitons, Tet Paul nature trail (easy walk/hike, amazing views), etc.

There are a wealth of things to see and do in St. Lucia, hard to list them all. As this is a cruise forum, I would recommend you head over to Tripadvisor's St. Lucia forum for more ideas of land bases activities, hotel questions, restaurant suggestions, etc. There is a wealth of info about the island, tour groups, sights to see, etc. over there. Definitely worth looking at for more in depth info on the island.

Thanks for the info! I have been doing some research, and have looked through some of Tripadviser, but I will take a closer look at the forum. Yeah, there are a lot of things, so many that it makes it hard to sort through them, so I thought I would post here to see if I can get some places to start. I knew there would be some knowledgeable people that could help.

My son is going to be married on St. Lucia next August, so we will be spending a week at Windjammer Landings Resort. It will be a different vacation for my wife and I, we are used to cruising for a week, not staying in one spot!

 

I am just starting to learn about the island and think about planning, and I was wondering if anyone familiar with it could recommend the "not to be missed in St. Lucia" things that we should see. I know about the Pitons, but at this point that is about all.

 

Thanks ahead!

St. Lucia was our favourite port of call on our Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Victory back in 2009. On that cruise we booked the West Coast Island Delight tour with Spencer Ambrose – it turned out to be the best excursion of our entire cruise.

We liked St. Lucia so much that we booked a land vacation in August 2011. Our family of five (myself, DW and three DS’s) spent 12 nights at Coconut Bay resort near Vieux Fort at the southern tip of the island, just minutes from the Hewannora International airport. During our visit, we had an opportunity to see many sights in St. Lucia. We are an active family and we like to take photos. The top three sites for us where:

1) Zipline/Challenge Course/Errand Falls combo with Treetop Adventures (Dennery)

This was our favourite activity. After the ziplining and the Challenge course, we were literally soaked with sweat - the dip in Errand Falls was very cool and refreshing - the perfect way to end our tour. We spent a good hour there and actually went back to visit the Errand Falls later that week. I highly recommend Errand Falls! The zipline and Challenge course was fun too!

Tripadvisor review:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g1959515-d1417315-r118179567-Treetop_Canopy_Adventure-Dennery_St_Lucia.html

2) Sunset Catamaran cruise with Mystic Man Tours (Soufriere)

Nice calm, relaxing cruise of Soufriere Bay with views of the bat cave, Pitons, and Jalousie Beach. Rum punch, Piton beer, softdrinks and a few snacks were included. They broke out the Champagne at sunset. Tour guide Bradley with his infectious smile made us really feel at home on this tour.

Tripadvisor review:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147345-d2073647-r117380197-Mystic_Man_Tours-Soufriere_St_Lucia.html

3) Gros Piton climb/Emerald Falls/Piton Falls custom tour with Spencer Ambrose Tours (Soufriere)

The boys and I really liked the Gros Piton climb, much more than my DW. DW was a good sport and reluctantly agreed to climb with us. I bike 100 miles a week in the summer so I did not find the climb too strenuous, but my DW had to take a few rest breaks on the way up! Still, she was a trouper - and made it to the top in about 2.5 hours. We were rewarded with some very nice views of the island from the top including the Petit Piton and views of the Southern coast of the island. We made sure to pick a clear sunny day for the hike, so we would get lots of clear photos. It was very hot and very humid - our shirts were soaked with sweat by the time we got to the top. Take a knapsack to carry lots of water and a few healthy snacks, and of course a Piton beer to take a photo at the top!

Tripadvisor review:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147342-d150512-r118341821-Pitons-St_Lucia.html

More about St. Lucia coming in next post…

More about St. Lucia coming in next post…

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Wow! Awesome! Great info thank you!

3. Gros Piton climb/Emerald Falls/Piton Falls custom tour…continued

Emerald Falls is located right in the heart of Soufriere, only a 5 minute car ride from the Soufriere dock. The water is hot! I believe it is run-off water from the nearby volcano. We could only take photos here as they do not allow you to “swim” in the falls. There are a couple mineral pools on site, but we did not try them out.

Emerald "Hot" Falls (Soufriere)

Piton Falls is located on the outskirts of Soufriere. It is a warm water fall that you can enter. There was some sediment in the water the day we were there from a rainfall that occurred earlier in the day, so we did not spend much time in the waterfall. We did, however, soak in the mineral pool that is located there. With the Piton climb, lunch and two waterfalls in just one day, it was a long day – we left Piton Falls just as the sun was setting and got back to our hotel in the dark.

Piton "warm" falls (on the outskirts of Soufriere)

Mineral bath at Piton Falls

During our stay in St. Lucia, we also did the following excursions:

4. Coastal Boat Tour including Marigot Bay, Anse Mamin Beach, Anse Chastanet Beach, Soufriere and Jalousie Beach (Spencer Ambrose Tours)

The water was calm and we enjoyed the breeze as we relaxed and took in the sights of St. Lucia's rugged shoreline along the west coast. We cruised through Marigot Bay, where Spencer pointed out some of the homes of the rich and famous. We saw the natural bridge, and stopped at Anse Mamin beach to let the boys climb the rock structures there and jump into the ocean. Then we continued on to Anse Chastanet, a volcanic, black sand beach. The sand really is dark grey/black! We also spent some time at Jalousie Beach, a white sand beach nestled between the two Pitons. This tour afforded some great views of the west coast, only accessible by boat. Our boys were disappointed that the floating dock at Jalousie Beach got wiped out by hurricane Tomas. They really enjoyed swimming out to the dock and "sumo" wrestling on the dock, when we last visited Jalousie Beach in 2009.

Natural Bridge (located between Castries and Marigot on the west coast)

Interesting rock formations at Anse Mamin beach (west coast)

Jalousie Beach (between the Pitons - Gros Piton in background - we climbed to the top of it!)

5. Sulphur Springs Volcano

We took the 15 minute guided tour of the volcano. We found it interesting. They used to allow the guides to walk out on to the lava rock until one of the guides broke through the lava rock and was badly scalded. He survived, but changed occupations after the incident. The sulphur smell was hardly noticeable when we were there. We saw the mud baths and took a photo, but did not have enough time to go in.

Bubbling mud at Sulphur Springs volcano taken with my lens at full zoom.

Mud baths - at Sulphur Springs volcano (extra $4 pp I think)

6. Fort Rodney/Signal Hill and Pigeon Point beach

We got some interesting photos from Fort Rodney and Signal Hill. If you are staying up in the North end of the island, it would be worth the taxi cost to visit the site. Coming up from the south, I am not sure I would do it again.

Fort Rodney and Signal Hill are a very easy 20 minute climb. Even so, it was very hot and humid when we were there. The beach at Pigeon Point was nothing special - not nearly as nice as Jalousie or Anse Chastanet. If you are looking for a nice beach, this is not the place to go. The interpretive center was small and not very interesting for me personally.

Fort Rodney in the distance. Photo taken from Signal hill.

7. Castries Market

Located in the heart of Castries. Vegetable and fruit market with lots of handmade crafts and wood carvings, etc.

Castries market ocated in heart of Castries

More to come....

8. Moule a Chique lighthouse (Vieux Fort)

The lighthouse itself was a bit run down. It looked like they were in the process of restoring it when we were there. There was a nice strong breeze coming off the ocean and we had a “bird’s eye” view of the Hewanorra International airport runway from the lighthouse.

Moule a Chique lighthouse (near Vieux Fort)

Hewannora International Airport runway (Vieux Fort)

9. Balenbouche Sugar Mill Ruins (Laborie)

This is the site of a historic sugar mill and a quaint estate offering lodging to guests. It was interesting to see the old equipment in the midst of the tropical foliage and trees. There are lot’s of neat photo opportunities at this site!

Our Tripadvisor Review:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g1163086-d379337-r118178928-Balenbouche_Estate-Laborie_St_Lucia.html

Ruins of Balenbouche sugar mill (near Laborie)

You will enjoy your time in St. Lucia! It is a very rugged and scenic island. There is lots to see and do! We only scratched the surface on our trip there. If you have any questions, or would like to see other photos, just let me know.

 

You will enjoy your time in St. Lucia! It is a very rugged and scenic island. There is lots to see and do! We only scratched the surface on our trip there. If you have any questions, or would like to see other photos, just let me know.

Man, I owe you one! Thank you very much, that is exactly what I was looking for, but much more detailed than I would ever have expected. I can't wait to share it all with the family. Thanks again! :D

One thing I would add is to go whale watching with Hackshaw's boats....we have done this about 9 years in a row, and is always a highlight.

Here is a short video that I put together of the day with them

Oops - there is an error in my above post! "Emerald" Falls should read "Diamond" Falls. Sorry for the confusion. See below for the correction...

3. Gros Piton climb/Diamond Falls/Piton Falls custom tour…continued

Diamond Falls is located right in the heart of Soufriere, only a 5 minute car ride from the Soufriere dock. The water is hot! I believe it is run-off water from the nearby volcano. We could only take photos here as they do not allow you to “swim” in the falls. There are a couple mineral pools on site, but we did not try them out.

Diamond "Hot" Falls (Soufriere)

We have done a couple island tours with Spencer and they were both wonderful days but our favorite thing in St Lucia was riding horses anlong the southern coast with Atlantic Riding Stables . Max the owner and his whole family provide a day long tour by horseback , lunch on the beach incl. , that is just unbelievable . Though we love every visit there is something truly remarkable about Max's land 100's of unspoiled acres .

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147342-d642854-Reviews-Atlantic_Shores_Riding_Stables-St_Lucia.html

http://www.facebook.com/people/Atlantic-Shores-Riding-Stables/100001289766877

Pictures can't do the scenery justice , they do pick you up at most resorts on the island .

Have a great time !! Ted

St. Lucia is one my favorite islands in the Caribbean! I can't add much to

what the others have offered.... except to say I am extremely jealous of

your being able to enjoy that paradise for a full seven days! Our experiences

in St. Lucia were crammed into a scant several hours for each visit.

Absolutely gorgeous island with warm and wonderful people of all races!

Pete

We have done a couple island tours with Spencer and they were both wonderful days but our favorite thing in St Lucia was riding horses anlong the southern coast with Atlantic Riding Stables .

Thanks for the information, I will look them up!

Rob..we just came back from St. Lucia this past Sunday, I will give you all the info. We are seeing you for dinner in 10 days I hope??

Andrea

Rob..we just came back from St. Lucia this past Sunday, I will give you all the info. We are seeing you for dinner in 10 days I hope??

 

Andrea

Andrea! Yes, definitely! 9 days now, and I can't wait to hear about your trip!

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One thing I would add is to go whale watching with Hackshaw's boats....we have done this about 9 years in a row, and is always a highlight.

 

Here is a short video that I put together of the day with them

 

Is Feb./March a good time for this? What months are most likely for whale watch sightings?

Is Feb./March a good time for this? What months are most likely for whale watch sightings?

The whales live there year 'round....our charter is always in March or early April....and they have been seeing alot of sperm whales in the last couple of weeks. Last year in March we saw pilot whales, sperm whales and a humpbacked whale, and tons of various dolphin species.

The whales live there year 'round....our charter is always in March or early April....and they have been seeing alot of sperm whales in the last couple of weeks. Last year in March we saw pilot whales, sperm whales and a humpbacked whale, and tons of various dolphin species.

I tried to book thru your fav company but it is already booked by Celebrity, so I guess we will be booking as soon as we get on board.

Thanks for your quick response!