Top things in St lucia?
 

Based on mixed reviews I still haven't figured out what to do in St Lucia. Beaches, good or bad? Shopping? Or should I spend the day eating Bananas? HELP. thanks

My husband and I honeymooned in St. Lucia six years ago and enjoyed it. Lots could have changed in the past six years, but here's my thoughts anyway...

While we were on the island, the weather was great. We thought the island residents were friendly ad helpful. The island has a good blend of island and European influence.

There's not a lot to do on the island, but we enjoyed an island tour, which included visits to the "drive-through volcano" and a banana plantation. We also had a great time on a boat trip where we were able to see the Pitons from the water.

The beaches are OK. If you're looking for soft, white sand, you won't find it in St. Lucia.

I've been there 6 times with my kids for spring break. It's their absolute favorite place to go. Generally we don't do a whole lot. We hang at the resort quite a bit. We've done the rainforest, my son plays golf (which he said was amazing), and we scuba dive. We really like just relaxing and hanging out. If we shop it's at the resort. Pretty relaxing!

Though St. Lucia's beaches aren't the stereotypical long stretches of blinding white sand, they're quite lovely in their own right--darker sand, darker water (but still clear), on more intimate crescent shaped coves with lots of greenery.

If you're talking about what to do for a cruise ship stop, my vote is easy--take a snorkeling tour that includes seeing the PItons from the water or a land/water tour that includes some of the lush inland scenery and winds up with a boat ride back to port. The Pitons staggeringly beautiful and dramatic and it's a great way to spend a day.

If you have more time, take a water taxi to Castries from wherever you're staying--walk around, poke in the shops, have a good lunch. Go to the Botanical Gardens, which are gorgeous. Check out the Pitons by land, sea, or air. Hike one of them if you're up to it. Check out the weekly fish fry at Anse la Raye.

We too will be visiting St Lucia on a cruise before staying there for an extended period, and from the excellent and extensive reviews I look forward to visiting Castries and seeing the rainforest and perhaps lunch at the Ladera.

So basically dont bother with the beach? Snorkeling sounds fun but I have a crazy fear of fish in the water!

We did the Land & Sea Tour. We went to Castries, Canaries, Anse La Raye, the Bontanical Gardens, Volcano, Soufriere and view of the Pitons. Then we got on a catamaran and went to Marigot Bay and then did some snorkeling. The weather hadn't been that great and it had rained on and off, so the snorkeling wasn't good as the water was quite dark.

We also did the jeep jungle tour. We went to a banana planation, hiked down to a beautiful waterfall and then to a black sand beach. The water was quite rough at the beach.

We stayed at the Sandals Grande and the Pigeon Park was just a walk up the road. We hiked up to the top, which had really great views.

Also went shopping at the craft market and the duty free mall.

We wished we had the time and funds to take the tours over to Martinque and the Grenedines.

For more info on tours go to www.sunlinktours.com

We have pictures of the tours we took if interested at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn