Travel Series (Part #3) St. Lucia Island, A Romantic Getaway

gauravgpt60 (51)in #travel • 6 years ago (edited)

St. Lucia is best know as a Romantic Island in the World. Who does not love an Island with natural and beautiful surroundings and clean sandy beaches?

I am sharing you my experience when i was there for a week.

St. Lucia Island is heaven on earth, It is filled with green trees of mango, coconuts, papaya and bananas. And it has a world class living with crystal blue water with white sandy beaches.

I have reached Hewanorra International Airport at 6 am. Its was early in the morning and the weather was awesome. Temperature was around 26 degree °C. View was awesome. we have taken our luggage and came out from the airport and hired a taxi to reach our pre booked hotel. Taxi has take 10 minutes to reach our hotel "Aupic Paradise".

It is a clean and peaceful hotel to stay. And the view from the Balcony is awesome. You will have a really comfortable stay there.

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I have been freshen up and had a delicious breakfast. I ordered "St Lucia Lambi". This is a famous and really delicious dish in St. Lucia. I really loved it. And now i was all set to leave the hotel and explore the Island.

I googled the places and read about the places. I always prefer to google about the places before visit. And i insist you to do a little research before planning to visit any place. It will give you an idea about what to visit and how much it will cost you.

Here i found these places to visit in St. Lucia when googled.

Now i am giving you an idea about those place one by one. I hope you will love it.

ANSE DE SABLES

It is the largest beach in St. Lucia but underdeveloped. So i suggest you that it is not the best spot for young families.

COCOA FARM

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Anyone who is owning a restaurant and want to see how the cocoa farming is done there, then this is the spot for you. There is guidance available as an expert chocolatier to teach you how planting and the process is done. Awesome place to visit.

MARIA ISLAND NATURE RESERVE

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These are 2 Islands, they are small in size. They were declared as a nature reserve in year 1982. This is done to protect some of their unique species of plants and 5 endemic reptiles. Some birds migrate here all the way from West Africa. This reserve is closed in between May-August season. You should take a fishing boat here to explore the area with an expert guide there and then snorkel in the surrounding reefs. A Picnic Spot!

MARIGOT BAY

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This is ridiculously beautiful with white sand filed by coconut palms and backed by steep walls of tropical greenery. This is really a favourite for shooting films. many films has been shooted here. Some spots are heavily developed but some not and those are only accessible by a boat. So you will have a great experience of boating there also.

MILLET BIRD SANCTUARY

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This Island is a real treasure for bird lovers. Around 40+ species can be seen in the forest. This is a 2 hour and 3 km trail. And this will reveal variety of sceneries and will take you up to 350 m for amazingly beautiful views from the top. Feeding station in between route will increase the chances of seeing different kind of bird species. Bird lovers are welcome here and the Photographers will love this place top of the world.

PIGEON ISLAND

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This National park should be on your list to visit in St. Lucia. This will allow you to learn about the history of Fort Rodney and you will be overwhelmed with the sceneries there. There are beaches and restaurants too. There is a Concert venue and that hosts various shows and festivals and most probably you will found there some shows running and that will give you an amazing experience of their culture.

THE PITONS

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There are 2 volcanic cones. And this is the most famous place in St. Lucia. The view is amazingly beautiful. Those named by their loca people after their gods,Yokahu is Gros Piton, and Atabeyra is Petit Piton. Gros Piton is higher around 740m but it's easier to climb than Petit Piton. Petit Piton is like a sheer wall. This trip is of around 4 hours and this trip is really tough because of the heat there. But you will get a recent reward after reaching at top. From the top the view of Ocean and Island will make your heart full of joy and you will forget about the heat. I suggest you to use guide. Because they are experts and will guide you everything. Must Visit Place!

QUILESSE

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This rainforest is around of 4km of walk and this is worth giving to spot around 30 species of birds. This will include the unique Saint Lucia parrot. This is an off beaten track so you will likely see some other travelers on 1 to 2 hr winding trail. Hired ranger will help you to spot the birds will warn you from nast harmful plants. Forest and Bird lovers will surely love this place.

RODNEY BAY

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There are many resorts and vast mall and a casino. This is a small town but really an opposite to the image of peaceful St. Lucia. If there is a Friday night then you are at the right place to have some party. Street food is awesome there. And there are some very nice sandy beaches also. You can spend most of your time there. Lovely Lovely Place.

SAILING

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This will give you a star like feeling sailing the Caribbean in a private sailboat. You can join a scheduled trip with 5 to 6 passengers or you can charter your own if you have enough money to spend. And you will access to remote coves, snorkeling spots and pods of dolphins. And you can learn how to sail. Amazing experience!

SOUFRIÈRE

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This is former colonial capital of St. Lucia. This was named after the active volcano to it's nearby. This is a beautiful town to spend a Full day. There are some beautiful botanical gardens and you will love it. There is a beautiful market and delicious food so you can spend a chilled afternoon.

SOUFRIÈRE VOLCANO

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This is well known as the one and only "drive-in volcano" in the world. A tour guide will lead you there to see the multicoloured mineral deposits, noxious vents, and belching mud pools. Different kind of experience you will have here.

Typical Costs

Accommodation

There are various kind of resorts so you will never have a problem with stay. But most of us looks for cheaper accommodation so you will find some at 125 XCD per night. And using Airbnb you can find more cheaper private rooms or apartments starting around 110 XCD per night. There are not hostels like facility or campgrounds on this Island. So basically you can find your accommodation in approx 125 XCD.

Food

There will be typical Caribbean like food here. Dishes will have plantains, sweet potatoes, rice, chicken, beans, plantains and fish of course. Luch there will usually cost between 12 to 25 XCD as much you can afford. But dinner will be little higher in price and will cost around 40 XCD. Fruits are the best picks here because they are cheap and delicious. You have to avoid restaurants near cruise ports and resorts because meal is expensive there. So go to the local market and find your food there at cheap price.

Transportation

Taxis are favourable there because Buts are unreliable because they don't run frequently. A bus will cost you around 7 XCD around the Island. Taxis will cost you around 5 XCD for a trip around Castries. If you want to go between coastal towns then water taxis are also available. When you need to go to Vieux Fort from Soufriere then you hire a bus and that will cost you 19 XCD and the travel time will be approx 3 hrs.

Activities

Activities are inexpensive there in general and will cost you around 10 to 25 XCD. Diving is expensive there. Diving there is an awesome experience but that is expensive and will cost you around 250 XCD for a single tank dive.

Money Saving Tips

Duty-free There are handful of duty-free shops where you can get discounted designer goods.

Book online Online booking is a very safe option if you are going for diving or any other expensive activities. In Online booking you can get discounted price with some deals so you will same some money.

Travel off season There is off season in from May to October. You will get accomodation is very lower prices and activities are cheap in that season.

Get food at the supermarkets Always go to the supermarket to buy food, you can cook your own food there and that will costs you very low.