Tammy

We are going on our honeymoon to St. Lucia on December 6th.. We'll be there for 10 days.. What is the weather like there usually during that time, and do we have to worry about rain? <BR>Also, is the water there clear and blue? <BR>Any recommendations on great restaurants or daytrips not to miss? Thanks!

lisa

Congratulations. The weather definitely varies depending on where you are on the island and at what elevation. I was in St. Lucia for a week in mid-November last year, staying at Ladera, and the weather was beautiful -- sunny with highs in the mid- to high- 80s, lows in the mid-70s at night, and wonderful breezes. We were told that November is typically the tail end of the rainy season there. It rained a few times during the week we were there, but never for longer than 5-10 minutes, and each time it did rain we saw rainbows! I brought a lightweight rain jacket with a hood and only used it once when we went walking in the rainforest and it rained for about 10 minutes and then the sun came right back out again. I definitely could have done without it. We found it hotter down on the beaches than it was up at Ladera which is perched on a hillside and therefore gets better breezes. I have also heard that the northern part of the island around Castries tends to be drier and get less rain than the area around Soufriere where we were staying. We didn't mind the rain at all because we understood that it is the reason the island is so green and lush and gorgeous. The water in the area we were staying (the beaches we used were at Jalousie Hilton and Anse Chastanet) was a beautiful clear emerald green. Apparently because St. Lucia is a volcanic island, there are minerals in the sand that make the water appear more greenish than it looks in some other parts of the Caribbean. We thought it was lovely. (The natural volcanic sand beaches, like the one at Anse Chastanet, are darker in color than the man-made ones like at Jalousie Hilton, where they import white sand -- we liked both.) Make sure you eat dinner one night at Dasheene, the restaurant at Ladera -- make a reservation a night or two in advance and ask for a table near the edge -- the view is incredible and make sure you get there before sunset so you can fully appreciate it. Also I would recommend snorkeling at Anse Chastanet, and go to the botanical gardens in Soufriere. Take a day trip into the rainforest and go hiking -- we went with a local guide and he told us all about the plants and animals and took us to a waterfall where we went swimming before hiking back out. It was incredible.