Has anyone drove from Castries to Ladera/Hilton? <BR>When we were on St. Lucia about 6 yrs. ago the road was closed. <BR>Would a jeep be best to rent if we were staying at the Hilton or Ladera? We need to have a car while there.

We stayed at Ladera -- we went down the West Coast road & it was terrible. All of the roads, in our opinion, in St. Lucia were the worst we had seen. The pot holes would eat your car up. We frequently went from Ladera to Anse Chastenet to eat & wondered if the drive were worth it. A jeep would definitely help.

For what it's worth, the roads near Castries and in the north are just fine. (Didn't notice the south too much since we traveled down there by boat).

Stayed in a private home two summers ago, near Ladera. We had a jeep, most useful for the height off the ground when going over potholes, never used the 4WD. My husband loves driving the windy twisty roads, and we made a day trip to Castries. It was about 2-3 hours each way driving, plus stops for drinks and eats (marigot bay is a good spot). Of all the roads we traveled, the mile-long entrance to Anse Chastanet was by far the very worst. This probably accounts somewhat for Lois' negative opinion. Go for it!

Hi K <BR> <BR>I agree with what Joan said. My husaband and I spent our honeymoon there last summer. We rented a jeep for a week and had a blast driving it. We drove up to Castries so we could shop, go to Pigeon Island and do the Brig Unicorn sunset cruise. It took us awhile to but we stopped at every phtot op to take pictures and were not in a hurry. If you want more detailed info about the driving let me know and I will give you my husband's e-mail address as he did the driving. We rented our jeep from Cool Breezes. They were a great company and very nice. <BR> <BR>My trip report and pictures at www.seashelltravel.com

Thanks everyone for information. It looks as though the road situation has not changed since we were there. We thought the condition of the roads may have been because we were there shortly after a hurricane, but obviously not.