Saint Lucia Vacation Guide

Introduction

St Lucia is the second-largest of the Windward Islands. It has some of the finest mountain scenery in the West Indies, rich with tropical vegetation. For such a small island, 43km (27 miles) by 23km (14 miles), St Lucia has a great variety of plant and animal life. Orchids and exotic plants of the genus anthurium grow wild in the rainforests and the roadsides are covered with many colourful tropical flowers. Flamboyant trees spread shade and blossom everywhere. Indigenous wildlife includes a species of ground lizard unique to St Lucia, and the agouti and the manicou, two rodents, common throughout the island. The Amazona versicolor parrot is another, though more elusive, inhabitant of the deep interior rainforest. The highest peak is Mount Gimie at 950m (3117ft). Most spectacular are Gros Piton and Petit Piton, ancient, volcanic forest-covered cones which rise out of the sea on the west coast. Soufri (vents in a volcano which exude hydrogen sulphide, steam and other gases) and boiling waterpools can be seen here. The mountains are intersected by short rivers which in some areas form broad fertile valleys. The island has excellent beaches and is surrounded by a clear, warm sea.

Full country name: Saint Lucia
Area: 616 sq km
Population: 156,260
Capital City: Castries
People: African (90%), mixed descent (6%), European and East Indian (4%)
Language: English
Religion: Roman Catholic (90%), Protestant (7%), Anglican (3%)
Government: independent republic within the British Commonwealth
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4 (Atlantic Time)
Dialling Code: 758
Electricity: 240V ,50Hz
Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$)

We constantly update vacation deals and flights + hotel packages for Saint Lucia and the Caribbean. You can also check out some of the best hotels and resorts in Saint Lucia with exciting attractions like golf, casino, scuba diving and other water sports. Popular hotels & resorts in Saint Lucia are Bay Gardens Hotel and The Village Inn and Spa.

Citizens of the USA and Canada can enter St Lucia with proof of citizenship and photo ID. French citizens can enter with a national identity card. Citizens of the UK, Australia and most other countries must be in possession of a valid passport. For all foreign visitors, stays of over 28 days generally require a visa and an onward or roundtrip ticket or proof of sufficient funds.
More Information About Visa Requirements

St Lucia has two airports: Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort, at the remote southern tip of the island, and Vigie Airport in Castries, near the main tourist area. International flights land at Hewanorra, while flights from within the Caribbean generally land at Vigie. Most visitors will find it more convenient to book a flight into Vigie. You can fly direct to St Lucia from New York, Miami, Toronto and London.

The Caribbean's major inter-island carrier, LIAT, has flights between St Lucia and Caracas as well as daily nonstop flights to Vigie Airport from Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Martinique, St Vincent and Trinidad and connecting flights from the rest of LIAT's Caribbean network.

St Lucia is only 44km (27mi) in length and 23km (14mi) in width, but its hilly terrain can slow you down. Most islanders use the cheap, convenient minivan bus service to get to town, school or work. Services are frequent on main routes (such as Castries to Gros Islet) during the day. Taxis are plentiful at the airports, in Castries and in the main resort areas. Always establish the fare with the driver before you get in, doubly so if you want to do anything 'unusual', like stopping to see a view.

There are car rental agencies at the airports and at Rodney Bay. Unless you have an International Driving Permit, you'll need to purchase a local license, which can be picked up from immigration at both Hewanorra International Airport and Vigie Airport.

St Lucia's top temperatures vary little over the course of a year and even in the rainy season (Jun-Nov) showers rarely last long, unless you're unlucky enough to strike a hurricane. December to mid-April are the busiest months on the island when both the numbers of tourists and the costs of food, airline tickets and accomodation are much higher than after mid-April when many of the prices drop as much as 50%.

Carnival takes place on the two days before Ash Wednesday, usually some time in February or March. It's celebrated with calypso music, costumed parades and band competitions. The biggest musical event of the year is the four-day St Lucian Jazz Festival held in mid-May.

Beaches - Since most of the island hotels are built right on the beach, you won't have to go far to swim. All beaches are open to the public, even those along hotel properties. However, if you use any of the hotel's beach equipment, you must pay for it. We prefer the beaches along the western coast, as the rough surf on the windward (east) side makes swimming potentially dangerous. The best hotels are all on the western coast for a reason.

Despite the island's resort infrastructure, all of St Lucia's beaches are public. There are fine swathes of sand and good swimming on the touristy northwestern coast between Gros Islet and Pigeon Point, and at Choc Beach and Reduit Beach. The southwestern coast has plenty of secret coves and bays, but many are accessible only by boat. The Vieux Fort area, at the southern tip of the island, and Cas-en-Bas, on St Lucia's northeastern coast, are popular with experienced windsurfers.

Castries - The capital city has grown up around its harbor, which occupies the crater of an extinct volcano. Charter captains and the yachting set drift in here, and large cruise-ship wharves welcome vessels from around the world. Because several devastating fires (most recently in 1948) destroyed almost all the old buildings, the town today looks new.

Rodney Bay - This scenic bay is a 15-minute drive north of Castries. Set on a man-made lagoon, it has become a chic center for nightlife, hotels, and restaurants-in fact, it's the most active place on the island at night.

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