Anguilla vs. St. Lucia
 

My wife and I have finally narrowed our island choices down to 2: Anguilla and St. Lucia. We are looking for a beautilful place to go to, with a great resort, relaxing beach and pool, and some island activities (snorkling, hiking, etc.). We don't want to feel crowded on a beach. We also don't want a strip of beach that has multiple hotels in a row. Any advice you can offer will be much appreciated.

Our honeymoon was spent in St. John, and we loved it there, but we want to try something new, but similar. Which of these two islands is best for us? The resorts we are considering on each are:

St. Lucia: Jalousie, Anse Chastanet, Windjammer, Royal by Rex, Almond Morgan Bay, and Ti Kaye Village.

Anguilla: Cap Jaluca, Cuisinart, Ku, Sirena, Paradise Cove, and Malliouhana.

Thanks!!!
Jason

Anguilla is small, flat, arid & scrubby. Not much in the way of hiking there unless you count walking up & down one of the 33 beaches. Of the resorts on your list, Paradise Cove & Sirena are not on the beach (Sirena is a short 2 minute walk) and Cap Juluca, spectacular as it is, has a not so terrific pool (when you see the beach, you'll know why). The "Big 3" -- Cap, Cuisi & Malli -- all have their loyal fans. You couldn't go wrong with any of them.

Hmm... it's interesting that you have chosen 2 islands that are about as different from each other as islands can be. Anguilla wins hands-down for beaches, St. Lucia for gorgeous scenery and island activities. But there are really few activities on Anguilla except for snorkeling cruises. You can easily hop over to Marigot or St. Barts for a day of shopping, which is a nice change of pace.

But I'm also confused by your list of resorts, which include both middle-of-the-road resorts like Almond Morgan Bay and Royal by Rex and high-end luxury resorts like Cap Jaluca, Cuisinart, and Malliouhana.

For me, there is too much dissonance in your list of needs and wants, and I'm not sure I'd be able to guide you well.

Anse Chastanet, for example, doesn't even have a pool (it also doesn't have a/c), but it is a very unique and special place, especially if you dive.

But over all the St. Lucia experience is more similar to the St. John experience (though the beaches aren't as good).

Doug, thank you for your response. I guess we really are not quite set on what we want. We really are just looking for a great place to go. Thanks for your advice on the islands.
Jason

They're both great places but very different. To help you narrow down your choices, I'd suggest you think about 3 things:

1. How much luxury do you need to be comfortable (and what are your must-haves)?
2. How important is it to you that the beach be beautiful, soft, and sandy?
3. How much do you want to pay?

Another thing to consider is that St Lucia is HUGE and Anguilla is small. Its easy to get around Anguilla, its flat and easy to navigate, St Lucia not so much, its hilly and vast. SO if you are going to get out and explore different beaches, restaurants, snorkeling, etc. Anguilla is much easier to do that. In addition, St Lucia has dark sand, and Anguilla has the powder white, more like St John. If you are expecting the beaches in St Lucia to look anywhere close to St John they dont.

GL

Hi Jason,
We've been to both St. John and St. Lucia but not Anguilla. I definitely recommend St. Lucia as a great place to go. The island is beautiful and there are plenty of activities to do. As several people have pointed out, Anguilla and St. Lucia are very different. We loved St. Lucia for the green, lush surroundings, varying terrain and outdoor activities. We enjoyed a sail down the coast, trips to the volcano and gardens and a rainforest hike. We also did some snorkeling and did not find it bad at all. It won't be what you found in St. John, but still decent. Get out and explore. There is a lot to see and experience. If you loved St. John, I think you'll love St. Lucia too. Have a great trip!

I've been to both and my preference is the lush green hills and equally as beautiful beaches but from a different perspective of St. Lucia.

I'm not a big fan of St. Lucia, but if I were going to choose from your list, I would choose Jalousie. They have a view of the bay that is downright stunning. They have a lot of activites - sailing, a pool table, tennis, (lessons if you don't play) snorkeling, and many places to hike. It's a resort that you really wouldn't have to leave if you didn't want to.

From your post, I would recommend Anse Chastenet. St. Lucia is a beautiful island and, based on dining at Anse Chastenet, I would say it it is a wonderful resort. The snorkelling is great right off the beach as there is a Marine Park there. There are hikes to waterfalls, you can drive into a volcano, and be in the rainforest. I haven't seen the second beach they have, but they offer to take guests there by boat taxi, so it would be less crowded than their main beach which has a scuba company using one end of the beach. There is no pool, nor is there A/C, so you would have to weigh those to know if that matters much. Jalousie has become run down; I would give the owners time to fix it up before going there for a special occasion.
On Anguilla, Cap Juluca is a fabulous hotel. The island is not as beautiful as St. Lucia, but the beaches are better. There is a pool at the resort, but the beach is the main attraction there. The snorkelling isn't quite as good as in St. Lucia and there really aren't hikes to compare. But it's a great place to go if you enjoy being at the beach with little to do.
I can't compare these islands to St. John, but hope this gives you one more opinion.