St Lucia

Travel to St Lucia

We arrived in St Lucia on 12th January at the port of Castries. As we had pre booked our excursion with Tui we were directed to our mini bus as soon as we embarked our ship. From experiences with the other islands it may have been better to have done this with a local tour operator as they have been much cheaper.

Sightseeing and Sulphur Springs mud bath tour

Viewing point

We headed to the west coast of the island which was quite a drive away. We didn’t mind the long drive as we got to see a lot of this beautiful island. The guide gives you a lot of information about the island and its history along the way. Our first stop was a viewing a point which looked down on to St Lucia with spectacular views. Here you get an amazing view of the Pitons. The viewing point is a main stop for a lot of buses due to the views. Here you can buy food and drinks and sit and admire the view. There was plenty of time here to take lots of photo’s.

Mud Bath

Our next stop was the sulphur springs mud bath. . As we pulled up in the minibus you could smell the sulphur very strong. On the way to the entrance there are a lot of stalls selling souvenirs etc. You are given some time afterwards to have a wander around the stalls. Entrance fee was included in the cost of our tour. We had put our swim wear under our clothes so it was easy to get changed.

There are benches where you can sit and get changed. Our guide was very helpful and looked after our belongings. He was also available to take photo’s if needed.

There are buckets of the mud which you put on yourself and allow it to dry. The guides joke that you will look and feel 20 years younger when you have finished lol. It does rejuvenate your skin which feels so soft after you have been here. There are various pools to go into which are very warm due to this being volcanic.

There area showers and changing rooms when you have finished in the mud baths. We felt we had sufficient time here to experience the mud baths and feel the benefit. After the mud baths we headed to where we were to have lunch. It was around 2pm when we set off the lunch so we were ready for something to eat by then.

Lunch

We were taking to a lovely place for lunch just a short drive from the mud baths. This was in its own grounds with lots of plants and trees surrounding the building. The lunch consisted of rice, chicken, potatoes and bread. There was also hot sauce which you are advised how hot it is. We like hot spicey food but this was very hot even for our standards. You are also provided with a soft drink and dessert. It is buffet service but there are waiters/waitresses on hand if you need anything.

We ate on the outside balcony with everyone else in our group. It was lovely to eat outside which was in a shaded are therefore wasn’t too hot. This venue is a popular choice as there were many other coaches and mini buses leaving and arriving when we were there.

After our meal we were then driven back to the ship. Although it is a long drive considering we only had 1 day in St Lucia it is very scenic.

Summary

Like a lot of the Caribbean islands St Lucia is beautiful. Many people we have spoken to have been to St Lucia for an holiday and highly recommend it. 1 day to see such a lovely place is definitely not enough. We saw a lot of the island during our short time but would have loved to have been able to experience more of what the island has to offer.

Things to do

• Visit the mud baths
• Visit pigeon island
• Visit Marigot Bay
• Visit one of the beaches
• Visit the Sulphur Springs
• See the Pitons
• Visit Castries Market

Top tips

• f you are only St Lucia for a short time plan your itinerary.
• If scuba diving take a good camera for example a go pro (we did not get the photo’s we wanted on a number of excursions due to poor underwater camera)
• Use the locals for excursions as they tend to be a lot cheaper and it gives back in to their economy (ensure it is a reliable company first)
• Take plenty of mosquito spray.
• Remember currency is in Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD) and not US dollars but they will except US dollars.
• Check out other destinations in the Caribbean we have visited click on the following links Mexico , Cuba , Jamaica , Barbados, Martinique , St Maarten , Antigua, Dominica , Grenada
• Check out UK government advice when travelling to St Lucia St Lucia travel advice – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Check out weather below for best time to visit St Lucia. Official hurricane season runs June – November
• Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	29	29	30	30	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	30
Low Temp	23	23	23	24	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	24
Rainfall	92	57	27	66	63	140	171	172	193	192	167	102
Number of days	21	16	16	16	15	20	21	21	19	20	20	19