Beaches in St. Lucia
 

HI. I hear many wonderful things about the beaches, but they all seemed tied to a hotel. We will be staying at small hotels without beaches. Are "non-residents" allowed at the hotel beaches? Which is the best beach open to the public in Rodney bay and in Soufriere?

ALL beaches in ST. Lucia are available and free for everyone - tourists and locals alike - even at the hotels. Two beaches that are nice (for St. Lucia standards) are the Anse Chastenet Hotel beach which is just north of "downtown" Soufrierre and a three minute water taxi ride from town; and the Jalousie Hilton's beach which is just south of Soufrierre - about a six minute water taxi trip. Not sure about the beaches in the Rodney Bay area.

If you drive yourself in, tell the guard you will be having lunch at the resort, and parking will be no problem. We did this at Anse Chastanet (enjoyed our lunch too!) There is another beach in this area, called Anse Malgretoute, which you get to by starting out towards the Jalousie, but then turning right towards the water and driving around a nursing home. We parked right on the beach and watched some locals playing soccer while we swam and enjoyed snacks and the sunset. Do not pick up hitchhikers in St. Lucia - there are some wily characters who then pretend they are your "guide" and demand $.

Hi- We had a bad experience in St. Lucia w/driving--we got in a car accident. If you will be driving please be very careful and assume the other drivers won't stop or slow down to let you enter or exit traffic and you'll be okay. As to beaches, the only, and I mean only, pretty beach that we found was in Rodney Bay at the Rex St. Lucian Hotel. Pigeon Point was stunning but many annoying people hang there and harrass you for money.This area is hilly so be prepared to climb-great sunsets though. A friend of mine told me that the beach at Windham is good too. I guess the point is the Rodeny Bay area has the sandiest and prettiest beaches-if that fits your definition of a pretty beach! Other beaches we went to were rocky with wilder waves and the water wasn't that pretty color turqouise. We never had anyone question us when we went to beaches through resort areas. Have fun!

Keep in mind that St. Lucia differs greatly from north to south. Rodney Bay is up north, Soufriere is in the south, hence very different experiences.

We were at the Wyndham at the end of November, 2000. The beach itself is fine and there's lots of water sports if that's what you're into, but the water was less than desireable. It was terribly murky and you couldn't see your hand two inches below the water.

Hi There,<BR><BR>I thought that the beach at Rendezvous just south of Rodney Bay was OK as far as St. Lucia beaches went. I also liked Pigeon Point, but didn't have the trouble with vendors that someone else described. Just don't expect the beaches to look like the 'picture perfect' ones you see on many other non-volcanic islands in the caribbean.<BR><BR>Schultz