Welcome to Visit-the-World's St Lucia section ...

Visit St Lucia

St Lucia [Saint Lucia in full,of course] is a beautiful tropical island located in the West Indies surrounding the warm Caribbean Sea. It is about 300 miles to the north of Venezuela in South America. It is also a link in the chain of lovely Windward Islands [part of the Lesser Antilles] and is to the south of Martinique and to the north of St Vincent and the Grenadines. South of the Grenadines is the most southerly of the Windward Islands, Grenada itself. To the south of that are the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, close to the Venezuelan coast.

Around 100 miles to the east of St Lucia lies the wonderful and very
popular holiday island of Barbados.

St Lucia [pronounced Loo-sha] is 27 miles[ 43km] long and 14 miles
[22km] wide. Appropriately, it is shaped rather like a mango!

It is very lush and has preserved its green mountainous heart, with
banana plantations giving way to vibrant forests.

The south of the island is dominated by the  Pitons, the jungle-clad twin peaks that symbolise St Lucia. They appear on umpteen post-cards
depicting the Caribbean.

Culturally, the island is an engaging mix, with Creole artlessness,
Caribbean flair and French finesse being underscored by traditional
British values.

This reflects St Lucia's varied history. It  has changed hands 14 times,
with the French and English[ later, British] flags alternating from 1650,
when French settlers first landed. From the 1760's, the island operated
a plantation economy, based on African slave labour. St Lucia became
British for good in 1814 and gained independence in 1979, but it remains
part of the Commonwealth.

English is the official language, but Creole patois is common-place.
That is French and English vocabulary imposed on African grammar. St Lucia feels safe to travellers, but the people can be quite forthright, whilst not as "in-your-face" as Jamaica. They are as friendly as the people of Barbados, without being as primly British.

Until recently, agriculture, chiefly bananas, was the mainstay of the
economy. However, a World Trade Organisation ruling puts this under
threat, because by 2006, they must compete with massive US-backed
Latin American companies for EU trade. St Lucia and other small
Caribbean countries have had preferential treatment from Europe in the
past.The USA had complained that this was unfair and illegal.

Now the surviving plantations will depend entirely on exports to Britain
where many consumers will pay more for bananas grown using fewer
chemicals.

St Lucia is slowly converting to a more tourism-based economy and
has its share of luxurious hotels and low-key traditional inns.

It is also an extremely popular  port-of-call for cruise liners.

The capital, Castries, is  perfectly suited to the largest cruise ships,
which dock at Pointe Seraphine Cruise Terminal, on the outskirts of the town. At the terminal, is a small precinct, with a choice of duty-free
shops selling jewellery, designer clothing and local crafts. A variety of
excursions are also available in air-conditioned mini-buses. Taxis also
queue up, offering guided trips for those who prefer to look around on
their own.

Water taxis ply the harbour between the terminal and another duty-free
mall, La Place Carenage.

There is not much to see in Castries, as most of the old Colonial buildings were destroyed in fires in 1927 and 1948. However, on Fridays and Saturdays, they have a typically colourful and noisy West Indian market, when ladies from the surrounding St Lucian countryside come in to sell their wares, mainly fruit, vegetables and chickens.

There is also a good choice of authentic crafts, including basket-ware
of a large variety of designs.

The main square in Castries was renamed the Derek Walcott Square
in 1993, in honour  of the St Lucian poet who won the Nobel Prize for
Literature.

On top of the hill to the south of the town is the Morne Fortune Historic Area, where along with some remarkable views, you will find the old military buildings of Fort Charlotte, originally built by the French in 1768 and completed by the British in 1814.

Heading southwest and inland  from Castries, through the hills, you get to the banana plantations of Cul de Sac  Valley. St Lucians claim that the volcanic soil makes their bananas , the sweetest and juiciest ones on Earth. I won't argue!! They're delicious!!

In the south are the dramatic Pitons, the twin cone-shaped hills which
tower over the trees. Gros Piton  rises more than 774 metres [2540 ft]
and Petit Piton stands 716 metres[ 2350 ft] high.

The quaintly ramshackle town of Soufriere nestles under the twin
peaks and marks the gateway to a fascinating seven acre volcanic
crater. This is La Soufriere Sulphur Springs. No longer active, the
volcano's sulphurous vapours have the overwhelming smell of rotten eggs although they are said to have therapeutic value.

Nearby are the beautifully maintained Diamond Botanical Gardens,
Mineral Baths and Waterfall. The gardens, created in 1785, are well
worth a visit.

Sailing around this coast and snorkelling and diving at Anse Chastanet, just north of Soufriere, is very popular. The reef here is in a national marine park.

Marigot Bay, halfway down the west coast  is a magnificent steep-sided cove  with an exclusive marina  for glitzy yachts. It is a very chic resort. Dr Doolittle was filmed here.

To the north of Castries lie sheltered bays, beautiful beaches, lovely
hotels, a marina, historic landmarks and shopping malls. By Choc Bay
is the American-style Gablewoods Mall, with a wide range of shops.
Rodney Bay is next along the coast, where Reduit Beach is one of the
finest  stretches of sand on Saint Lucia.

Across the road from the beach and a little further along is Rodney Bay Marina, lined with restaurants and bars.

At the far end of Rodney Bay is Pigeon Island National Landmark with another great beach.

Golfers can enjoy their sport at Cap Estate Country Club or Sandals St Lucia.

My wife and I enjoyed a fascinating morning at the Mamiku Gardens on the less developed, but very attractive, east coast of the island.

We enjoyed a fascinating talk by the owner regarding a great array of
beautiful tropical plants. Many of them, like the Noni tree, have great
medicinal properties, valued for centuries by people in the tropics.

Saint Lucia is a wonderful, very green tropical island, with some of the
finest scenery in the Caribbean. Why not book a holiday on this page or
on  visit-the-world.co.uk?  If you go,don't forget to taste a rum punch...or
three, virtually the national drink of the Caribbean!! Wonderful!!