After spending 2 weeks exploring Guadeloupe we decided to Island hop over to Saint Lucia by ferry.
How to get to Saint Lucia by ferry
After some online research we decided to head down to Pointe a Pitre port to purchase our ferry tickets. We purchased the our ferry tickets a couple of days before we left to make sure we would get seats on the ferry as they get very busy with the locals travelling between the Islands. Our ferry trip was definitely one to remember, we took the cheapest ferry option which stopped at two islands on the way Dominica and Martinique. The ferry was clean and comfortable, but unfortunately we left on a high seas afternoon and hit a lot of rough seas between each island and suffered from severe sea sickness which was not nice, but the crew were very good constantly handing out sick bags and taking away our rubbish and then we finally got the advise to move to the back of the cabin and you wont get as sick after suffering for over 5 hours.
Arriving at St Lucia Port
On Arrival at the Saint Lucia port be prepared to get off the ferry as fast as you can as the lines through passport control are long and take forever. If you arrive at night time make sure you have transport organised from the port as its not in a nice area and can be pretty crazy when you walk out of the terminal with taxi drivers approaching you. If you are like us extremely tired and weak from the ferry ride, our air bnb host was a savior waiting for us to drive us up to there home.
Hiring a car in Saint Lucia
For the 3 days we were spending on Saint Lucia we decided to hire a car, as we were staying up in the mountains so this made it easier to get around. When deciding where to pick up your vehicle make sure to do some research. As unfortunately when we choose our rental company for pick up at the airport it was actually meet the representative and then be transferred by car 20 minutes down the road to there actual office. For drop off this was a bit more trickier as they don’t have a desk at the airport we were advised to park the car on the side of the road across from the airport and then just drop the keys off with any of the rental company desks that were manned.
Driving around Saint Lucia
The roads on Saint Lucia do not have signs so you need to use a lot of landmarks to make your way around the Island or use google maps if you have internet access
Things to see and do
Day 1: We explored the southern part of Saint Lucia. We drove the Micoud Hwy along the east coast of the island, there is a fantastic scenic overlook once you drive through the town of Dennery, you will overlook the small fishing town, great photo spot. Next stop was to an historic plantation site Balenbouche Estate, which you can do a self guided tour of the site for EC$10. You will be provided with a small map of the grounds for you to follow. There are some really cool old buildings and ruins from a sugar mill. From here we drove around the southern part of the island to UNESCO world heritage site marker site of the Pitons, its gives you amazing views of Gros and Petit Pitons. Parking on the road is very limited. Head north and we stumbled on a secluded beach Anse Chastanet, it is mainly used by people staying at the resort but if you walk up the beach there is access to the free public beach area where you can do some snorkelling and sunbaking. To finish our afternoon off we went to the worlds only drive in volcano in the town of Soufriere. The cost is US$13 for the guided sulphur springs tour and mud baths. We really enjoyed the sulphur springs, the guide was well informed and gives you the history about the springs, we then did the mud baths, was a bit disappointed with this as we came in the late afternoon so all the buckets with the volcanic mud you use to spread over your skin were empty, so my tip is to not go just before closing if you really want to enjoy the mudbaths.
Day 2: was spent exploring the north end of the island. We drove up to Pigeon Island National Park and parked the car next to the beach which is free. The entry fee for the National Park is $US8 which helps them preserve the park. We spent a couple hours here walking around the Island and seeing the ruins from the battle between the French and the British. There is a nice beach where you can do some snorkelling. Also you must stop at Jambe De Bois restaurant its located right next to the beach and overlooks the bay and definitely order the potato wedges, these wedges are the most amazing wedges I have ever tried and could quite easily eat many many plates of them. The waitress are really friendly and are happy if you sit there for awhile and enjoy the scenery. Afterwards we made our way to plantation beach which is another great swimming spot and you can watch the kite surfers.
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