St. Lucia vs. some other islands
 

My wife and I have been to Caribbean a number of times: Aruba, St. Martin, Grand Cayman mostly. Looking for something new. Wondering how people compare St. Lucia to any of these other islands: goods and not so goods. What especially are some differences? Generally we rent a car and spend a week beaching it; doing sailing or other activities; dining and driving around exploring the islands. Is St. Lucia a good choice? Probably for next fall - September/October.

We have been to Aruba, Grand Cayman and St. Lucia. The big difference is the topography. St. Lucia is gorgeous. Lots of flora, fauna, mountians, jungle, a volcano, plantations and waterfalls. If you are familiar with Jamaica or Hawaii it reminds us of those Islands.

St. Lucia's beaches have a dark coarse brown sand and the water a deep blue. Not as great for snorkeling. There are even black sand beaches. The water can get kinda rough also. We were there in a November.

Driving can be a little difficult. Lots of winding, twisty roads. Many people complain of car sickness. Personally, we loved it, but we did not rent a car and drive. We took 2 seperate Island tours.

St. Lucia is more of the Caribbean feel, while Aruba and Grand Cayman feel more Americanized. The local ecomony is quite different. More proverty.

We loved St. Lucia. If you are looking for something different than Aruba and Grand Cayman then St. Lucia is totally that. If you are looking for something more like Aruba and Grand Cayman, but only different I would suggest Turks & Caicos.

If your interested we have all those Islands on our picture page at: http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn

www.jademountain.com

www.jalousieplantation.com

St. Lucia prettier hillier greener than

the flatter ones you have been 2...

Rain in fall makes winter bookings better usually.

I am interested in traveling to St. Lucia for my honeymoon in October. What do you mean by rainy season? How much/often does it rain? Will a lot of things be closed during October? Also, I have heard mixed reviews on the color of the water and the beaches. I am looking for light sand beaches as well as clear blue water.

Also, my fiance and I are looking to visit an island with mostly clear blue water, mix of white sand beaches and alt. We don't want anything extremely built up or all inclusive. I was thinking of spending 5 days on some sort of cottage on the beach and another 5 days on a resort. I would like to be able to bum on the beach with a cocktail. A mixture of entertainment nightlife/music on the beach would be nice. My fiance is worried he will be bored sitting on the beach the whole time and we are both adventurists, so hiking and site seeing is good as well as taking cruise excursions, water sports,horseback riding, etc.

I know this sounds like a lot but I want the perfect honeymoon, and I have never been to the Caribbean so I don't know what to expect. Do you have any suggestions islands that meet my criteria? I would be open to islands in the carribean as well as off of south america.

ashagata -

If you want white sand beaches then St. Lucia is not the island for you - for the most part beaches on that island have darker "brown to gray to almost black" sand. FYI - there is only one "white sand" beach on the island and it is man-made.

Generally speaking mountainous islands such as St. Lucia, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, etc. will have dark sand beaches due to the volcanic origin of those islands. You'll find white sand on the flatter coral/limestone based islands such as Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Anguilla, Barbuda, most of the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos. The smaller hilly islands like the US and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, St. Martin, etc. tend to have light golden sand beaches.

You will, however, find ample hiking around St. Lucia since it is very mountainous and has dense rain forests.

October is peak Hurricane Season in the Caribbean so at that time of year many of the resorts, restaurants and tourist oriented activities are closed or operating with limited staff or under reduced hours. Resorts that are open usually have much lower room rates than during "High Season". While no one can predict with any certainty when/where a Tropical Storm or hurricane will strike the further south you go in Hurricane Season the better your chances are you WON'T encounter any major storms.

Generally speaking the Fall months bring the most rain throughout the Caribbean. The lush mountainous islands tend to get more rainfall than the flatter arid islands. Except for times when a Tropical Storm is in the area most rain comes in the form of very brief and widely scattered showers. In the Fall it could rain somewhere on any given island for some time every day but on that same island there will be areas where there was no rain. You can research general weather patterns for any island on websites like: www.weatherbase.com or www.wunderground.com

ashagata, based on the inforamtion you provided you might like St. John, USVI. Fly into St. Thomas and take the ferry over to St. John. You could spilt your time with a resort on St. Thomas and take some of the tours you menetioned and then stays a few days on St. John in a bungelow. You can also take a boat tour to Jost Van Dyke, the Bathes at Virgin Gorda and The British Virgin Islands. The sand is white and the water clear.

Prime hurricane season is September and October, so I would suggest purchasing the trip/hurricane insurance or putting off your travel until the first 2 weeks of November or the first 2 weeks of December. The weather tends to be better then as well as prices and lower crowds.

I agree with KVR comment about the comparison between Hawaii and St.Lucia having been to Hawaii and now living in St.Lucia.

Definitely agree with KVR also.

St.Lucia is gorgeous and has the potential to be extrmely romantic in addition to offering activities excursions for adventurists, plus stunning and dramatic natural scenery, but not the white sandy beaches with crystal blue waters would prefer.