So you’ve probably seen a beautiful picture of Saint Lucia and are thinking about planning a trip to the island. First off, great idea! But where do you even begin? In this guide we are here to help you plan a trip to Saint Lucia. From accommodation, getting around the island, the best time to visit, duration for your visit, etc.
There is definitely more than 1 way to plan the perfect vacation in Saint Lucia. It depends on the speed of travel you enjoy. And ultimately how much time you have on the island.
Are you happiest sitting at the beach every day sipping on some rum punch? Or would you rather do a fun excursion every day? Or do you want to do a little bit of both?
Jake and I personally like to chill for a few days, but definitely get antsy to go out on an adventure. We also tried out two very different types of accommodation, from an all-inclusive resort near Castries and a vacation rental home in Soufriere. We personally enjoyed our time at both locations and the variety of mixing it up.
Our time in the all-inclusive resort really didn’t take much extra work besides finding the right resort. Check out our Sandals Review of Regency La Toc to see if it’s the right resort for you.
But our time in Soufriere took a lot of extra work, from finding accommodation, renting a car, finding out what the best things to do in Soufriere were, etc. But we got to do everything we wanted to do in the area and not feel like we were wasting our money because we were paying for an all-inclusive. So there are definitely perks to both.
Obviously, not everyone is the same, so hopefully this guide for how to plan a trip to Saint Lucia will help you decide the best way to plan your vacation.
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Where On The Island Do You Want To Stay?
There are a few “main” touristy areas on the island of Saint Lucia. The northwestern part of the island is Gros Islet & Castries. This is where you will find tons of resorts along the beaches between those 2 cities.
Another main attraction to the island is Soufriere which is on the southwest part of the island. And this is where you will find the main draw to the island the famed Piton mountains.
Additionally, Marigot Bay is a beautiful, upscale place to stay. But not quite as popular as Castries/Gros Islet & Soufriere. There is also not as much to do in this area, so it’s more of a sit back and relax atmosphere. Or you might consider going on tours from this location.
People don’t often stay on the East side of the Island because it borders the Atlantic Ocean. It’s often windy and the surf is high. Not quite the chill Caribbean vibe most people come to the island for. But there are a few resorts and hotels in that corner of the island, but better for pool lovers than beach lovers.
We find that no matter where you stay, you must spend some time in the Soufriere area. To come all the way to St. Lucia and not experience the Pitons would truly be a shame. They are the crown jewel of the island that really sets it apart from other islands in the Caribbean. Whether by taxi, boat, or even helicopter, make sure you get to see and experience this part of the island.
If you are looking to just sit back, relax, drink some good drinks and eat some yummy food, then Castries/Gros-Islet is probably the right area for you. There are tons of “affordable” resorts that offer exactly that. While there are a few resorts along the beach near Soufriere, they come at a much higher price. But they do offer some of the most beautiful views you might ever get from a resort.
Jake and I spent our time in both areas, a resort in Castries and a vacation home rental in Soufriere. While we enjoyed our time in both locations, we loved our time spent in Soufriere because of all the adventures. But both offered a different experience.
In our guide for Where Are The Best Places To Stay in Saint Lucia will provide a better grasp on which part of the island is best for you.
How To Get To Saint Lucia
There are 2 different airports on the island of Saint Lucia, Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) and George FL Charles Airport (SLU).
Hewanorra International Airport is the main airport. Which has incoming flights from Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Newark, New York City, Montreal & Boston. The airlines that fly into Hewanorra International Airport are Delta, JetBlue, American Airlines, United, Air Canada, Air Transat, & Westjet.
I think really the only way you would be flying into George FL Charles Airport airport is because you are flying in from one of the nearby Caribbean islands (Antigua, Barbados, Curacao, Fort-de-France, Pointe-a-Pitre, Port of Spain, Saint Kitts, Sint Maarten, and Saint Vincent). The only airlines that fly into the George F.L Charles Airport (SLU) are Air Antilles, Air Caraibes, and LIAT.
Our guide for how to get to the island of St. Lucia will provide more details different modes of transportation.
Get To St. Lucia via Cruise Ship:
Saint Lucia does have a cruise ship port in Castries. There are many different cruise lines that come in and out of the port. You can check out Cruise Dig’s cruise schedule here. But do note, cruises often stay for just the day and take off at night. So you might consider taking a tour on the island that takes you both on land and sea.
You can often set up the tour with the cruise line, so it includes transportation to and from the boat.
Do you need a visa to enter Saint Lucia?
No Visa is required in Saint Lucia for travel under 6 weeks. If you plan to stay longer than 6 weeks, you can apply for a Visa at CIBTvisas.
Choosing Between Resort, Hotel, or Vacation Rental?
Resort:
Next, you will need to decide your accommodation type. Like mentioned above, there are plenty of resorts located around the island with amazing beachfront property. Many are located amongst the beaches that line the island.
Many people are attracted to the all-inclusive style resort vacation. It offers a very relaxing and straight-forward vacation style, where basically everything you need is right on site. Which I do think has its perks. While all-inclusives are more expensive up front, you can spend very little money while you are there. You can leave your wallet behind, sit back, relax, and eat and drink as much as you want!
But sometimes I feel a little stuck when at an all-inclusive resort. I feel like you “need to get your money’s worth”. Why would I want to leave a resort, when the price includes all the drink and food you could possibly want, just to go on a tour that costs additional? And not to mention, many of the tours are with 30+ people, so it can get crowded.
Of course, there are also resorts that aren’t all-inclusive, but still have a bar and restaurant on property. So it can be nice to have the freedom to either spend the day at the resort, or have the freedom to go off resort to check out a few other restaurants or activities. These resorts will often still help you plan a tour and help with transportation. This is probably the best option if you like a resort setting, but still have interest in doing a little exploring of the island.
Hotel or Vacation Rental Home:
If you are fine with putting in a little extra work, and want to have more freedom with your vacation, then we suggest getting a hotel or vacation rental, like Airbnb or VRBO.
Hotels and vacation rental homes offer much more freedom to do what you want. But you may need to coordinate much more travel around St. Lucia to restaurants, beaches, and other attractions. And consider that cheaper hotels and vacation rentals may not have a pool or immediate beach access. So you will need to work a little harder to find places to swim.
Find great hotel and vacation rentals on this map below.
Hotels and vacation rentals give you a better ability to avoid the crowds. You can pick times early in the morning or later in the evening to do some of the popular attractions around the island to avoid the large tours. We found this especially nice when visiting the mud baths, Toraille Falls, and for snorkeling tours.
Tour sizes are often 30+ people coming off a boat or bus, so it can quickly make a small area overcrowded fast.
Plus we were able to check out many of the best restaurants in Soufriere rather than paying for an all-inclusive resort. We were able to make reservations and go during sunset to get the perfect dining experience.
Combo of Both Resort & Vacation Rental:
You could stay at an all-inclusive and then maybe find cheaper accommodation for the remainder where you find some fun excursions to do. We found an awesome vacation rental in Soufriere that was a fraction of the price and the views certainly did not disappoint. But if you’re short on time, then maybe the transportation to a different place isn’t totally worth your time.
All-inclusive resorts tend to cost more but include many more perks. Versus a hotel or vacation home rental often costs less per night, but food & drink is not included. And there is often no pool or hot tub. So you gotta weigh your options. Having a vacation home rental keeps your flexibility open to trying new restaurants or if there is a kitchen to cook some of your own meals. Plus you can choose your adventures through a different company than what the resort offers.
There are pros and cons to both all-inclusive resorts and hotels/vacation home rentals.
If you are just looking to go on vacation to relax, then an all-inclusive resort on the beach is probably the right accommodation for you. But if you thrive on adventure and love to experience the whole island, its culture, and sights, then maybe a vacation home and rental car is the right move for you.
Getting Around St. Lucia
While you can definitely walk around certain towns and areas, you will probably need a way to get to some places that are further away.
The roads in Saint Lucia are certainly a bit steeper and narrower than what we are used to in the U.S. Plus they drive on the left side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the right side. Which definitely provided a steep learning curve for Jake right off the bat. We definitely turned on the wipers every time we went to use the blinker which always gave us a good laugh.
That shouldn’t totally steer you away from renting a car, because it definitely allowed us the ultimate freedom to do what we wanted and not be on a tight schedule. Check out our review of renting a car on the island of St. Lucia.
So ultimately the question is, do you rent a car in St. Lucia?
We found a rental car to be useful for getting groceries from the supermarket or doing adventures on our own. BUT, you still basically need to pay for everything you do on the island. There are not really many free activities in Saint Lucia.
A lot of tours will include the price of admission into certain areas. But you will pay premium prices for the commute to and from the activity if you are not staying at a resort.
I think overall, having a rental car was very helpful getting around Soufriere. I think we would have skipped some hikes, waterfalls, restaurants, etc if we always felt the sting of paying for a taxi each time.
We travel in a campervan in the US and are thus used to having a high level freedom. So we though that having a rental car would allow us to travel in the way most familiar to us. We didn’t always feel pressured to know what we were doing each day. Having a rental car allowed us to leave for an activity whenever we wanted, and stay for as long as we wanted.
Plus if you have a rental car, you can check off some of these off-the-beaten-path attractions in St. Lucia.
Taxis:
Taxi’s can definitely be a good way to get around the island of St. Lucia. But we found taxi’s to not be that cheap to get around. So ultimately it depends on how often you plan to go somewhere not by foot. But if we got a taxi every day, multiple times a day, it would definitely be more expensive than the rental car.
Minibus:
There is a bus system around the island of Saint Lucia. Which is by far the most affordable way to get around the island. The cost is 2-7 EC (which is around $.50-$2.50 USD) for a one-way ticket. Most of the routes go from Soufriere to Castries, Vieux Fort and Fond St Jacques.
We found that there is no set schedule for the minibuses. But rather they leave when they are full. Also, people can often hop on or get off just about anywhere on the road. So using the minibus system does require some patience and flexiblity.
The minibus is not the most reliable way to get around the island. So do have a backup plan in order.
Water Taxis or Boat Tours:
And don’t forget about boats! St. Lucia’s mountain roads are so curvy that often times it’s faster to explore the island by boat. Taking a water taxi or boat tour is often the fastest and best way to explore the island, especially the best beaches and snorkeling/scuba diving spots.
Should You Book A Tour In St. Lucia?
Tourism is Saint Lucia’s biggest attraction and money maker. So there honestly isn’t a ton you can do on your own here for free. But luckily many activities are quite affordable.
Sometimes it’s paying individual admissions fees to see the best waterfalls, or paying a guide for the best hikes, or paying a tour operator for a full day of adventure. Check out our guide for the best tours in St. Lucia for all action-packed activities.
If you want to explore the best attractions in St. Lucia in a single day without having to worry about planning all the details, then booking a tour is a great idea.
There are plenty of excursions that will take you to multiple places via boat that would be hard to get to by car.
Or there are land adventures that can take you the most popular attractions and to some remote locations in St. Lucia’s lush interior. There are also combined tours for both land and sea.
Tours are best for people that have limited time on the island, yet still want to see it all. Tours will handle everything so you don’t need to plan a thing! You can get a lot of adventures done in one day. You pay a big chunk up front, but often times that includes admission to everything for the day, and possibly food and drinks. But the negative is sometimes you are exploring with a large group, and get herded along quickly between places/activites.
But if you have time and don’t want to be rushed from one place to the next, then we found having a rental car allowed us to explore at our own pace.
For example, over the span of 3 days, we got to snorkel/ hang out at Sugar Beach. On another day, we got to visit the Sulphur Springs Mud Baths, stand under the famous Toraille Falls and go to a local soccer game. Lastly, we got to snorkel at Anse Chastanet, Anse Cochon Beach, visit Marigot Bay and cliff jump off Cinderella’s Slipper. If you take a tour, you would cram a portion of these activities into just 4 hours.
We personally loved having time at some of these places, and not being rushed onto the next activity.
Therefore, the reason to take a tour is if you are short on time, if you want to get on the water, or if you are staying in Castries and want to venture to Soufriere.
Jake and I took a private boat tour with Sugar Boat Charters for a really great price. If we took a tour from Sandals Resort, it would have cost us $100 per person. But we found a private tour that cost $300. So for an extra $50 each we got a private tour of the west side of the island.
We ventured from Soufriere to Cinderella’s Slipper. We had 4 hours to venture up the shore and stop at a few unique places that cannot be accessed by car. Our boat captains helped show us the coolest spots, but ultimately gave us the final say on where to go and how long to stay.
How Long Should You Stay in St. Lucia?
Obviously, the answer to this question is as long as you have time for and/or money for! The island of Saint Lucia is definitely one of the most beautiful and adventurous of the Caribbean Islands.
Jake and I stayed for 16 days which we felt was a good amount. We didn’t leave with much left to be desired which can obviously be a good & bad thing. But Jake and I feel there are just too many places in this beautiful world we have yet to see, so we maybe wouldn’t need to come back to Saint Lucia, but rather visit a different Caribbean island next time.
If adventure is not something you seek, then a week at an all-inclusive resort is probably a good amount of time. Jake and I felt 6 days was just slightly too short. Especially because we had a red-eye flight, and didn’t get in til about 4pm on our first day. So our first day was almost a wash because we didn’t get to enjoy it to the fullest.
But we’d say you should at least stay on this beautiful island for a week or longer. Anything shorter would feel too rushed, but might leave you with reasons to come back!
Best Time To Visit Saint Lucia
When trying to plan a trip to St. Lucia, everyone rightfully wants to when they have the best weather. From a weather perspective, the best time to visit Saint Lucia is from December to April. This is their peak season when you will experience the most sunshine and minimal rain. But, the prices also reflect it being peak season. You can also expect the island to be much busier. It may be harder to get into restaurants, book tours, or just find your own space on a beach.
Wet/rainy season is from June – November, so you will likely experience some rain during your stay. But you can also get better deals on accommodation. Plus the areas will be a bit quieter during those months.
We visited Saint Lucia during the rainy season in October 2022 and it was often partly cloudy most days with some sunshine. With the exception of a few full sunny days, and total overcast days.
For the first portion of our trip in Castries it rained a little bit every day. Sometimes just a quick sprinkle, while other days we had rain for multiple hours. For the second portion of our trip in Soufriere, we got some amazingly sunny days where it didn’t rain.
So it is hard to predict the weather in the rainy season. But as long as you are okay with some rain along your trip, it can save you tons of money to travel here from June-November. However, if you like to hike, then the rainy season can make it harder to complete some hikes on your bucket list. The interior of St. Lucia is a rainforest, so you can expect rain there year-round. But that really only matters for hiking/exploring the interior of the island, because most accommodations are near the coast.
The weather stays in the 80’sF (26-32C) nearly year-round. But it can be very humid, especially during wet/rainy season. We basically never had to wear pants or a sweater any time we went outside, which I personally loved! But it did make hiking a little less comfortable.
Currency In St. Lucia:
St Lucia uses the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, usually abbreviated EC or ECD. Most businesses will also accept USD. Do note, not all businesses have credit card readers, so you should plan to bring cash. Especially if you are not staying at an all-inclusive resort.
And also note that they use the US dollar sign “$” interchangeably between EC and USD. So don’t just assume a price is in US dollars if you see the “$” sign.
If you do plan to travel with money, we recommend having smaller bills if possible. We often found that a lot of vendors or tours didn’t have change for larger bills. The ATM almost always gave us larger bills.
At the time we visited (October 2022) the currency exchange was $2.67 EC to $1 USD.
Tipping & Gratuity in St. Lucia:
Tipping is not necessarily required in Saint Lucia, but 10% is customary for most services. While tipping isn’t required, we always found it was gladly accepted by many tour guides and waiters/waitresses.
Food & Groceries in Saint Lucia:
We found the price for food and groceries to match “resort” prices. Jake and I have spent years living near the ski resort town Vail, CO, so we’ve grown accustomed to expensive prices for groceries, gas, etc. But for someone traveling from a less expensive area, expect higher prices than what you are used to.
The main grocery store in Saint Lucia is Massys. It’s a pretty typical grocery store, not really a supermarket by US standards, but still has most things you could want. You can also buy alcohol (beer, wine, liquor) from most of the stores.
Takeaway | How To Plan A Trip To Saint Lucia:
St. Lucia is definitely a Caribbean Island that should be added to your bucket list. From the emerald blue water, to the world-famous Pitons and lovely culture, St. Lucia is one of the best. We hope this guide for how to plan a trip to Saint Lucia helps you plan the ultimate vacation.
We personally loved splitting our time in both Castries and Soufriere. If you have longer than a week, we highly suggest doing the same. But if you have only a week, it might be best to spend your time in either the northwest or southwest with an added day tour to the other location.
I honestly don’t think we would change a single thing about our trip. We loved staying at a Sandals all-inclusive resort and just getting to relax and enjoy our honeymoon. But we also loved being able to explore the beautiful wonders of St. Lucia via our rental car for the second half.
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