Just back from St. Lucia
 

We had a great time even though Delta cancelled our flight out of Logan. We went standby but missed our connection and spent our first night in Atlanta!
This turned out to be a very active vacation. Arriving a day late meant that we missed our boat trip (on the Brig Unicorn ) but we did everything else as planned.

What we did
We went horse riding with Trims and enjoyed the ride on the beach but the ride to and from wasn't very exciting; no views and it was all downhill to the beach and then uphill on the return. I found out that I definitely prefer riding on level ground! We went on the first ride of the day at 8.30am and I recommend this as it was just the 3 of us with a guide. The next ride had 25 riders with several guides so do go before the cruise shippers!

Zip lining. We went with Rainforest aerial tours; www.rfat.com
My DD really enjoyed the zip lining and this was our first experience. Our guide, Peterson was excellent, very knowledgeable about the flora of the rainforest and I loved the aerial tram ride up to the ziplines. I was surprised to find that zip lining seemed tame to me. I didn't find it thrilling and I'm not usually a thrill seeker but after the first 2 or 3 zips I was ready to quit... NOT an option! So, ho, hum it was a bit of a chore being hooked onto the lines to whizz along a few feet and then be unhooked. There wasn't time to really look at the view and there wasn't a great deal to see other than trees between the zip line platforms. Overall we had fun but I probably won't do this again.

Snorkeling/swimming/beach
These are my favourite activities and coming from frozen Massachusetts it was that much more wonderful to get to St. Lucia. Weather was perfect apart from we could have done with a few more clouds and more shade as the sun was strong.
Best snorkeling we found was at Anse Cochon and Anse Chastanet. We only did snorkeling from the shore as we'd missed our boat trip and couldn't reshedule. Overall the snorkeling was fairly good and the water was very clear especially at Anse cochon.
The beaches we went to were mostly black sand and it does tend to look a little dirty and the sand wasn't powder soft but the water temperature was wonderful and we mainly stuck to the calmer west coast beaches. Cotton Bay on the Atlantic side looked a little rough from our horse ride.

Diamond Falls, botanical garden and mineral baths.
We went on a Sunday and the place was open 10 til 3. We arrived just after it had opened and were met by guides but decided to just tour by ourselves which worked out quite well as we experienced the spiel of a few guides as we soaked in the mineral baths. The waterfall is pretty and a short walk through the gardens. The ginger torch lilies were gorgeous and the garden as a whole is small but nicely maintained. The mineral baths are outside with a small inside private bath. We chose the outside pools and there are 3 each about the same size and about 4 or 5 ft deep. The water was warm and relaxing and several guides came by exclaiming how much younger we looked while we were soaking. Apparently my DH had lost years ..'Hey, that man was 95 when he came in and look at him now!" (My DH is approaching 50).

More later...

Looking forward to the rest of your report. I appreciate your honest with regard to the zip line experience. I've often wondered if that would be something I'd enjoy. Where did you stay?

Looking forward to the rest of the report, too, including where you stayed and where you dined!

Hi cm, we split our stay between an apartment in Cas en Bas near Rodney Bay and La Haut Plantation in Soufriere.

Here are links to the places we stayed
http://www.vrbo.com/219260

http://www.lahaut.com/

We loved the apartment with the small plunge pool. It had a very comfortable bed too. We arrived to a 6 pack of Pitons in the fridge and fresh flowers in the living room and bedroom. The owners were great to deal with and we'd definitely stay here again.

La Haut has stunning views and grounds but our room had noisy plumbing and the walls between the rooms in the main building are very thin. IF I stayed here again I'd definitely stay in a different room.

Food next..

Hi ej,

I was typing when you posted. Here are our favourite food places..in order of preference...

Ti Kaye Village.. we had two lunches here and both were very good. The fresh local juice (grapefruit one day, tamarind the other ) was excellent and I had 'the catch of the day' which was mahi mahi and very good.
We loved the view from the restaurant and enjoyed using the hotel pool especially as we had the place to ourselves (a big perk considering we weren't even hotel guests).

When we saw that the catamarans had left the bay we hiked down the 165 steps to the beach and snorkeled. The beach bar at the bottom of the steps makes good cocktails too ;)

We had such a perfect day here that we decided to repeat it when we 'moved' from the Rodney Bay area to Soufriere.

Gees Bonne Mange in Soufriere. This is just down the road from La Haut. We arrived just after sunset as we'd been waiting for a green flash on the beach in front of the Hummingbird resort.
Gees has great views of Soufriere and killer margaritas.
We were given a basket of a local appetizer which were like small savoury doughnuts and for our 3 main courses we chose the ribs, the chicken with mango curry sauce and pasta with cream sauce.

My chicken was delicious and was served with rice, mashed potato, and local vegetables. I shared some chicken with my DD but she refused to share her pasta as it was so good!
My DH said the ribs were good too but the guava sauce was a little too sweet for him.

We shared some cheesecake for dessert which we were told was lemon topped with strawberry but tasted of vanilla topped with cherry! It was good anyway :)

In Castries we found a vegan restaurant away from the centre (a few locals thought we were lost as we'd ventured away from the regular touristy part!) called "Food of 7 where you will never taste death" ... I kid you not!
I had the lunch special and loved it .. various local veg and beans. My DH and DD sipped their fresh local juice and ate chicken and fries at another local place in downtown Castries!

We also had lunch at Anse Chastenet and spent an afternoon snorkeling there. Lunch was good but a little pricey. My DH complained that his burger was $16 and came WITHOUT fries, ha! My Chicken roti was really good!

We enjoyed coffee at Rituals in Rodney Bay a few times. It looks like a Starbucks doppelganger and the lattes were good.

Waterfront Creole restaurant in Soufriere is on the bay front and we had lunch here before going to the airport. We all liked the plantain and sweet potato chips we ordered to start with and I had Kingfish with local veg and ground provisions (that's what the menu said!). I didn't recognise some of the starches but the waitress pointed out the dasheen (ugh!)and something else similar to cassava that grows wild locally.

Apart from these places we ate mainly at local roti places and ate breakfast at our apartment and at La Haut.

Few Questions What was your flight cancelled out of Logan Weather? Also did you book most of your excursions before you left? Thanks for the report sounds like a great trip!

Hi myshell, our flight out of Logan was cancelled due to expected snow in Atlanta which frustratingly never happened!
There's only one Delta flight per day to St. Lucia from Atlanta so our standby flight arrived 30 mins too late but if we'd waited in Boston till the next day we'd probably been further delayed as the weather worsened!

No, we didn't book any excursions before we left but I did research the times/ days the excursions were on and I also checked the cruise ship schedule and planned around that. Busy excursions when there were fewer cruise ships in port .. or go early!

We loved St Lucia. Usually stayed between the Pitons at the Jalousie (when it was a hilton) and Ladera. First visit was at the hyatt, now a Sandals resort.

Your apartment looked great. I'm going to keep that in mind for a return visit. Loved your adventure ideas. Thanks for the info.

You're welcome starrs,
I would have liked to have fitted in a boat trip or at least to have taken a water taxi (I remember one of your quotes from the Caribbean guide mentioning them!).
Ahh, well another trip I guess! :)

Hello, s-cat. Thanks for your informative ideas. My wife and i are planning on going to St. Lucia the middle or end of August. Time is running short so we need to finalize our plans soon. Unfortunately, the Cas En Bas vacation rental is booked... any other ideas of where to stay in the north?

Or any ideas for a last minute anniversary vacation? Your trip reviews are awesome! I am living vicariously thru you:)

Ah, sassy_cat! I forgot about that quote :-)

Water taxis from the Hilton Jalousie beach were one of the best parts of the trips there. The same driver would recognize us and greet us! Sometimes his son would be with him (if school was out). He'd take us to the straw market and stop at Marigot Bay for lunch. He knew great snorkel spots. Would whisk us over to the black sand beaches at AC for the day. Heaven!

I'll tell a little story. When we were at Anse Chastanet I saw a wooden carving I liked. The seller/carver really wanted me to buy it, but I told him I didn't bring enough money with me that day to buy it. He told me his girlfriend was a vendor at the Hilton beach and I could pay her. I say "no". He said I could leave the money at the Hilton taxi stand and they would get it to him. I said "no". I just couldn't believe he would let me walk off with this carving without paying for it.

At the end of the day our water taxi returned for us. As we were climbing in, I heard a shout, saw Sunshine Biscuit (his name) running toward us, the carving was wrapped in fabric, and he insisted I take it. I did :-) I paid his girlfriend for it when we got "home". On the way back, the driver sheepishly said "I carve too". I asked to see some of his carvings. He showed me a very small (and less refined) carving. Of course I bought it. He was such a dear man. I had Sunshine Biscuit sign the back of the mahagony carving but wish I'd asked the same of the water taxi driver. I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten his name. I often wonder if he would recognize me if I were to return. I'm sure his son has grown so much I wouldn't recognize him!

Ahh, happy memories!

Sometimes I think it would be nice to revisit certain places for the same reasons but maybe I like the rose coloured memories too much ;)

St. Lucia has so may cruise ships visiting nowadays (sometimes over 8000 passengers a day!). I do think some of the locals have become jaded with tourists.


mjsharief, you're going at a good time as I think cruise ship season is OCT through May! Try VRBO for a rental .. that's where we found ours.

sassy, what's your favorite beach location (other than St Lucia)? I'd like to add one to my Dreaming Wish List. (ready for this economy to recover!)

starrs, Anguilla is my all time favourite island for beaches as it has perfect white sand, beautiful turquoise blue water and isn't crowded plus it has a distinct friendly island vibe.

Hawaii, Vieques and Greek islands can be runners up! ;)

Okay. Moving Anguilla to my list. Greece is already there.
I've been to Hawaii and don't know Vieques. Time for research.

Ha, I read that incorrectly at first... I thought you typed 'moving to Anguilla is on my list!'

I'd quite like to move there myself! ;)

Hi sassy-
I'm enjoyed reading all about your stay. I checked out the links you posted about where you stayed and now I'm all a-flutter. You have tried to help me decide where to stay, but I had never heard of these places before. How do those resorts compare to Jalouise or Anse Chastanet? Are they close to the water or suitable resorts for a wedding? The rooms looked nice but it's really hard to tell a lot from just the pics they post.
Are you vegan? My daughter and members of the groom's family are so I was very interested in the vegan restaurant you found. Is that close to Jal or Anse Chas?

Hi frettingmom,
I wouldn't call La Haut Plantation a resort. It's near Soufriere and is an old plantation house converted into hotel rooms.
The pros... The views are wonderful, the pool is lovely and the hotel has a traditional island feel.
The rooms on the top floor are very nice but I wouldn't stay in one of the ground floor rooms again because you can hear every footstep upstairs plus the plumbing noises.
I imagine it is quite a bit cheaper than Jalousie and AC.
We had the breakfast included in our room rate and the service was on island time (incredibly slow) a couple sat next to us almost missed their tour while waiting 40 minutes for their breakfast.
It's no where near the beach which we found OK for 2 nights as we had a car and visited Anse Chastanet but I don't think it would be ideal for you.

The vegan restaurant we loved was in Castries. Not near any of the resorts you mentioned but the capital of St. Lucia and well worth a visit.. wander around the market.
The vegan place was very much a local restaurant and off the beaten track. We were stopped a couple of times as we wandered away from the centre of Castries and asked if we were lost or needed directions so we might well have been the first tourists to stumble upon the place. It was a cheap lunch and I'm not vegan but love vegetables especially some of the local ones.
Ask for it by name if you get to Castries the fresh local fruit juices were excellent!

Thanks again! You're a wealth of information. How many times do you visit the Caribbean a year? You need to write a travel guide!!!!

Hi frettingmom, I'm glad to be of help but I'd rather read a really good travel guide than write a poor one. :)
I don't visit the Caribbean as often as I'd like... maybe one or two trips a year if I'm lucky but I love the islands.

I recommend you continue your research.. read up as much as you can on this site, use the search function, read Tripadvisor, etc and borrow guide books from the library before buying the one you like best.
You can then change your screen name to Caribbeanmom :)

Do let us know where you decide to stay and post a trip report after the trip.

Sassy- I definitely will keep you posted. I'm researching every day but I don't want to push it to the last minute. I really am taking this forum's advice over Tripadvisor. All the remarks on there seem to be extremely favorable or the polar opposite, if you know what I mean. I was reading through it one night and it scared the Bejesus out of me. They were talking about how dangerous the Caribbean islands were and that we could be mugged within our own resort, etc. It was really frightening. I don't need to worry about every single thing that COULD happen. I just really need a general consensus about the overall accommodations and service. That's where you come in! So for right now, I'll sign out as Caribbeanmombyproxy. :)

I know your trip was a while ago - but I was wondering what you knew about the Rodney Bay area? I read some negative reviews on tripadvisor that there was garbage all around and rats..??? We are thinking of staying in a villa in the Rodney Bay area and wondering what the scoop is on that area. Thoughts?

For those of you looking for a luxury spa resort, consider BodyHoliday in Castries. It's all-inclusive, one of Conde Naste's top 10 worldwide spa destinations, and in a lovely location at the northern tip of the island. I'm going back for my second visit on 1/22 and I can't wait. Happy New Year to all, and may your time away be full of fun surprises, happiness, and great memories to carry for a life time.

Enjoyed your trip report tremendously and that vegan restaurant sounded like a real find.

"I don't visit the Caribbean as often as I'd like... maybe one or two trips a year if I'm lucky but I love the islands." Once or twice a year sounds pretty terrific to me! (I know on a cold unpleasant day, many of us wish we could just teleport ourselves to the islands, but I feel that when a location that we love is less frequently visited, it becomes somehow more special, as it took effort and planning to get there.)

Thanks Daniel,

It's bitterly cold here today and the low for tomorrow is -10F that's -23C. I won't even bother with the 'high' as it's a misnomer...

Please teleport me now!

Let me know if you figure out that teleporting :). It's frigid here in Montreal today!

Hi sassy_cat,

I know this is a really old thread, so I hope you see this! I see that you stayed at the apartment in Cas en Bas my husband and I are considering renting during our trip to St. Lucia in April. This will be our first trip without our children in 7 (!) years, so we are really looking forward to a peaceful, private vacation. Can you tell me how private the apartment is, especially on the terrace? I know the owners live right next door, so I am wondering if we are going to feel alone or not if we stay there. Also, would you recommend we stay in the Rodney Bay area or Soufriere? We will only be in St. Lucia for 4 nights and are mostly interested in relaxing and looking at a gorgeous view from our rental villa's rooms and pool, if that makes a difference. Thank you!

Hi swands, the apartment is really private. The terrace is small but not overlooked, the pool is a small plunge pool and you can just see the ocean. It not the best view in St.Lucia imo but it's a lovely apartment and the owners are perfect hosts; available if needed but invisible otherwise!
We used it as a base to see the north end of the island before moving to Soufriere to relax for the second part of our stay.
Have you looked at their Facebook page for more photos and information?

Honestly, for gorgeous views I'd stay in Soufriere. If you click on my name you can see a photo I took of the Pitons.
Finding reasonably priced private accommodation in Soufriere, with a view is not so easy and I think you will need a car to get around.
La Haut Plantation does have the beautiful views but don't stay in one of the downstairs rooms! April is shoulder/low season so it's worth calling around for a deal.
Most tourists do stay in the Rodney Bay area so Soufriere has a different vibe with more of a local feel and the restaurants are less used to tourists. We really liked it but some people prefer to eat at the resorts.

Which airport are you flying into? That would also influence my decision if I was only going for 4 nights. It's a long drive to Rodney Bay from Hewanorra (almost 2 hours).

Let me know if you have any other questions. St.Lucia is a beautiful place to relax in!

Thank you for your detailed response, sassy_cat! We are flying into UVF, so the idea of a 2 hour drive after a long day of traveling certainly sounds less appealing. We were just about to book a small place we found on vrbo in Soufriere with killer views, complete privacy, and its own plunge pool but then I discovered a deal on Livingsocial for an all-inclusive resort (Morgan Bay) in Gros Islet that would actually cost less over the four nights than the villa in Soufriere and would include our meals/drinks. Now we need to decide what is more important to us: complete privacy in a gorgeous setting (ideal if our budget wasn't so tight) or saving a few hundred dollars but staying in a resort up north that is not adults-only. Decisions, decisions. :)

What's your opinion about renting a car? The owner of the villa in Soufriere said we won't need to rent a 4X4 but I have seen on other threads that a 4X4 really is necessary to navigate the island.

swands, 4x4 isn't really necessary and we followed the advice of the owners at Cas en Bas.
We rented a small car and had no problems getting around.
The roads around Cas en Bas have some potholes to avoid but nothing serious and we did drive on the rough roads down to Anse Chastanet and Ti Kaye. Ti Kaye was the most challenging. It's bumpy and potholed but fine if you drive sl-ow-ly!
Pull over to let locals pass on the main roads (which are absolutely fine)

Good luck with your decision. I'd be tempted to go for the villa as I don't care for AI.
Do keep checking the reviews for Morgan Bay before you decide as they've been taken over by new management.

Take water taxis instead of driving the roads. SO much fun and a lot nicer way to get around.