There are two airports in St Lucia, and it’s important to know which one you’re flying in to or you could be stuck with an expensive taxi ride to your hotel. UVF, or Hewanorra International, is the International Airport (more...)

After picking up some cash from the ATM in the airport (no problem) we dodged the unofficial taxi drivers offering us “great deals” and headed to the official stand. It cost us $60 USD for the taxi to Rodney Bay. It was an interesting drive, and we’re glad we made it during the day, but we would not have been happy if we’d had to drive it ourselves after a long flight in.  Our taxi driver gave us a good introduction to the island, and even stopped to let us take some photos.

This is where we parted ways with most of the tourists of St Lucia, as we were staying in the small fishing village of Gros Islet, sandwiched in between the Marina, Rodney Bay, and the Sandals (more...)

We found the Bay Guesthouse in the Lonely Planet. The guesthouse is located a short walk from the main part of the village, but in some respects is a world away. The bright orange two story building faces the ocean, and once (more...)

We had tried to arrange a car rental from home before we left, but at Christmas time cars were hard to come by - at least at the major car rental companies. The best we could (more...)

We had read that the most spectacular scenery would be seen driving to Soufriere, so this is where we headed. The road was good for the most part, although there was enough potholes that it made for very tiring driving. The Pitons are spectacular, although we’d been spoiled by seeing Moorea (Tahiti) the year before.   There (more...)

From Soufriere, we tried to drive to Anse Chastenet, as we had heard that this was the location of some of the best off-shore snorkeling in St Lucia.  However, it was not meant to be.  The road started out pretty rough, and the non-existent shocks on our car were taking a heavy beating.   What stopped us, however, was when we hit an incline that was steep enough that even flooring it, we weren’t able to drive up the hill.  We finally killed the air conditioning and were able to inch our way to the top. Shortly after we u-turned back to the main road.

We would not recommend trying this drive unless you have a real car, maybe a 4×4  - and perhaps one not rented from St Lucia National Car Rental.   If you do go, leave us a comment and let us know what we missed!

We stopped at the Hummingbird Resort in Soufriere for a quick bite, and to relax for a couple of hours.  Lunch was delicious - although a little expensive, at $20 US per person.  The property seemed a little cramped, but the view of the pitons was beautiful.  The swimming pool wasn’t that big, but had some nice shade.  The hotel is very conveniently located just outside Soufriere.

After a bout of food poisoning, perhaps brought on by chicken (more...)

Despite our wonderful guesthouse, overall, we weren’t that impressed with St Lucia. The Pitons are beautiful, but the hassle of the high prices, rough roads, average beaches, questionable cleanliness levels outside tourist areas, and the local’s indifference to tourists do not make it one of our favorite holiday destinations