Sea Excursions in St. Lucia

Sea Excursions

A day sail or sea cruise to Soufrière and the Pitons is a wonderful way to see St. Lucia and, perhaps, the perfect way to get to the island's distinctive natural sites. Prices for a full-day sailing excursion to Soufrière run about $75 to $90 per person and include a land tour to the Sulphur Springs and the Botanical Gardens, lunch, a stop for swimming and snorkeling, and a visit to pretty Marigot Bay. Two-hour sunset cruises along the northwest coast cost about $45 per person. Most boats leave from either Vigie Cove in Castries or Rodney Bay. The 140-foot tall ship Brig Unicorn (Vigie Cove, Castries. 758/452-8644), used in the filming of the TV miniseries Roots and more recently the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, is a 140-foot replica of a 19th-century sailing ship. Day trips along the coast are fun for the whole family. Several nights each week a sunset cruise, with drinks and a live steel band, sails to Pigeon Point and back. Customized pleasure trips and snorkeling charters can be arranged for small groups (four to six people) through Captain Mike's (Vigie Cove, Castries. 758/452-0216 or 758/452-7044. www.captmikes.com). On Endless Summer (Rodney Bay Marina, Rodney Bay. 758/450-8651), a 56-foot "party" catamaran, you can take a day trip to Soufrière or a half-day swimming and snorkeling trip. For romantics, there's a weekly sunset cruise, with dinner and entertainment. Surf Queen (Vigie Cove, Castries. 758/452-8232), a trimaran, runs a fast, sleek sail and has a special tour for German-speaking passengers.

L'Express des Iles (La Place Carenage, Castries. 758/452-2211) offers an interesting day trip to the French island of Martinique. A hydrofoil departs daily for the 20-mi (32-km) voyage. As you approach Martinique, be sure to be among the first to disembark. There's usually only one immigration-customs agent on duty, and it can take an hour to clear if you're at the end of the line. From Pigeon Island, north of Rodney Bay, you can take a more intimate cruise to the Pitons aboard the 57-foot luxury cruiser MV Vigie (Pigeon Island. 758/452-8232). For a boat trip to Pigeon Island, the Rodney Bay Ferry (Rodney Bay Marina, Rodney Bay. 758/452-8816) departs the ferry slip adjacent to the Lime restaurant twice daily for $50 round-trip, which includes the entrance fee to Pigeon Island and lunch; snorkel equipment can be rented for $12.