For us this was the ultimate Caribbean destination. St.Lucia boasts one of the most famous landmarks in the Caribbean, The twin peaks, Les Pitons. No trip here would be complete without visiting Soufrière and Les Pitons.
Cruise ships dock at Pointe Seraphine across the harbour from Castries, the Capital. There is a duty free shopping complex at Pointe Seraphine with around 25 shops selling Jewelry, watches, liquor, crystal, china and imported goods. I believe that when cruise ships are in there is a passenger ferry across to Castries for US$1.
For meals there is a KFC on Bridge street. For good local food try Castries Market where the stalls are open from 11am tp 2.30pm ish There is a good bakery at Central Bakery at the wedt end of Mary ann street at the junction of Peynier Street which also sells coconut pies. Flamboyant, overlooking Derek walcott Park on the west side is a fine dining restuarant for dishes such as Jerk Chicken and Cajun Fish. Prices in range EC$30-40.
The markets are split into 2 one a crafts market, the other a food market, one has a green roof, the other a red roof.
Taxis and small buses available at the passengers landing point. A piece of advice is that if you take a taxi to a beach by yourselves and ask the driver to pick you up later, make sure you pay him when he comes back and not when you arrive at the beach, that way you guarantee he will return! This applies to anywhere in the Caribbean.This Port can be telephoned by mobile phone to the UK.It does not need triband set up on the mobile phone.
Further Information about the Island is available at:-
We went on the day trip called Land and Sea Adventure which was a land trip to Soufrière and return by catamaran. For those interested in this tour that half the tour goes out by land and returns by sea and the other half Vice-Versa. It is better to go out by land and have a relaxing sea journey back. To this end it is better to arrive at the meeting area on board early to ensure you get in the first group which goes out by land
We had a small coach of about 20 people and went out through Castries up to Morne Fortune for the view then on to Marigot Bay to admire the view. This is the same bay Arcadia is pictured on the Cruise Connections log in pages.Further on we passed through Banana plantations to Anse La Raye beach were we stopped for 20 minutes or so. There are 'Rest rooms' here and our guide escorted those who wanted them there. We passed through the village of Canaries arriving in view of Les Pitons. All along the road are people offering their wares from children with home made necklaces to men offering to take your photo with a Boa Constrictor for $1. We were admiring Les Pitons when this man appeared and offered to take our photo in front of the Pitons for $1. it seemed that this was he did for a living. we then drove down the bends to Soufrière at the base of Les Pitons, then through the town and up to the drive-in Volcano. There are about 30 steps to negotiate here which is difficult for those with problems, however you can wait at the top. There are toilets here. We retraced our steps and drove to Diamond Botantic gardens. It is good walking here although a slight slope. There are many exotic (to us) plants here. We were given a talk on a display of local produce by our coach guide. At the top there is a shop with toilets. You can walk on 100 yards or so to the Diamond Falls but there are a few steps before returning to the shop. Leaving the gardens we reached an hotel for lunch which was a creole type buffet and was delicious. We stayed there for an hour.
After lunch we re-boarded the coach to Soufrière and poined our afternoon's transport, a catamaran. Under power we sailed back down the coast being plied with Rum Punches & fruit juices etc (all free!).we eached Anse Cochon where we anchored for 45 minutes to have a swim and sit on the beach. The catamaran anchors close inshore and drops some steps from the front area of the hull so the water is only waist deep here. You can also swim off the back by using the ladders on the back of the hulls. You don't really need to dry off as the sun does that for you in no time. There are toilets on the catamarans which can be used for changing in but I would imagine they are a bit cramped. Further on we sailed in and out of Marigot Bay and then returned to Aurora in Pointe Seraphine.
A really exceptional day out which was perfect. A would of praise for our guide, Renate, who stayed with us throughout the day, except at the volcano where they have their own guides, she was exceptionally knowledgable on everwhere we went and nothing was too much trouble.
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