Things to do in St Lucia
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit St Lucia
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and peak: driest, breeziest, calmest west coast seas and best visibility, with highest prices. Best months are January to March.
Shoulder sweet spot: prices drop after Jazz, island lush and crowds thin. June starts hurricane season with low early risk.
Wet and hurricane season: rain in short heavy bursts, greenest island, lowest prices and emptiest sights. Worst months are September and October.
What's on
- Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival April 30-May 10
Premier Caribbean jazz festival with main stage at Pigeon Island. Worth timing a trip around, and north hotels sell out.
- Saint Lucia Carnival mid-July
Soca, feathers and street parades centred on Castries, with main parade days around the third week.
- Lobster season reopening typically August 1
Lobster season reopens, alongside Emancipation and August Monday events.
- La Rose 30 August
Traditional flower festival, a smaller scale cultural counterpart to La Marguerite.
- La Marguerite 17 October
Traditional flower festival held in October.
- Creole Day / Jounen Kwéyòl last Sunday of October
Madras dress, Creole food, music and Kwéyòl language celebrated island wide, in the wettest month.
- ARC Atlantic Rally for Cruisers finish late November to early December
Hundreds of yachts arrive in Rodney Bay Marina from Gran Canaria, with marina parties at the start of dry season.
- St Lucia Billfish Tournament autumn, typically Oct/Nov
Autumn billfish tournament for fishing groups.
Best things to do in St Lucia
The Pitons
Two volcanic peaks rising from the sea, best layered from a boat, the Tet Paul viewpoint and Sugar Beach.
Sulphur Springs
The Caribbean's only drive-in volcano, with steaming vents, mineral mud baths and hot pools to rinse in.
Anse Chastanet Beach
A protected reef yards off a black sand beach, with turtles, eels and many fish species in calm water.
Pigeon Island National Landmark
Fort Rodney ruins, two sheltered beaches and a lookout hike in one cheap half day in the north.
Gros Islet Friday Night Street Party
Friday street grills, rum shacks and sound systems in Gros Islet, best for grilled fish, lambi and Piton beer.
Castries Central Market
The capital's market for fruit, spices, cocoa sticks and green fig and saltfish, next to Derek Walcott Square.
Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens
Shaded estate gardens leading to a mineral streaked waterfall and historic baths you can soak in.
Project Chocolat
Tree to bar cacao experience at Rabot Estate: graft a tree, taste the pulp and mould your own bar.
Where to stay in St Lucia
Soufrière and the Pitons coast
scenery, honeymoon, nature, diving
The Pitons are your weather and most southern sights are within 20 minutes, with quiet evenings.
Rodney Bay and Gros Islet
first-timers, families, food, nightlife, practicality
Reduit Beach, the marina and dozens of walkable restaurants and bars, with the widest price spread.
Marigot Bay
quiet upscale marina escape, sailors
Picture perfect and small, a boutique base to decompress and boat, with limited beach and nightlife.
Cap Estate
villas, golf, residential quiet
Far north villas and golf in residential quiet, but you need a car or taxis for everything.
Anse Cochon
quiet snorkelling, couples
A quiet snorkel bay between Castries and Soufrière, isolated in the good way.
Vieux Fort
airport nights, kitesurfing
Near Hewanorra airport with a windy Atlantic beach, useful first or last night rather than a main base.
Think twice about
- Castries city centre
Congested working capital with minimal evening life and no good swimming nearby. Visit the market by day, do not base here or wander downtown alone late.
- Downtown Soufrière town
A poor working town with persistent hustle at the waterfront, uneven pavements and no sidewalks on the highway back to hillside hotels after dark. Take a taxi at night.
- Isolated villas and beaches after dark
Do not walk deserted beaches after sunset or display jewellery. Arrange night transport, use hotel safes and stay alert at ATMs.
Best restaurants in St Lucia
Dasheene
Open air terrace facing the Pitons serving creative St Lucian cooking, with sunset the table to chase.
Orlando's Restaurant & Bar
Chef Orlando Satchell's small tasting room in Soufrière town, built on local farms and explained table to table.
Rabot Restaurant
Cacao used as a spice at the Rabot estate, from cacao nib fish to a chocolate finish, facing Petit Piton.
Jacques Waterfront Dining
French Caribbean fine dining on the Rodney Bay marina, valued for consistency year after year.
The Cliff at Cap
Clifftop French Caribbean dining above the sea, plus the Rock Maison deck where drinks arrive by zip line.
The Coal Pot
Family run since 1968 at Vigie Marina, serving French Creole seafood including crab backs and callaloo soup.
The Naked Fisherman
Beach chic lunch and dinner below Cap Maison, with grilled catch, fish tacos and rum cocktails near the sand.
The Beacon
Hillside Creole restaurant above Soufrière with generous local dishes and the definitive bay panorama.
Outdoor things to do in St Lucia
Point Hardy Golf Club
Coore and Crenshaw clifftop course at Cabot, private and guest access only, with a famed closing stretch.
Sandals Golf & Country Club
The accessible 18 hole Cap Estate course, fine for a holiday round though conditioning reviews are mixed.
Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Course
Short hilly 9 hole resort course at La Toc, fun for guests but not worth crossing the island for.
Gros Piton
The signature guided climb, steep and sustained, rewarded by summit views over Petit Piton and Soufrière.
Tet Paul Nature Trail
A 45 minute community trail to the best low effort viewpoint framing both Pitons and Soufrière Bay.
Rainforest Adventures St Lucia
Zip lines and a slow aerial tram through old growth rainforest, with a chance of the endemic parrot.
Enbas Saut Trail
A quieter rainforest trail near Soufrière ending at a swimmable waterfall, best with real trail shoes.
Barre de L'Isle Trail
A steep ridge trail across the island divide with views to both the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts.
Best hotels in St Lucia
Jade Mountain
Open walled sanctuary suites with private infinity pools above Anse Chastanet, facing the Pitons.
Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort
Villas through rainforest down to the beach between the Pitons, with butler service and a rainforest spa.
Ladera Resort
Adults only open air suites with plunge pools on the ridge between the Pitons, above Sugar Beach.
Cap Maison Resort & Spa
Small clifftop hacienda style hotel above Smuggler's Cove, with the Cliff at Cap restaurant on site.
Rabot Hotel
Open air lodges on the Rabot cacao estate facing Petit Piton, with cacao in everything at the restaurant.
Stonefield Villa Resort
Adults only plantation villas at Petit Piton's base, most with private plunge pools and garden showers.
Anse Chastanet Resort
Rooms cascading to two beaches with the dive centre at the door, paying for location over polish.
Harbor Club St Lucia, Curio by Hilton
Modern marina hotel in Rodney Bay with a big pool, walking distance to dozens of restaurants.
Is St Lucia expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | EC$240 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | EC$675 a person |
| Splurge | EC$2,100 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- The Pitons: a few days ahead
- Project Chocolat: a few days ahead
- Gros Piton: a few days ahead
- West Coast Catamaran Sail to Soufrière: a few days ahead
- Jade Mountain: months ahead
- Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort: months ahead
- Ladera Resort: months ahead
- Dasheene: a few days ahead
- Jade Mountain, Sugar Beach and Ladera months ahead for December to April.
- Dasheene sunset tables and Orlando's days ahead, a week or more in peak season.
- Jazz Festival headline nights, north hotels and Pigeon Island packages together and early.
- Gros Piton guides, Project Chocolat and small boat catamaran days a few days ahead in peak season.
Is St Lucia safe?
- Keep valuables off display, use safes, arrange night rides and do not walk alone at night outside lit resort and Rodney Bay areas.
- Dengue is present: use repellent after rain and at dawn and dusk. Sun is fierce year round and tap water is generally safe in hotels.
- Camouflage clothing is illegal for civilians and enforced. Emergency numbers are 999 and 911.
St Lucia travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Basing in one end and day tripping the other repeatedly: 3 hours of hairpins a day is not a holiday. Split or commit.
- Cruise ship hours at Soufrière sights, roughly 10:30am to 2:30pm on big ship days. Start early or late.
- Free beach chair and tour hustle: agree every price for taxi, water taxi, chair and guide before the service, stating EC or US dollars.
- All inclusive seclusion in the south without a car or driver budget means seeing the resort and barely seeing St Lucia.
- Diamond Falls is to view, not swim under. Petit Piton is not a casual hike, and do not drive back south at midnight after the Friday party.
Getting around St Lucia: public transport and more
- Hewanorra UVF in the south is 45 minutes to Soufrière and 90 minutes to 2 hours to Rodney Bay. George F. L. Charles SLU in Castries is regional only.
- Complete the free online immigration form up to 3 days before arrival to get your entry QR code.
- Taxis are unmetered with TX plates: agree the fare before moving. Private drivers for a day are the best value luxury.
- Minibuses are cheap and frequent by day on the Castries to Gros Islet and Castries to Soufrière corridors, with small bills.
- Driving is on the left on steep winding roads and needs a temporary permit around US$20. Water taxis between Soufrière, Sugar Beach, Anse Chastanet and Marigot are fast and scenic.
Who St Lucia suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make St Lucia your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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