We are back with another blog post for you to share all the fun activities we did while in Saint Lucia over Labor Day Weekend 2022.
Before you go: Make sure you check current Health guidelines as the requirements for entry change often. Before you go decide what you would like to get out of your trip. For a mix of beach time, less tourists and waterfall adventures, stay in the south of the island. For beautiful sand beaches and bigger city life, stay in the north of the island close to the cruise ship terminal. We decided to spend our entire time in the South, and couldn’t have been happier with our vacation.
Hotel recommendation: St Lucia is a big honey moon destination which means that it is costly to stay at a resort. We were able to find a beach hotel for under $200 a night that offered us privacy and exclusivity had the best sunset views of the island. Paradise Hotel in Soufriere is a hidden gem and you will get treated like royalty. It’s super close to the city, mud baths, waterfalls and Pitons.
Getting Around: Rent the car! In Saint Lucia you will need to drive on the left side and roads are windy, however you will be so happy to be independent and exploring the island without a big tour or overpriced guides. It’s about $100 for a guide to drive you around and we paid $180 for a 5 day car rental with Drive-a-Matic car.
Currency: Saint Lucia uses the East Caribbean Dollar, however vendors will take the US Dollar. We brought both currencies to pay for street food and entrances to waterfalls. If you stay at an all inclusive hotel and have everything booked through the hotel you probably don’t need much cash. If you explore the island on your own, definitely bring cash.
Arrival Day: All flights get to Saint Lucia in the afternoon, by the time you get to the Hotel there is not much time left. We ordered an amazing lunch and watched the sunset from our hotel beach. It was Friday night, so we took a taxi into town, had some drinks at a beach shack and then went to an outdoor Club where the entire town met to mingle and to have fun. We ended the day with some fruit rum and smoked BBQ chicken.
Day 2: We knew we wanted to see the waterfalls and mud baths and do a hike so we put that on our itinerary super early on. After all this is what the island is known for. So below you can see each destination and a picture to show how breathtaking Saint Lucia is:
Tet Paul Nature Trail – You have to pay a guide $10 and he/she will guide you to the top and also educates you about the vegetation and village taking care of the Nature Trail.
Toraille Waterfall – The entrance fee is $3 and it’s the busiest waterfall, buses full of tourists are standing in line to take pictures with a professional photographer. We took a selfie and skipped the line. If you come here at a less busy time, it would be worth it.
Piton Falls – This was by far our favorite spot, the fee is $3 and you have to walk a 4 minute hike to the baths and waterfall. It’s very private and less touristy! The waterfall was beautiful and the natural bath felt amazing.
Drive in Volcano and Sulfur Springs: We paid $27 for two people to use the Sulfur mad bath and to drive up to the Volcano for a quick guided tour. The volcano is just stunning, seeing the hot springs boiling and smelling the Sulfur was an amazing experience. The guide explained about the volcano activity and how scientists view the activity via satellite imagining.
The Sulfur mud baths are a must! We are not sure if it’s imagination or real but our skin felt amazing after rubbing all the mud from the volcano on us and then washing it off in the Jacuzzi temperature water.
Day 3: Today was our water activity day, we organized a boat (water taxi) for snorkeling through the staff at our amazing Hotel. The guy hooked us up with a $120 snorkeling adventure. We snorkels at two spots, Sugar Beach and Anse Chastanet Beach. We highly recommend spending at least one day out on the water. Talk to the locals and you will find a good deal, I couldn’t find anything that was less than $300 before going on the trip. Patience was worth it here!
Day 4: This this was our last full day, we literally just spent the entire day on the beach, snorkeling, drinking bounty rum and eating delicious St Lucian food. After a couple days of Island exploring we really needed the rest before heading back to Charlotte. At night we took some golden hours pictures before having a dinner during our last sunset on the island.
Day 5: Flights to the United States usually leave in the afternoon, which gives you a couple hours in the morning. We drove towards Laborie Beach to have an authentic island breakfast, however when we arrived the kitchen was not open yet. Instead we kept driving towards the airport and stopped at The Reef Beach Cafe. Stefanie finally had her Saltfish and Bake breakfast and we were surrounded by stray cats and dogs! Couldn’t think of a better way to end our perfect vacation.
Restaurants:
Fedo’s – it’s a locally owned restaurant with a busy take out business. We ate inside and had the best meal during our trip. Shrimp and chicken creole with all the Caribbean vegetables.
Project Chocolat – the chocolate farm is located in a resort, however you can visit the bar/restaurant area for dinner and dessert. We came here for an appetizer and desserts and the views were worth it.
Bamboo Restaurant – This is where Stefanie had her Caribbean Lobster and the Lobster was no joke. For $40, we got the biggest lobster tail we have ever seen, full of amazing flavors. If you won’t eat here, stop by for a drink, the atmosphere is transcending as you feel like you are in a jungle.
Seashell Restaurant – For best Piton Sunset views, come here!! The restaurant is right on the water and close to the local beach area. Looking at those pictures, still feels unreal. Come here for a drink or have a delicious local dish.
If you are adventurous like us, talk to the locals and ask where the nightlife is happening. Soufriere is very small so there is usually one spot that would get busy for the night. We got lucky, we ended up at a club opening of Club Whispers, where locals got together to drink and dance. We also spent Sunday night with the locals at Hummingbird Beach. Join the locals for fun events to experience the island the St. Lucian way.
We hope you enjoy this guide and please share with us if you used some of our travel tips.