St Lucia is the most popular honeymoon destination in the world and when you see the natural beauty of the place, it’s not hard to understand why.
THE PITONS
The bay is extremely deep so anchoring is not possible (nor allowed) but there are plenty of moorings available. There have been some stories of snapped lines so it’s always good practise to check the mooring yourself, however these are far too deep to be able to fully inspect.
Some of the mooring balls are reserved for larger vessels but the Marine Patrol will ask you to move if there is a larger boat coming in that requires a specific ball. We anchored on the ball right in front of the hotel at the base of the Pitons and had no problems at all. This gives you the best view of the landscape as well as excellent snorkelling nearby. It’s a short dinghy ride round to the town but we prefer being tucked out of the way in the peace and quiet.
We had hoped to climb the Pitons during our visit but you must now take a mandatory guide with you for the walk and apparently they rush you through the walk so they can take the next group through. This is apparently a covid measure to ensure the paths are not too crowded but it felt a bit like a money grab to us so we decided just to enjoy the view from the water.
SOUFRIERE VOLCANO
We also chose to swim in the sulphur baths afterwards which was another brilliant experience. There are a few pools of hot, black water in which you can relax and bathe. It’s very surreal to climb down the steps and not be able to see the bottom as the water is so dark.
You can then paint your body in the mineral mud and return to the hot water again to wash it off. A great experience not to be missed! There are showers and changing rooms to clean yourself up afterwards too. For more information, you can visit their website.
RODNEY BAY
MARIGOT BAY
ONE DOWNSIDE
Visiting St Lucia during the pandemic was a little odd as many places were closed. The areas we were able to explore were much quieter than usual so we were thankful to avoid the crowds but we were hassled everyday for money or to buy small things from local vendors. Whilst we understand that a lot of people have struggled due to a lack of tourism in the country recently, several interactions became aggressive and hostile when we didn’t give away money (or even our belongings, as was often requested) and this certainly put a slight dampener onto our experiences.