Just back from St Lucia...
 

What a beautiful island!!! We rented a car for 7 days and drove all over the island...taking in all the attractions. We visited Pigeon Island, Diamond Falls/Garden, Mamiku Gardens,Ladera, Jalousie, and we snorkeled at Anse Chastanet and Anse Cochon--in front of Ti Kaye. We stayed at the Coco Kreole, but were upgraded to the Coco Palm...the room was beautiful and it had wireless internet. We are avid hikers, so we made sure to hit several trails including Gros Piton, Barre de L'isle, Eastern Nature Trail, and Signal Peak. If you would like to see our photos and read our journal please feel free to visit www.nbhtravel.com Thanks and enjoy.

gorgeous pictures - we were just there nd i did not expect to be in aw of the Pitons but we never got sick of looking at them. What kind of camera did you use? same one in the ocean?

Hi, thanks for the compliments...glad you like the pics. Yeah, the pitons were amazing! Actually, the topside photos were taken with a canon 20D. So what was your favorite place on the island?

Your report and pictures are stunning. We recently returned from St. Kitts/Nevis and I've been thinking St. Lucia might be next on our 'list'.

I went to your hiking page, the hike to the top of the piton looks a bit daunting. I'm wondering if anyone on this board has done that hike as well as the one on St. Kitts to the top of Mt. Liumuiga and how they compare.

Hi Velodurt! great pictures!! I happen to check out your Hawaii trip pics since we are going there this April. (A little off caribbean topic..) First< I see you did a kayak trip, can you tell me which one?
Second> What type of camera did you use for your underwater pics?
Thanks.

Wow. Your pictures are FANTASTIC. Is that a hobby of yours? or are you a professional photographer?
We went to St. Lucia in '99 or was it '00? Anyway, we thought the island was beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't pick the right resort for us. Coco Palm looks really great.
We're not hikers but now I feel like we're missing A LOT by not hiking! :-)
Glad you had a great time.

Was this resort an all-inclusive or did you go to restaurants? I heard that the Almond Beach is new to the island and was wondering about it. Have you heard anything?
If you went to restaurants, how were they?
I just came back from Aruba but am already thinking about next year.

We were actually just there for the day. We took Shals Jungle Tours so we saw quite a bit. I guess I loved the drive-in volcano because after Costa Rica we have become obsessed with volcanos. We are going back in April and are going to go to Pigeon Point for the day. I too would like to know about your underwater pictures!

Hey everyone, thanks for all the compliments on our photography! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed the gallery. Photography has become a sort of business for me recently, as we did start selling our images, but it is still jusy mostly a passion. I really appreciate the encouraging words! Okay, now let me try to answer your questions...hope I don't miss any.

First, the underwater pics were taken with a canon sd550 in a canon underwater housing...it does an outstanding job!

The Hawaii trip--the kayak trip to Kealakekua Bay, in both 1999 and 2004 was done on our own...we just rented kayaks and set off...great fun. The other kayak trip, in 1999, to turtle town on Maui was run by South Pacific Kayaks...links to all of these places are listed on our journal pages. Hope that helps.

Coco Palm was great...no all inclusive though, but you do get a wonderful continental breakfast and the staff is amazing..just like family. Hiking is a great way to explore...perhaps we have inspired you to hit the trail :-)

Restaurants on the island were hit and miss. I didn't hear anything about the Almond. Here is alist of the places we ate and our rating: All are located in Rodney Bay
Grill and Chill-okay food, super awesome staff and owners
Trattoria del Mare-good italian food,friendly staff
Razmataz-Awesome! Great decor and excellent food-great staff
Pizza Pizza-yummy! our favorite on the island
Spinnakers-okay food, super slow service
Banane-Coco Palm restaurant--great salad!-thats all we tried
Castaways-excellent seafood!

Hope that helps! if you have other questions, or if I missed anything, feel free to ask. Thanks again for all the kind words. :-)

PS:flycatcher06...we are obsessed with volcanoes too...check out our hike last year in Hawaii to the Banana Lava Flow...awesome! Here is a link http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/Ban...nalavaflow.htm

velodurt, enjoyed your trip report and outstanding photos!!!

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and eye for this wonderful island!

I've felt "God smacked" ever since!

Thanks sailor :-)

Went to St. Lucia in October for HM and we LOVED it!! We stayed 5 nights At Club St. Lucia and 2 nights at Ladera, I would love to go back, the island is great for so many reasons!

AAAAhhhhhhhhhh. Thanks for taking me back (we were there in November and loved it). Your photography is awesome! We'll be back in 2007 and I can't wait!

Thanks again everyone...glad you are enjoying the journal!

Thanks for the great trip report. I used some of your info for my trip to T&C last year. Great trip journaling!

Thanks greenie :-)

Beautiful photos. We are reserving a couple nights at the Coco Palms for a few days after we charter in St. Vincent this summer. What room category would you recommend here?
Thank you -- Babs

Velodurt,

Great trip report and pictures! I was just about at the point (almost two months from my own trip there in December) to stop talking all the time about how beautiful St. Lucia is, but seeing your picutures makes me want to go back now.

Fletcher921,

I also stayed at the Coco Palm for part of my trip, and my recommendations about room type would differ depending on your budget and preferences. Since the hotel is not even two years old, this isn't a hotel where you have to worry about getting a bad room that has not been updated since the 1980s. I had booked a garden view room, but was upgraded to a swim-up room. Although the room was very nice and the idea of the swim-up access was kind of cool, the swim-up room would not be worth paying an extra cost for me. But, I can see how it would be great for a couple or family where some people wanted to spend time in the pool while others stayed in the room or on the patio but continue to talk to each other. Another factor in picking a room is potential for noise. The Coco Palm has live music in the pool area some nights, and I could definitely hear the music while in my room with the balcony doors closed and the TV on. It didn't bother me and ended before 11 pm, but if you tend to be very sensitive to noise or go to sleep early, you might want to request a room with a garden view rather than staying on the pool side.

Absolutely wonderful pictures; you brilliantly captured everything except the "aroma" around the volcano :) We were there with kids, so we did not cover as much territory (i.e., the hikes), but did get around the island on land and sea and it is as lush and pretty as everyone says.

In response to one post, we previously visited St, Kitts and Nevis. If you liked those islands, you certainly should enjoy St. Lucia.