Climbing Gros Piton - looking for advice on how to arrange

[JulieMcCoy]

That's great to know that you did this from a cruise ship and even had time for the beach...which probably felt wonderful after the climb! I plan to specifically add stairclimbing to my fitness routine before the trip to be in the best shape to enjoy the climb.

[iambumbo]

Has anybody who climbed Gros Piton also climbed Mt. Liamuiga in St. Kitts? I did the latter a couple years ago and while I made it to the top, it was without question the most strenuous excursion I'd ever been on during a cruise. Just curious how the two experiences compare. As long as it's not any harder than Mt. Liamuiga, I'd definitely try hiking Gros Piton.

[runnergirlcinci]

Sorry, I'm no help, as I hadn't heard of Mt. Liamuiga. But I'm going to watch for other people to respond as I would love to do another beautiful hike like this again.

But I'd recommend if you don't hear back from anyone, you still go for it. The worst thing that can happen is you don't make it all the way to the top. But the views from the walk up would still be worth it. You can walk at whatever pace you need and get as far as you can. The guide will know when you need to turn around. Just my two cents!

[Jborosara]

Gros Piton slightly more difficult than Mt Liamguia... MUCH hotter and more humid in st Lucia And less shade

 

 

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[bwlr1985]

Just got back from from a week on the Carnival Valor and had a chance to do this hike with Spencer Ambrose. I love that he takes you there on a boat rather thant by car. You are out in the fresh air and sunshine and on the way back he shows you sites along the coast of St Lucia - wonderful. The hike itself is very strenuous but if you work relatively strenously on a regularl basis you should be ok. I am told between 50 -70% of the people make it to the top. The view from the half way point and the top were spectacular. You will be sore for the next day or 2 though. We also had Cameron (I wonder if Spencer specifically requests him) and as indicated he was quiet at first but was a great guide and willing to talk once you got him going. Round trip it took us just under 4 hours (I am 56, DH 58 and my 2 daughters 20 and 22 for reference). Jalousie beach is nothing special, but the lunch, rum punch and Piton beer served there along with the dip in the ocean after the hike were great. Highly recommend the whole experience.

[rcprncss]

Last April, I also climbed the Gros Piton with Spencer. It was very strenuous. I am not a hiker at all. I'm in good shape. One week prior to climbing, I ran a half marathon. If I could do it over, I would have trained for it but I couldn't because I was training for a half marathon. So if you are a regular hiker, it will be easier for you. Spencer's tour was definitely the way to do it. But since you are boated over there, you are hiking from sea level. The others that drive over there, they have a different starting point. You aren't starting from the bottom. Just FYI. I did it to save driving time but it probably didn't save that much time because it took longer to hike to the top.

[iambumbo]

As a follow-up to my earlier post, very happy to have used Spencer Ambrose for the hike. The boat ride was beautiful and the hike was just me and my buddy with our guide. The guide (Akeem) evidently had been sick the last few days and at the halfway point asked if we'd mind going to the top by ourselves. It wasn't an issue as the trail is well-marked and there were plenty of other people coming up and going down. I actually liked it a little better without the guide as I was able to go a little bit slower than if he had been leading us so didn't kill myself going up, haha. The view at the top is amazing and worth the hike.

 

As for my earlier question about whether this was harder than the volcano in St. Kitts, I thought it was a little easier and my buddy thought it was harder. My guess is that's because he booked it to the top after our guide needed to rest, while I took my time.

 

Because we spent quite awhile at the top and it took a few minutes for our boat to arrive onshore to take us back, we didn't have any time to spend on Jalousie Beach, which frankly was fine with me as I was exhausted. Spencer made sure we got food on arrival though and told us to just relax on the boat and have as much as we wanted from the cooler. I probably was able to down about 7 Piton beers by the time we arrived back at the pier to try to get "re-hydrated." ;) Bottom line-- all of Spencer's people were friendly, engaging, and always made us feel safe. I've been on 10 cruises now and I'd rank his staff as high as any excursion.