Travel

Saint Lucia – living the Caribbean dream! A story to last forever – the ultimate guide

Posted by dominte_mircea on

When we decided to travel to Saint Lucia, a full life chapter opened for the future. Now, the experience is complete and I will share with you every single piece of it, just for you to have whatever is needed if you decide to go from a country like Romania, to an exotic place like the Caribbean. But not in destinations like Punta Cana or similar, where everybody goes. Neither to a 5 star resort, like many present in Saint Lucia. We didn’t choose a resort for two main reasons: first, because of the huge price, and second, because we really wanted to experience the island at its full during our 12-night stay there. Staying at a resort – which I do recommend in different circumstances, with details at the end – might be an option, but it is not the case. We decided to stay near the international airport of Hewanorra, Vieux Fort, our gateway to… Heaven? Hmmmm… you’ll find out if you can call Saint Lucia heaven or not. Just let me walk you through it step by step.

The flight – price and tips for Saint Lucia

If you want to go from a country like Romania, which has basically no direct link with any country that counts, except some low costs where you travel with many low quality people, you have a single option: take a Wizz Air flight from Bucharest Otopeni to London Gatwick and from there you can fly directly to Hewanorra. It is the only direct flight from Europe to Saint Lucia I know of. The good news is that it is daily. Our trip started on March 5th, with a night of lay-over in England, after a three-hour flight from Romania. At 10:00 AM, the Boeing 777 departed for the Caribbean and after less than 9 hours, more close to 8 hours, we landed there and in 15 minutes, after the security check, we were driven to our host in Vieux Fort – Moule a Chique, Lorraine – a Peace of Paradise, can find it here. The taxi trip was very short, as the airport is at the edge of a 5000-inhabitant village and it cost 15 USD, because our host organized that, so we had a kind of discount, so the start was very nice. To be more specific, here is the only international airport from Saint Lucia and it is in the exact opposite side comparing to the capital, Castries.

You don’t have to do anything with Castries, the capital city of Saint Lucia!

I am mentioning Castries because our initial expectation was to find the biggest airport there, but in the capital city the runway is too short for big planes and it is usually used for small aircrafts coming from other Caribbean countries. Therefore, US, Canada and European flights go to Vieux Fort. Now, the flight back was at 20:05 PM on 18th of March, after 12 nights spent on the island and after a day spent in London, at 21:35 PM, 19th of March, we took back the flight to Bucharest and at around 03:00 AM – some slight delay – Wizz Air brought us back home. The night return flight from Saint Lucia to London Gatwick was slightly shorter, because of the Atlantic currents, at around seven hours and a half. It was around one hour shorter. Now, I am mentioning the return flight from the beginning, because I want to make a short summary of the airplane itinerary. So, what about the expense of going by air from Bucharest to Saint Lucia?

  • 2 x 133 USD round trip with Wizz Air from Bucharest to London Gatwick – we got a pretty good offer and for this money we had priority, which means two cabin bags and one check in bag up to 23 kilos – we had only one both, though, and you will learn that for our trip that was useless. Regardless, for two bags in the cabin, we would have paid the same price without checking in luggage anyway;
  • 2 x 790 USD round trip with British Airways (Group 7, basically the lowest budget – felt it at my feet) from London Gatwick to Hewanorra. For this money, we had only one checked in bag and two cabin bags – the price was accordingly, I mean one ticket lower and one higher, but I have made an average, to make it easier to calculate.

Here we have the resume / person:

  • Bucharest – Saint Lucia, with one lay-over – 923 USD, so the plane trip cost, in total, around 1.846 USD, the minimum price we could find and it was a very good bargain

The accommodation – Gatwick

We wanted to explore the island at its depth so, for a two-week vacation, it was merely impossible to stay at a resort. And it wouldn’t have made sense also. The idea was not to travel 12 hours just to stay on a beach and get all the food and drinks you can get and maybe take some trips. This didn’t make any sense for this kind of experience, and the presentation itself is just for people that think a location like Saint Lucia can be visited only if you have tons of money and if you can stay at a resort. Now, speaking about the accommodation, I am going back to Gatwick a bit, because we decided to stay one night there, on the outskirts of London, to be rest for the long flight from the next morning. The price for a very convenient and cozy room was approximately 96 USD. Not very cheap, indeed, but very necessary. Location? Gatwick Turret Guest House, here.

A Peace of Paradise from Saint Lucia

Then… the true home for 12 nights, Peace of Paradise, from Moule a Chique, a… high class neighborhood from Vieux Fort, very close to the uphill road to the well-known light house from the region, which, not officially,  is the second highest light house in the world – or at least it was, because now it is a wreck – a thing which I don’t believe. Regardless, back to our track. Lorraine, our host, expected us and arranged the short taxi trip from the airport, and she was very, very welcoming! On top of this, before our trip – mine, the furthest ever! – she helped us with tons of information so we could be as efficient as possible in knowing the island. So, from the beginning, we had a huge advantage. The house, as you can see, was a big white one, in a very quiet place, and with a wonderful view from the balcony, which caught both Pitons – you will learn later about them – but mostly the Gros Piton, the biggest and the only one easy to climb. The sunsets are also great from a Peace of Paradise.

12 nights of pure Caribbean experience in Saint Lucia

Very important to mention here is that we arranged our trip via booking.com and I chose the room with a private bathroom. At 21 m2, it was very big for a couple that had only one intention: to explore, not to stay too much inside. The accommodation price was 842 USD for 12 nights! I mean, for the Caribbean, Saint Lucia, in such a quiet place, was wonderful! Let alone the fact that we were awaited with complementary snacks, drinks, and lunch and also with a complimentary breakfast composed out of sweet bread (a  very good local cake that we ate a lot of in the upcoming days), fruits, and coffee. At some point, we bought some of our coffee because we drank two big mugs each / day, but apart from this, the delicious black beverage was also on the house. Alongside the welcoming host, who leaves on the bottom floor of the house, everything was perfect. We even had AC in our room, and it helped in some moments when the temperatures went balistic.

To wrap it up, the accommodation price for the 13-night trip, one in London Gatwick and 12 in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia, was around 938 USD. A good and fair price, which rises the spine spent on this wonderful holiday, is 2.784 USD.

Day 1 – 6th of March 2023

In the next part of this post, I will present, day by day, the activities we had in Saint Lucia. Don’t expect to have the prices as precise as above, but, anyway, you should be aware that the majority of the vacation spent consisted of the above and some excursions, which will follow. On the first day, though, arriving at 15:30 local time, we took advantage to fill up with some food and drinks from the center of the village. We already knew about our main source: Massy. A supermarket with origins in Trinidad and Tobago is very broad in what they offer. We left after 17:15, and our host, Lorraine, told us: “If it gets dark, you must take a ride!” Now, the market was only 2 kilometers down the hill and, obviously, up and back, and we preferred to move our legs a bit, so we did the “round-trip” and bought what was necessary for the evening and managed to return in due time, before the sunset. The location seem very nice, with kind people, a lot of goats and horses eating grass, and a mostly quiet landscape. In a couple of days, though, we will find a disturbing part of the local reality that brought sense to our host’s words. But we will get to that. Now, we are drinking some local Bounty Rum, a great beverage at approx. 8.5 USD for a 500-ml bottle, and watching the moon.

Day 2 – 7th of March 2023 – Sandy Beach & Soufriere

We had a clear schedule in our heads, but we didn’t know 100% the order. So, for the second day, we decided to take a trip to Soufriere, one of the landmarks of Saint Lucia. A small village of less than 3.000 inhabitants, but it lies in the heart of one of the best regions, the region of the two Pitons, the emblem of the country. But not just yet, because the first stop of the morning: a mild run to Sandy Beach, 2.2 kilometers down the road. Our first day at the Saint Lucia beach! We ran, and it was very pleasant on the 3-kilometer “stone”. Then we thought we should swim a bit, but actually the beach was… deserted! No human being was enjoying the mild Atlantic waves, except for two or three villagers who were washing themselves. Hmmm… that’s odd… I have convinced Anca not to enter the ocean because, well, you never know. So we just took a walk on the whole length of the sand surface – that is what I call romantic! – the sun sting us with its ferocious power and after laying a few more minutes in the shadow of some palm trees, we took a mile run back to Massy, where we bought one or two things and headed back to the accommodation to change and follow the second half of the plan: visiting Soufriere.

Meeting the Piton and the villagers

The road to this location is about 45 minutes long and 33 kilometers full of curves, but on a decent road, compared to, maybe, some expectations. Since the taxi was not that cheap and since we decided from the beginning to travel a lot, the public buses were the key. In fact, they were minibuses, and they didn’t have any schedule. They leave when all 15 passenger seats are full. We didn’t express too many problems with this, as normally each time they departed in a maximum of 20 minutes, and Vieux Fort was one of the main stations of the island, as was Soufriere in this case. A ticket for this trip is 7 XCD, which means around 2.3 USD or something like this. A very good deal, and one very important thing to mention is that the drivers didn’t try for a second to foul us, even though it was obvious we were tourists.

Soufriere, small but cute!

The difference between a taxi and a minibus is not that big, only the fact that buses stop more, but since we blended into their culture even more, that was, in the end, the main takeaway. Important! So for your information, the vehicles with green plates are buses, and the ones with blue plates are taxis. You might want to know before hopping in. Anyway, arriving in Soufriere, we figure out that there are not too many things we can do… A tour of the village was… dunno, 20 minutes? Some pictures, some short interactions with the locals, and then a go at Hummingbird Beach, where you can see very good Petit Piton, the key element of the Saint Lucian landscape. A nice beach, the closest to Soufriere, and from there we learned about the perspectives of two other great beaches that are harder to reach: Anse Castanet and Sugar Beach. Those two will be mentioned later on. For now, we just filled our minds with the first great impressions of our dream holiday and caught the minibus back to Vieux Fort. So for this day, with two goals achieved, our expense, apart from the groceries – was around 11 USD. Fairly decent, I would say!

Day 3 – 8th of March, the hike to Gros Piton

The remaining part of the evening was spent on the lovely terrace mentioned before, drinking some fine Piton beer and another glass of local Bounty rum. Breathing and enjoying the breeze, with much gratitude, we made it here. And so much for the next day’s plan: the Gros Piton climb. This is the easiest peak on the island to climb, and, officially, it is the only one allowed to be escalated with a local guide. Unofficially, as I heard, you can also go for Petit Piton or Mount Gimmie (this one is the tallest), but given the hike is far more difficult, I don’t see any use in trying that. Besides, you would pay for those around 100+ USD just to climb them. For some people, it doesn’t mean a huge amount, but for us, it didn’t make any sense. So we decided to stick only to Gros Piton, the second highest peak on the island, at around 800 meters.

Did we just discover a new bug in Saint Lucia?

To ascend it, we had our own guide, and we paid 50 USD each, 100 in total, of course, this being the tax for tourists. A bit discriminatory, considering if you are a local you can pay only half, but in many ways I can understand their policy. The hike takes, on average, 4 hours round trip, but we managed to cover it in around 3 hours and 10 minutes, which is a good achievement. Our guide, Kino, a youngster, said that his record is 1 hour and 45 minutes. Well, he is a local and looked to be very well equipped physically, so it made sense. The climb itself was very pleasant – not easy, though! – and very interesting. Kino even showed us a bug that he had never seen before, and he took a picture of it. Even though we were planning to do more things on this day, the climb to Gros Piton was enough. Oh, I forgot to mention that the view from the top is not wonderful, especially if it is foggy. You can get a glimpse of the south-eastern part of the island, and that is pretty much the landscape. In this case, the journey beats the destination.

The difficult road trip to Gros Piton, second highest peak in Saint Lucia

On the return, we experiment and try to take a bus. Gros Piton is a bit more complicated to reach compared to other destinations, so when we left Vieux Fort, we took a bus that said it would take us there without stopping for other people. Of course, for some extra money. Initially, a normal ticket would have been 10 XCD, but to be sure he drives us exactly to the entrance, we paid 60 XCD, or around 23 USD both, instead of 8. Well, it was a bit too expensive, but if we had taken a taxi, it would have cost at least double, so, in the end, I cannot say I regret having paid this amount. On our way back, though, we walked to a station where we got tired of waiting for a bus, just for it to pass a couple of minutes after we left. Then, after 2 or 3 more kilometers, exhausted by the strong sun and by the climbs, we remained in another station, but minibuses weren’t that generous in circulating at that hour.

Traveling with a local in Saint Lucia

At some point, a guy with a small truck offered to give us a lift. Initially he asked for 60 XCD, but in the end we paid 54, which means exactly 20 USD. Now, we have two options: near the driver or in the back. People travel a lot in the back of the trucks on the island; it is common, but if you fall, it is your fault, so I didn’t want to make experiments, even though it would have been, for sure, a memory for life. We discussed with the guy during our 15-kilometer or so trip, and he revealed he is a caretaker at a local school, and he warned us about criminality increasing on the island. Now, I remember that the day before, Lorraine, our host, advised us to go to the beach via the main road, not through the fishermen’s village, a small neighborhood. I am sharing this information because it is like a puzzle that will make sense later on. Now we are back home. We took our daily supplements from Massy and headed for the evening’s relaxation.

Day 4 – 9th of March, Tet Paul hike and Laborie Beach

Tet Paul, a far easier hike compared to Gros Piton, was on our bucket list because from there you have the best view of both Pitons, the twin peaks of the island. Going here is easy: take the minibus to Soufriere for 6 XCD each, approximately 4.5 USD both, and step out at Fond Doux Eco Resort. From there, walk one mile to the trail itself, a trail of around 2 kilometers. Here, we also got a guide, but we paid just 10 USD each, so 20 in total. The young lad told us a lot of things about the plants there, about the fact that the pineapple needs nine months to one year to grow; we learned that the national plant of Saint Lucia is the bamboo; and, of course, we saw the Pitons at their prime and bought our first souvenirs. The cost of the tipping and souvenirs was another 20 USD. From here, we took the path back to the resort and the bus from there. But we stopped at Laborie Beach. At last! Our first sunbath and swim! At this location, we were charged 4 XCD each, or 1.5 USD. I’ve given the driver 15 XCD, because I didn’t knew the tariff, but, once again, these guys were stunning in terms of correctness.

Why is the memorial square closed? And why the badge looks like the one of FCM Bacău?

We bought some snacks and then headed for another famous beach on the island, Laborie, which is the closest we can get apart from the deserted Sandy, near our accommodation in Vieux Fort. After two good hours and, of course, a shootout—the only proof that I had for a couple of hours a Saint Lucian bracelet, which afterwards I lost – we are heading back to the minibus station. The first doesn’t stop because it was full, but the second takes us on board for another 6 XCD (2.2 USD) and drops us at the terminal in Vieux Fort. Since we have some time left, we decide to take a quick walk through downtown. A small one indeed, with quite a few people, basic shops, some interesting buildings, and a memorial square. That catches my eye, and after a round of the center, I stop in front of its gates, which, very oddly, are closed. I see the symbol of Saint Lucia, two birds that resemble so much the badge of my home town’s former football team, FCM Bacău. I take some pictures, and then a guard appears, so I am asking why this is locked. I also see two black flags raised on both sides of the gates.

Shooting and death one mile away

“My colleague was shot dead yesterday in cross-fire, and for today it is closed, but do you want to enter? You can, if you wish”, he told me. I must admit, I got some chills: shooting in Saint Lucia?! Can that be? I have tanked politely the guard and headed for Massy with the goal of getting home asap. Now, at Massy, I was using the WiFi and read that, indeed, the day before, three people, two men and a woman, were shot dead in gang retaliation exactly in Vieux Fort. Well… what to say? Everything happened within one mile of our accommodation, and the most funny thing is that, a day before, when we arrived, we saw a lot of people gathered in a place near the field full of goats and horses. I thought it was a reunion, maybe a celebration, or a small festival. No, the exact place where the first man was shot. Wow… We pass by here every day.

Day 5 – 10th of March, visiting the capital city, Castries

Knowing what happened, I must admit, scared me more than it did Anca, and I have done some research: indeed, the criminality in Saint Lucia is rising, and well, the only “good” news I saw is that these things happen only among the gang members, who, I have learned afterwards, were friends… And if one shoots another, then their friends or family come for his or her relatives. So sad… I was asking myself and telling anybody on the island… Why can’t they just fist fight? Why should they shoot themselves? What is the point… I felt a mix of fear, pity, and sadness because of what was happening, but, in the end, people were 100% kind, polite, and well-intentioned with us, so we followed our vacation logic, and, for this day, Castries was scheduled for a visit. 18 XCD – roundtrip each, then 14.5 USD both, and we secure our 2 and a half-hour trip to and from Castries.

A walk through the capital is interesting but not outstanding

The capital city is somewhere 56 kilometers north-west, so on the exact opposite side of the island, but it is, by far, the biggest place on Saint Lucia: 20.000 inhabitants don’t look like a lot, indeed, but comparing to other places, this location was very different: traffic, crowded places, and local attractions. We walked through the city and went for a hot cup of coffee, as the morning one had already faded. People are a bit more annoying here, but not something we are not accustomed to; maybe in Romania… The buildings are very colorful, but the facilities are quite poor… The mall, Blue Coral, is more of a joke, and if you want to buy a coffee from KFC, don’t go for it; you cannot. It is surprising, but not something that bothers us in any way. The sun is strong, and this is the biggest problem. We wander a bit more, take a glance at the three huge cruise ships parked in the port, do some grounding, take a walk to the small airport to see how the road is for next Monday – details coming shortly – and check out the huge market next to the city center, but we hesitate to visit it just yet. Some good hours are spent here, trying to blend in as much as possible with the atmosphere.

Another quiet evening at our base camp in Saint Lucia

It is getting late, so we need to head back to our base camp in Vieux Fort. The minibus departs quickly, and in 70 minutes we are departing near Massy and preparing for another splendid sunset that we could see every evening from the hill we are climbing to get to Peace of Paradise and also for our chill from the loft. My thoughts are still on the shooting, though, and the atmosphere doesn’t get complicated. There is only a heavy silence in the village; goats are nowhere to be seen in some specific sections in which they were abundant a couple of days ago, and some schools are also closed. We move along; there is nothing we can do apart from do our best for the holiday we have dreamed of so much. Officially, we are about to spend our first and only weekend in Saint Lucia. So, what to do? We decide quite quickly; it is Anca’s idea, and it will just follow along.

Day 6 – 11th of March, Anse Chastanet

Well, the weekend gave an even chillier vibe to Saint Lucia, in spite of what happened. We take a ride to Soufriere again, but this time with a clear purpose: to reach the Anse Chastanet beach, one of the most well-known on the island and also one of the hardest to reach. So, as discussed before, the price for a round trip by bus for both people is 28 XCD, translated into approximately 10 USD. Of course, when we reach the lovely town, we have one goal: to get to the famous beach. I know there is a 2.5-kilometer road, so I try my luck with the bus driver: “Can you get us there for some extra money?” “Hmmm… well, man, I could do that for 40 USD. The road is very bad!” I didn’t believe it at first, but I checked, and the guy was not lying. “Better take a boat taxi, which we did.” A lot of guys that offer this service can be found there, and so one welcomed us and said: “17 USD round-trip for both!” Or, at least, this is what I have understood. Asking once more, at Anca’s advice, it turned out to be 70 USD. I was not happy with this.

The boat taxi and Anse Chastanet’s full experience!

I found another guy – well, the initial seller brought him—who charged us “only” 60 USD. Initially, we wanted to go only by boat and return by foot, but after traveling with the blue water vehicle, we concluded that a round-trip was better. So, Malcom left us there for four hours to chill, and when he returned, we had paid. The trip itself was very short, but traveling in such a small boat, guys, is worth all the money, only for the view you have at the two Pitons. On the beach, we laid down, swam, sunbathed, left the sun to burn us under the huge coconut and palm trees, and, at the end, we ate a very good creole lunch at the resort restaurant: 75 USD for two, with everything included. Not very cheap, but neither crazy expensive, considering the location. Now Malcom is back, and we are heading to Soufriere for a final overview of the village and of… Hummingbird Beach, where we take some pictures, then off we go for the headquarters.

Day 7 – 12th of March, run, beach and… the trip to the light house

A funny fact here is that we left at 16:00 PM with the last minibus to Vieux Fort. Being Saturday, the schedule is shorter, but I didn’t know that, so we were very close to taking a taxi. We were lucky! And so we were to find out on this back trip that on Sunday there is no bus from Vieux Fort to Soufriere – it kind of makes sense, but I didn’t think of it like that – so I was under water because we had made and paid a reservation at Project Chocolate. So, already paid 138 USD for both, and with a reservation, it was quite unsustainable as the taxi to and from there would have been very costly. In the end, it was my mistake, and I am willing to pay for it. Still, I am seeking alternatives. I tried to reach the facility, but with no luck. Then, Lorraine, our lovely host, calls the hotel – it is primarily a hotel chain, originating from the UK and then a chocolate-making experience. After a few minutes of direct chat, the staff agrees to postpone the visit from Sunday to Tuesday, which saves around 100 USD. Our host helped hugely once more.

Another run to Sandy Beach

Now, what to do then? Another problem is that, being very euphoric on the beach the previous day, I left my hat aside, and the strong sun gave me a serious heatstroke, and I was not in the best shape. Moreover, I was developing a fever, so that was not the best news. Anyway, I went for a three-kilometer decent run in the late morning and afterwards decided to continue with some more kilometers alongside Anca to the beach, the same beach from the first day, despite all the events. A Sunday morning in Vieux Fort is something as smooth as a fine cream; nothing seems to bother you. Apart from what we knew had already happened, I was continuously wondering if they had stopped. Heavy police squads are deployed in the city and walk around in big cars, which is kind of a relief. We just want to see how the beach looks on a Sunday and if it is more crowded. Actually, it isn’t… And I think this happens because of its proximity to the fisherman’s neighborhood. Who knows… We just enjoyed some mild sunshine – from under the trees this time, only from beneath them! – and went back for an afternoon inside. I take a nap as my fever moistens my body.

The walk to the light house

Should we spend the whole day inside? Hell no! Let’s take the lighthouse. 2 kilometers up from Peace of Paradise, the famous building awaits. The journey is splendid, but the perimeter of the lighthouse is locked, so the view of the place where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea and the beautiful sunset are seen from more difficult angles. At least we touched the southernmost point of the island. A new week awaits, and we are very enthusiastic. After a steady weekend, Castries will again be our destination: this time for a helicopter trip that, as you can imagine, we expect to be epic! Meanwhile, I found out that the shooting progressed for 48 hours and that not three people are dead but seven, and a 9-year-old child is injured. This stopped only on Saturday morning, the main reason, I guess, for which the police were in such large numbers in the village on Sunday. I still feel some fear, but it has diluted, and I tell myself that tourists are not involved. And they aren’t, but still…

Day 8 – 13th of March, the island from the helicopter & Rodney Bay

After the recharging weekend, Castries is back on the radar because of the helicopter ride we scheduled for 10:30 AM. It was the main goal of the trip, and the booking was made through Saint Lucia Helicopters, some guys who proved to be very professional. The price was around 261 USD / each with all taxes, or 522 USD for both – not very cheap, but far cheaper compared to other places in the world. One big advantage since we arrived a bit early was that we took some pictures in front of the helicopter. 30 minutes up in the sky, the main landscape offered us wonderful views, especially the proximity of the two Pitons, Mount Gimmie, Rodney Bay, and Pigeon Island, and basically everything from 1000 meters up looks different. The information shared was also very interesting – a bit noisy because one window was open, so you might ask them to shut it in order to hear better.

How to get to Vingie Heliport

Now, what you need to know is that if you want to travel from Vieux Fort to Vingie Heliport from Charles Airport in Castries, you need to depart at least 2 hours before from the main station in the South. As explained, the trip is 14.5 USD for two people. Arriving here, we have asked the driver to take us for some extra money – 20 XCD, basically 7.5 USD – to the airport because you need to circle a bit the runway, so it takes some time and kilometers / miles. Basically, for two people, it costs 22 USD to get from Vieux Fort to the heliport and back – considering we walked back, we didn’t need the extra ride to Castries. But this happened for a reason, because we wanted to go to Rodney Bay as well. A well known place in the North part of the island with the departure point near the airport, so basically we didn’t have to return to down town.

Road to Rodney Bay, the Pearl of Saint Lucia

The goal was to take a minibus to the location, but a guy in a taxi stopped and said: “C’mon, I’ll take you; I am going there anyway for 10 XCD and it is that easy (4 USD approx.).” We don’t miss the opportunity, of course, and after a couple of small traffic jams, we arrive quite quickly in the small village with a lot of resorts and an impressive mall, compared to the one in Castries, at least. Rodney Bay is well known mostly for its resorts and a very nice beach, which we went to for a sunbath. And a swim, of course! Laying there for a couple of hours is very nice, and I strongly recommend that for everybody who wants to take another Caribbean beach day. After a well-deserved relaxation after the emotional consumption generated by the wonderful helicopter trip at around 16:00, we know we need to hit the road back because an almost 2 hour trip back to Vieux Fort is awaiting. A short 5 XCD to 2 USD for both trips to Castries at first and another short walk through the biggest city of Saint Lucia. This time, we entered the big market to have a glance, and it was more relaxed than we were expecting.

Truth be told, it was understandable that Castries was quieter on a Monday afternoon compared to our initial Friday visit. It looks more friendly today and more appropriate to visit. However, we have covered everything we needed, so we spend no more than half an hour this time, and off we go to the accommodations. Our trip is rapidly approaching its end, so we need to be both efficient and careful in how we manage the time left. The next day, we finally go to Project Chocolat, the ultimate bean-to-bar chocolate experience.

Day 9 – 14th of March, making our own sweet desert 

We need to be at Project Chocolat, somewhere near Soufriere, at 11:30, so we take another bus trip for 12 XCD – 4.5 USD both and at 11:15 we are there. The minibus departs quite late from Vieux Fort, as it fills slower, so I am a bit nervous about arriving in due time. It is late in the morning, and most of the people have already left for their jobs. In the end, we make it, and, on top of this, we travel next to the driver to see better from this position how he pushes the horn slowly to salute others and also before entering a curve, just to warn any potential driver that can be on the wrong side of the road. Arriving on time, we join the bunch of people ready to absorb information about cocoa and make their own chocolate bar. The experience is quite short—one hour—but very intensive and rich in knowledge absorbed. We wait 20 minutes for the bar to cool down and be ready to be eaten, time during which we take some wonderful pictures and enjoy a delicious black coffee with some special chocolate liquor added—you need to try!

Another afternoon on Laborie beach

Once everything is done, we head to the main road, around 1 kilometer away from the entrance of the facility, and make the plan for the remaining portion of the day: one more shot at Laborie Beach, our second visit there. Vingie Beach from Castries also looks wonderful, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the bandwidth to spend some time there, the reason being that we chose Rodney Bay. Now, to get one more good tan, we decided that the beach near Vieux Fort was the best option. The problem now was that we had some issues with the bus back, as it was very rare to have a ride with the public transportation in that sector of the day. Lucky for us, a shuttle driver who was heading to the airport offered to pick us up for only 10 USD – a great price – to Laborie. He informed us about a facility he also has in Choiseul on Air B&B and that the guys who shot each other dead in Vieux Fort were… friends. In fact, how could they not be, given the small population of the town?

What’s next in Saint Lucia?

It was another interesting event from our vacation, and now, finally, two more hours under the hot Caribbean sun. The sea is very pleasant there, and apart from a rotten branch that was gently felt on top of two other tourists who were enjoying the beauties of the island, everything was very nice. At the end, we took a walk on the whole beach, greeted the locals with the houses against the water’s shore, and collected a fallen coconut that was about to be carried away by the waves. Slowly, we headed back to the bus station. Once more, we have paid 2.5 USD, and we are back home after the normal connection with Massy, from where we load our bags with food and the juices we loved there. Another relaxing evening, with another late coffee – as we had everyday, but we slept well regardless! What should be next? Normally, we have booked a day tour for Wednesday and a horse ride on Thursday to finish our vacation with everything we wished for ticked off. But…

Day 10 & day 11 – 15th & 16th of March, rest instead of further exploring

But… Having made such an effort in the first days, coming from 0ºC to 30ºC, the heat, the wind, the moisture, and the humidity in the end pushed our bodies to the limit, and we were almost forced to have some peace and relaxation at home. One good thing I like to point out was about the tour trip that we booked via viator.com, and we managed to change only one hour from the tour operator’s arrival to pick us up, asking kindly Edmund Tours from Laborie to postpone for Friday! The guys were so kind, and later on we found out what a great choice they were. For now, though, I am recovering not only from the exhaustion but also from a strong calf muscle cramp, and I am only able to walk to the Massy Market and back, just to move my legs. For Wednesday. What about Thursday?

I missed the horse ride because of strong fatigue

Initially, we decided to horse ride a bit north from Coconut Bay, on the sea shore, and made an unpaid booking, but unfortunately, our spirits weren’t at 100% and we cancelled two hours before going – sorry about that, guys! – but I have great information about the location, and if you want to try our only missed bucket list event from Saint Lucia, this horse ride, go on Atlantic Riding Stables and try it! As far as I know, a private ride for 2 hours on the beach is 90 USD each, and a taxi transfer to and from the location in which we stayed is only 25 USD, which brings everything to around 205 USD, which is very convenient, I would say. I have a small regret that we couldn’t tick this off as well, but our health was not suitable to ride a horse, especially as it would have been for the first time. Still, if we had been in better form, we would have tried it out.

Day 12 – 17th of March, last full day on the island

We are most done with Saint Lucia, so we want to make the most of this day, and the tour with Edmund is the best way to end a dream vacation. Wyclef, our guide, is at the accommodation with the shuttle at 10 minutes to 9, 10 minutes before the scheduled hour, one more positive tick for the tour operator. The car is very comfortable, and, on top of this, we are the only two customers for the 6-hour tour. It costs 115 USD each, or 230 USD in total. It is a bargain because it includes:

  • all entry fees for objectives such as:
    • Sugar Beach – oh, finally! – boat taxi from Soufriere, bat cave short visit, and snorkeling experience;
    • Sulphur Springs with a proper mud bath and a visit – with the option to also bathe beneath – Toraille Waterfall;
  • a delicious creole lunch in Soufriere at a very nice restaurant;
  • the pick-up & drop-off from the accommodation – with waiting time even to load ourselves from Massy! – with the road to Soufriere and back included;
  • stopping to take pictures at the main objectives;
  • Unlimited drinks, alcoholic and non alcoholic – well, we didn’t drink a lot, but there was this option

All these, taken separately, could have cost much more – I mean, only the water taxi would have been, as mentioned prior, 60 USD minimum to go to Sugar Beach alone. So everything, including the very good customer service offered, convinced us it was the best price possible for this experience. I strongly recommend these guys; you might even try to make the reservation directly through them, but, in the end, it is your own choice! I have drawn my first impression here and now, with more to follow, to explain what our last full day on the island felt like.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saint Lucia

The first stop with Wyclef was at a very beautiful point where we could see the Petit Piton at its best and take some wonderful pictures alongside the sign where it shows this is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. After 10 minutes here, we headed out to Soufriere to take the boat to Sugar Beach, the only key location near the sea where we hadn’t gone by now. The only beach is located between the two pitons. Amazing! Still, for this time, the almost 90 minutes spent here were not in the sun but under water, to spot the beautiful fish that are living in the Caribbean and, in particular, in Saint Lucia. Everything was sooo spectacular. Time flew by very quickly, and after two Pitons – the beer, not the mountains – we headed back to Soufriere for our lunch. Oh, yes, the boat trip started with a short layover at the bat cave, where, honestly speaking, we couldn’t see any bat – but we know they are there! 🙂

To the only drive in volcano in the world! It is in Saint Lucia!

Arriving back to Soufriere in a couple of minutes, we have a beautiful landscape at the back of the boat of both Pitons. We eat at Michael’s @ Jen Mwen. Very good local food, with desert included! After around one more hour here, we “pack” and go to the sulfur springs in, allegedly, the only drive-in volcano in the world! We bathe here, and the water temperature is dazzling— 38ºC, it is almost too hot for me, but I manage that. After 10 minutes, I scrub my skin with the white mud, made out of sulfur and take some proper pictures; Wyclef takes care of this. After everything is done, I would say maybe 30 minutes, we take a shower and prepare to be taken back to our accommodation. Our last full day in Saint Lucia is a complete success, and, to top everything, Wyclef waits for us to buy some groceries and a Saint Lucian book we intend to keep for life. Afterwards, he takes us home, and we prepare to have a lovely last evening with our great host.

Day 13 – 18th of March, lighthouse run and final countdown

On our last day on the island, we are ready to go back, but first I need to do one more thing: one early morning run up to the lighthouse and back. Given the previous experience, the goal was to reach the lighthouse surroundings since access to them should be blocked. It is quarter to seven, pretty early, but very humid and fairly warm already. Combined with the ascent up to the top, everything is a recipe for a hard run, especially in the first half. I am managing it, though, and, to my greatest surprise, I see that the gate to the lighthouse is open! I see a guy with a truck, and I am asking if I can enter. It is possible, yep! I step in and run further, to the cape, where I can clearly see how the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, part of which it is in the first place. The wind is blowing so hard, and I am a bit scared to go further, but I manage to take some nice photos and some videos. I am happy that Anca can see, a bit later, the view. So I am heading back to finish my 7K run, drink 1.5 liters of fresh pineapple, take a shower, and prepare for a last walk. This time, not to the town, but up the hill. Again!

No luck with the lighthouse

We depart at 11:00 or something like this, after we take our classic Caribbean breakfast with sweet bread, butter, and jam, a big cup of coffee, and some fruits. We know that Lorraine will let us stay as long as we want; she has no guests incoming for the day in our room, and our flight is at 20:50, so no rush. We start our ascent—our last romantic walk in Saint Lucia. For 2023, at least! 🙂 But… as we enjoy the ride up again, we are very disappointed because the gates to the lighthouse are shut again. “During weekdays only!”, shouts a guy from inside. I want to reply that I entered earlier, but we conclude it is not useful… I feel sorry that my lovely blonde cannot see the place, as I had the privilege to, but she confirms that it is OK and nothing to worry about. Literally, we enjoyed the journey once again. When descending, we realized we needed more water. So I went for another 3.5-kilometer walk alone, one last walk, to Massy to properly prepare for our last lunch in Saint Lucia. I don’t eat much; the heat is enormous, and I just ingest a couple of fruits, more juice and pack my luggage.

Four hours and up we go & return from Saint Lucia

We have some time to just lie down and enjoy the last moments of A Peace of Paradise. We decide to leave at around 16:00, even though the trip with the taxi is only a couple of minutes – again 15 USD – and we spend around four hours in the airport. Not a real problem; I prefer, in these kinds of destinations, to be on the safe side – to wait more, than to be on the run. The procedures are not usual, but we manage to check in quickly, so we have some time to spend in the lobby and even eat something before boarding. The plane comes from Grenada; when we arrived, it went to Trinidad & Tobago. It is on time, of course, so… up we go! The plane is on time, and we are heading back to London and, in the end, back to Bucharest. What an experience it was, guys! You should try it!

Day 14 – a couple of hours thru London

This epilogue wouldn’t be necessary if I didn’t have the purpose of mentioning some other expenses that we had during our complete journey. I slept very few hours, and I was tired as fuck when we landed on Gatwick at around 07:30 AM. The return flight was faster, due to the currents, by less than 7 hours and a half. Now, to Bucharest, our Wizz Air plane would leave in 13 hours or so, so we took two express train tickets to London Victoria: 46 GBP for both, or around 58 USD. But not only that! We have also spent 90 USD to leave the luggage at the airport, apart from a backpack that I took on our journey. We had a steady 10-kilometer walk and a… Greek lunch (!). Of course, we saw the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, the Tower Bridge, and other such landmarks, and we headed back to Gatwick with the wrong train, initially, but cheaper, and spent around 17 USD, so we did make some savings. Apart from this, you can imagine. London is a beautiful city, and you can enjoy it. Unfortunately, being from Romania was a huge disadvantage, as we saw a lot of people from our country who had nothing to do with any moral values or moral business, to say the least.

What a shameful experience…

I won’t insist on this, as I was anyway ashamed of the landscape and understood better why Romanians are not being let in hotels from The Netherlands, for example, or to enter a country like Mexico – it happened some years ago, if you remember. Also, I better understand why New Zealand or even Mongolia introduced visas for Romanians, why the US doesn’t lift their visas, or why we are not allowed in Schengen. A sad but obvious truth. Anyway, London is beautiful, but the main purpose for adding this was not to make a description of the city but to add the expenses from there to our overall two-week vacation. Because London is not cheap, it is also not too expensive. In the next chapter, I will make a resume for you in terms of financial expenditures for our whole journey, just to give you an impression of how you can travel from Romania / Central Eastern Europe to a destination like Saint Lucia. It is not very difficult, nor is it exaggeratedly costly, but you need to know one or two things to arrange the best trip possible.

The budget for a trip to Saint Lucia from Central-East Europe

“Money is not everything, but it is the only thing everybody keeps track of”, is a saying from Dan Pena, I like very much. It is the pure truth. I have detailed our expenses above clearly, but here I will make a resume to make it more visible when you want to make some budget calculations. Everything is calculated for two persons, and, at the end, I am dividing it by 2.

  • plane tickets: 1.846 USD
  • accommodation (including Gatwick): 938 USD
  • transportation in Saint Lucia: 221.2 USD
    • minibus: 97.2 USD
    • taxi: 30 USD
    • pick-up: 34 USD
    • boat taxi: 60 USD
  • trips / excursions / activities: 1.010 USD
    • hike to Gros Piton: 100 USD
    • hike on Tet Paul: 20 USD
    • helicopter ride: 522 USD
    • Project Chocolat entrance: 138 USD
    • Day trip with everything included: 230 USD
  • other expenses: approx. 1.528 USD
    • lunch at Anse Chastanet: 75 USD
    • luggage left in London: 90 USD
    • train from and to Gatwick airport: 63 USD
    • groceries and two lunches in Gatwick / Hewanorra airport: approx. 1.100 USD
    • tips & souvenirs: approx. 200 USD

The budget conclusion for Saint Lucia

I have maximized the approximation as per my judgment, but, from my perspective, I don’t keep track of the money spent on food, unless at restaurants, because I spend a lot of money on food at home as well, so I don’t find it relevant to mention that in the budget for a trip. But I have added it just for you to have a rough idea. Therefore, gathering all the expenses above, the final bill rose, I guess, to 5.543,2 USD, or, roughly speaking, 5.600 USD. Divided by two, it was, maybe, for two weeks, 2.800 USD. Without including the groceries and the food eaten in the airports, it is 4.500 USD, or 2.250 USD / person. To me, this is pretty decent for what we did there. I hope you find this useful! And, not to end with this, but to provide some further useful advice, I will make a short list of cultural / behavioral things that you might be aware of when traveling to Saint Lucia from a European culture.

Things to know about Saint Lucia

  • people push the traffic horn gently when they see others, to “check on them” or before entering a curve, to warn drivers coming from the other way;
  • generally speaking, all people are very polite and willing to help tourists;
  • they don’t try to cheat you on money! They are very correct – at least this was my main impression;
  • you might experience baggers, but they are not insistent, and if you mind your business, they will give up – I mean, coming from Romania, one of the biggest producers of beggars in the world, it was really only something neglectable;
  • they can sometimes get pushy, especially in Castries and especially if you are with a lady, but I never felt they became insistent;
  • the grocery prices are higher than I expected, considering the minimum income;
  • normally, if you want to exchange USD for XCD at a bank, you need to have your passport, but in the end, I managed to change some cash with my ID card, as I didn’t want to carry my main document with me. They were very understanding;
  • if you have a Revolut account & card, you can use them to directly extract XCD, which I did from a Massy store, from the inside;
  • you can pay in USD in most places, and the exchange rate is between 2.7 (normal) and 2.5 XCD / USD, but you need to have bills no larger than 20 USD because they might not accept greater bills because fraud is increasing;
  • if you want to pay by card at Massy, make sure you enter your PIN correctly because you can swipe your card only once!
  • the public transportation doesn’t have a clear schedule; – departs when all 15 slots are full – but in the morning and in the afternoon, the places fill quickly. Be careful on the weekend! On Saturday, the trips between big cities end quicker, and on Sunday, you cannot travel on the whole island;
  • people say hello on the street, especially if they see you as a tourist, and salute back, I felt that they liked it very much;
  • even though the criminality is quite high, I don’t think they have anything to do with tourists, but only for retaliation
  • if you want to stay near Hewanorra Airport and can’t afford a Resort, then A Peace of Paradise is the best option, as far as I can tell;
  • you could go to a resort on the island for more money and take some excursions, but in this case, I don’t think it is worth it to spend more than 6 nights;
  • rely on Massy! The store has anything you want, and I highly recommend the Jamaican big juices, at 1.5 liters;
  • there are a lot of stray dogs on the street in the towns, but I did not see an aggressive one, or at least a… barking one!
  • if you rent a car, be careful! Many places are packed with goats, that are free and might cross the street unexpectedly;
  • the roads are generally good, but if you travel from Vieux Fort to Soufriere, you will see not too many places with white lines in the middle, so be careful. Drivers usually do not pass each other unless in special circumstances

Cultural note of Saint Lucia and the Caribbean

Bob Marley is Jamaican, but his music represents the whole Caribbean region; therefore, “One Love” is kind of an everlasting current / trend in Saint Lucia. Apart from the song itself, the colors represent the same as the Ethiopian flag. This is because many locals have African origins, and they worship this country, the only one from this continent that resisted European invasion under Emperor Haile Selassie. You can find pictures of him (like the one below) with the green – yellow – red flag everywhere.