Suggestions for climbin the Pitons

[niffer75]

My husband and son want to climb the pitons. Our ship does not offer this as an excursion. I have found several on Viator, but am concerned about them getting back in time. Any recommendations?

 

[reedprincess]

4 hours ago, niffer75 said:

My husband and son want to climb the pitons. Our ship does not offer this as an excursion. I have found several on Viator, but am concerned about them getting back in time. Any recommendations?

 

My understanding is thst Viator guarantees getting you back on time, or they pay to get you to next port. Am I misunderstanding their guarantee?

 

Anyways, recent post on subject here:

Check them out. 

[sheilawigley]

I am curious about this as well... not many offer the tour by boat versus road there and I had "Joe Knows" tours tell me today that they dont offer it because of the risk of getting back in time which now bothers me.  Grrr... So I was coming to post the same question myself.  I have searched a lot on here and not a ton about people hiking it in general and esp on cruise.

[reedprincess]

55 minutes ago, sheilawigley said:

I am curious about this as well... not many offer the tour by boat versus road there and I had "Joe Knows" tours tell me today that they dont offer it because of the risk of getting back in time which now bothers me.  Grrr... So I was coming to post the same question myself.  I have searched a lot on here and not a ton about people hiking it in general and esp on cruise.

Actually, loads of people hike the Piton, pretty much daily. Not many from cruises, due to the Durance and time constraints - and cost. It's not really cost effective for tour operators for guest from cruise ships as it's generally 1 or 2 people, and the costs outweigh whatever miniscule profit they could make.  With the massive hike in trail fees, it pretty much wiped out the cruise tour option.. 

You can grab a cab, 90 minute one way drive to trail head, 4 hour round trip hike. Cab will run $180-200 round-trip, trail fee is $50 pp.

Or check Shashamane Water taxi, Israel's Water Taxi, Tribute to the Lion, Solomon's Water taxi, etc. 

Good luck. 

[Stinger-pr]

Last time we were in St. Lucia, we took a tour with Spencer Ambrose. His tours start with a power boat ride over to the Piton area and they offer an excursion to hike the Pitons.They transport those going to the hike on the same boat as those on their other tour. I know because we were almost late to the ship (arrived 30 minutes before all aboard time) because they kept waiting and waiting at Jalouise Beach for a couple who were behind schedule on their hike before taking us back to the ship. Other times I have toured with them, they had us back at port al least 1 hour before all aboard. But if any company guarantees you that they will have you back in time or fly you out to the next port on a hike like this, go with that guarantee. A lot of variables are in play.

[sheilawigley]

On 1/29/2020 at 11:52 AM, reedprincess said:

Actually, loads of people hike the Piton, pretty much daily. Not many from cruises, due to the Durance and time constraints - and cost. It's not really cost effective for tour operators for guest from cruise ships as it's generally 1 or 2 people, and the costs outweigh whatever miniscule profit they could make.  With the massive hike in trail fees, it pretty much wiped out the cruise tour option.. 

You can grab a cab, 90 minute one way drive to trail head, 4 hour round trip hike. Cab will run $180-200 round-trip, trail fee is $50 pp.

Or check Shashamane Water taxi, Israel's Water Taxi, Tribute to the Lion, Solomon's Water taxi, etc. 

Good luck. 

Reedprincess you seem very knowledgeable so do you mind sharing your opinion?  Do you really think there is enough time to do the Piton hike on a cruise stop?  We are in port from 9-6.  Even with a water taxi I am afraid now as Joy's told me they no longer offer because of the time constraints and "anything can happen".  I really wanted to do it, get some exercise, and see the beautiful views, but... thinking maybe now just do a land and sea combo.  We have never been to St. Lucia and I have always wanted to go.  I saw there are some rainforest hikes.  Are any of those worth doing?  I have looked for days on end at different tours and now feel even more confused lol.  I have all our other days planned but this one.  Thank you for your wisdom!

[Dragon2109]

Really the timing will depend on how fast you hike. Going via land minus the 1.45 hours drive each way , the timing of the hike itself will depend on you. I have met persons who hike up in 1.05 hours and down in 45 minutes. They were experienced hikes. Hike itself is about 2 hours each way on average. If you do the transfer via water taxi/boat then you will have more time allotted to you. If your cruise ship is leaving I believe it can be done. As long as you don't linger getting off the ship and you keep a good pace on the hike.

[reedprincess]

On 2/3/2020 at 2:03 PM, sheilawigley said:

Reedprincess you seem very knowledgeable so do you mind sharing your opinion?  Do you really think there is enough time to do the Piton hike on a cruise stop?  We are in port from 9-6.  Even with a water taxi I am afraid now as Joy's told me they no longer offer because of the time constraints and "anything can happen".  I really wanted to do it, get some exercise, and see the beautiful views, but... thinking maybe now just do a land and sea combo.  We have never been to St. Lucia and I have always wanted to go.  I saw there are some rainforest hikes.  Are any of those worth doing?  I have looked for days on end at different tours and now feel even more confused lol.  I have all our other days planned but this one.  Thank you for your wisdom!

TBH- you're timings are more than fine. You have plenty of time to do the hike if that's what you want to do for the day .. the "truck" would be to find water transport. .  again, Shashamane, Israel, etc water taxis ..

 

Bit really, just depends on what you want to do whole here for the day.  There's so much you could do during the hours you have  - entirely depends on what you're interested in....  

I can't really help much without knowing what you're interested in....

There's a lot of great day trips....

 

[sheilawigley]

10 hours ago, reedprincess said:

TBH- you're timings are more than fine. You have plenty of time to do the hike if that's what you want to do for the day .. the "truck" would be to find water transport. .  again, Shashamane, Israel, etc water taxis ..

 

Bit really, just depends on what you want to do whole here for the day.  There's so much you could do during the hours you have  - entirely depends on what you're interested in....  

I can't really help much without knowing what you're interested in....

There's a lot of great day trips....

 

Thank you!  I am looking at the hike with Treasure Tours or Solomon I believe.  have to go back in my emails.  TT is the last one I corresponded with.  I don't know why I am so conflicted.  My husband and I are in our 40s and both fit so I feel like we can do the hike in 4 hours or less.  Treasure Tours takes you by boat and then about a 20 min drive to start the hike so they seem good on time.

 

But on the flip side, then I wonder if we should do an overall St Lucia Land and Sea tour to see more of St. Lucia in general and not spend all the time hiking if that makes sense.  Get to see/hear more on history/culture.  I don't really have an interest in the mud baths or snorkeling (we are doing snorkeling in Barbados and have done in other places), but of course we can relax on the beach.  I wonder if just being between the Pitons and the views from the water are good along with other areas.  I have been wanting to go to St. Lucia for years so want to do so much lol. 

[reedprincess]

5 hours ago, sheilawigley said:

Thank you!  I am looking at the hike with Treasure Tours or Solomon I believe.  have to go back in my emails.  TT is the last one I corresponded with.  I don't know why I am so conflicted.  My husband and I are in our 40s and both fit so I feel like we can do the hike in 4 hours or less.  Treasure Tours takes you by boat and then about a 20 min drive to start the hike so they seem good on time.

 

But on the flip side, then I wonder if we should do an overall St Lucia Land and Sea tour to see more of St. Lucia in general and not spend all the time hiking if that makes sense.  Get to see/hear more on history/culture.  I don't really have an interest in the mud baths or snorkeling (we are doing snorkeling in Barbados and have done in other places), but of course we can relax on the beach.  I wonder if just being between the Pitons and the views from the water are good along with other areas.  I have been wanting to go to St. Lucia for years so want to do so much lol. 

May I suggest you first take a deep breath and relax. Then realize, you're simply not going to be able to "do it all" or even "see it all" in your very limited time.   I know it's tough, but 8 hours really doesn't give you time to see more than a few highlights. And St Lucia has a LOT of highlights!  

You could customize your day instead an hit a few wonderful spots that are less traveled so to speak 

Instead of hiking the Piton and that being your entire day, consider the Tet Paul trail instead - which is a 1 hour tops, walk/hike along the ridge above/between the Pitons. Absolutely stunning views, much quicker and leaves time to enjoy elsewhere.  

Hit that you, then a quick pass through the volcano, maybe a botanical garden or waterfall, and then the beach for a couple hours and back up to the port. 

If you left port by 8:30, you'd be to Tet Paul by 9:45 or so, all done and ready for more by 11, you can have a fantastic lunch right there by the trail, or somewhere in town, botanical garden for an hour, beach for an hour or so  and back to port by 4.  (Assuming an all-aboard of 4:30, as most ships are).  

The difficulty with St Lucia is simply the driving distances. While the island itself is quite small, only 27 miles top to bottom, it's takes a solid 60-90 minutes from Castries to Soufriere due to the winding narrow mountainous roads.  Stunning beautiful drive, but long.  Boat trio takes 45 minutes...

You could consider a water taxi to Soufriere and save even more time, then land portion to Tet Paul, and whatever else, then back into water taxi to the ship.  You could visit Sugar Beach and Anse Chastenet with it's black sand, or pull into Marigot Bay on the return for the gorgeous views. 

There is simply a ton to do, unfortunately  - you're going to have to narrow it down, and plan your return trip! Personally, hiking the Piton wouldn't be my first choice for a one  day trip - both because you'd miss out on lots of other sights and Experiences, and because it's fairly exhausting!! And you can get almost the identical views, etc from Tet Paul, plus some good history, info about the local flora, etc.  

Good luck with narrowing down what to do!!

[sheilawigley]

On 2/5/2020 at 4:17 PM, reedprincess said:

May I suggest you first take a deep breath and relax. Then realize, you're simply not going to be able to "do it all" or even "see it all" in your very limited time.   I know it's tough, but 8 hours really doesn't give you time to see more than a few highlights. And St Lucia has a LOT of highlights!  

You could customize your day instead an hit a few wonderful spots that are less traveled so to speak 

Instead of hiking the Piton and that being your entire day, consider the Tet Paul trail instead - which is a 1 hour tops, walk/hike along the ridge above/between the Pitons. Absolutely stunning views, much quicker and leaves time to enjoy elsewhere.  

Hit that you, then a quick pass through the volcano, maybe a botanical garden or waterfall, and then the beach for a couple hours and back up to the port. 

If you left port by 8:30, you'd be to Tet Paul by 9:45 or so, all done and ready for more by 11, you can have a fantastic lunch right there by the trail, or somewhere in town, botanical garden for an hour, beach for an hour or so  and back to port by 4.  (Assuming an all-aboard of 4:30, as most ships are).  

The difficulty with St Lucia is simply the driving distances. While the island itself is quite small, only 27 miles top to bottom, it's takes a solid 60-90 minutes from Castries to Soufriere due to the winding narrow mountainous roads.  Stunning beautiful drive, but long.  Boat trio takes 45 minutes...

You could consider a water taxi to Soufriere and save even more time, then land portion to Tet Paul, and whatever else, then back into water taxi to the ship.  You could visit Sugar Beach and Anse Chastenet with it's black sand, or pull into Marigot Bay on the return for the gorgeous views. 

There is simply a ton to do, unfortunately  - you're going to have to narrow it down, and plan your return trip! Personally, hiking the Piton wouldn't be my first choice for a one  day trip - both because you'd miss out on lots of other sights and Experiences, and because it's fairly exhausting!! And you can get almost the identical views, etc from Tet Paul, plus some good history, info about the local flora, etc.  

Good luck with narrowing down what to do!!

Thank you so much!  The information is invaluable and exactly what I was looking for 🙂  I am going to look into all of this and plan the day like this versus the hike.  Appreciate you!!

[reedprincess]

55 minutes ago, sheilawigley said:

Thank you so much!  The information is invaluable and exactly what I was looking for 🙂  I am going to look into all of this and plan the day like this versus the hike.  Appreciate you!!

Very happy to help. Let us know what you decide, and how it goes!  

Happy sails 

[Super Curly]

Is there a tour company that could take us by boat from Castries to the volcano so that 3 of our group can do the mud baths while 2 of us hike Tet Paul and we all meet up at Sugar beach for snorkeling before returning to our ship? We will be arriving Christmas day on the Grandeur of the Seas.

[CaribbeanLover22]

On 6/7/2021 at 1:29 PM, Super Curly said:

Is there a tour company that could take us by boat from Castries to the volcano so that 3 of our group can do the mud baths while 2 of us hike Tet Paul and we all meet up at Sugar beach for snorkeling before returning to our ship? We will be arriving Christmas day on the Grandeur of the Seas.

Check out Captain Cliff tours, we are booked to do them in February. They do private tours on a boat and go to the volcano and mud baths and will tailor it to what your group wants to do. 

[Super Curly]

On 6/19/2021 at 3:46 PM, CaribbeanLover22 said:

Check out Captain Cliff tours, we are booked to do them in February. They do private tours on a boat and go to the volcano and mud baths and will tailor it to what your group wants to do. 

Thank you. We went ahead and booked with Captain Mango for the same.