ti kaye village, anyone?
 

going to ti kaye for our 5th anniversary in december! all the reviews of it look wonderful.
1. can anyone recommend a specific cottage # to stay in? we reserved a "plunge pool" cottage and want to see the ocean - and no one else's cottage! there are 4 of these - which one?
2. we reserved the "adventure lovers" pkg. which includes several things - has anyone done any of these? would you recommend or not? we do still want to spend LOTS of time relaxing and doing nothing!
- day trip into castries (is this worth it or is it very commercialized and touristy? we are wondering if we'd rather stay on the beach and resort instead of doing this! we aren't looking for shopping at all, we'd only want to go for more relaxing - if there was great architecture or charming areas of the town.)
- jungle bike tour (water taxi to soufriere for a guided bike tour through light rainforests)
- jeep safari tour (with group from other hotels)
any other recommendations on ti kaye or st. lucia from this area are welcome!

All the cottages with pools are very private with a view of the ocean. You'll have an ocean view from the big king bed too no doubt!

For day trip info, read the Ti Kaye review at www.scubatreks.com - our daughter and son in law really enjoyed their trip to the Pitons.

My husband and I stayed at ti kaye in February. All the cottages are very private - great outdoor showers and large balconies with hammocks. Beautiful views.
We also did the Adventure Lovers package. It was good - we went whale watching which was really fun. We did the Castries trip - I'd skip it unless you really want to shop. (And the shopping is just ok - not great).
We opted for an extra massage!
Rain forest trip is fun. Also, rent a Jeep and check out Soufriere. Went to Ladera for dinner - stunning views! A must for lunch or dinner.
Good snorkeling as well at Anse Chastenet. You can rent chairs and equipment on the beach there.
Another fun thing is the Friday night Fish Fest in Anse le Raye. The hotel can arrange to take you - it's an evening of local color and local fish!
The beach at ti kaye is very nice and the snorkeling is good right there. Be prepared for over 100 steps down the hillside to the beach! Great exercise!
It's a lovely, relaxed and secluded place. We loved it.

no to castries? i have searched this forum and found many more negatives about soufriere. would everyone pretty much recommend staying away from both of these cities if we are on vacation to relax with as few concerns as possible and don't need shopping???

I wouldn't miss Marigot Bay, which is (relatively) not far from Ti Kaye Village. Also, north of Castries, you might want to check out Rodney Bay, Reduit Beach and Pidgeon Island.

It's true - skip soufriere - the town doesn't have much going on - not much to see other than great views of the Pitons - but a definite is Ladera even if it's only for drinks at sunset.

The only reason to go to Castries is for the shopping, and as someone else posted, it's not that great. There are two duty-free areas without much selection, an area where locals are selling mostly touristy t-shirts, and a farmer's market, where you can pick up spices.

The good thing about Castries is eating at the Coal Pot, where we had lunch. On the way up, the water taxi goes through Marigot Bay, which is indeed very pretty. If we went to St. Lucia again, I'd skip Castries and take the water taxi up to Pigeon Island and Rodney Bay, and try to stop at the Coal Pot for lunch.

Soufriere has even less shopping than Castries, and you mostly go to Soufriere so you can take a van to the botanical gardens or the volcano. There is a good restaurant on the water called The Old Courthouse which had a decent lunch.

Ti Kaye is pretty isolated, which makes for a nice, quiet, romantic spot, but it also makes getting around the island tough. We went to Ladera for dinner one night, but it's a 45-minute drive each way, and the taxi will run you at least $60. The food is good, but not exquisite. The view, however, IS exquisite, and shouldn't be missed.

I can't speak specifically of the plunge pool cottages, but you might be able to see other cottages nearby, you won't see what's going on, as they do a good job keeping things private.

Enjoy Ti Kaye, and don't forget your mask and snorkel for the great snorkelling right off the beach.

Mike