Saint Lucia Travel Answers

Hi, I was there late Feb '04 & found Reduit beach & water great, & I come from a country with real beaches. Reduit isn't white & powdery, but it is good. There is a great Sailing club there on the beach that cooks top meals, u dont have to be a member. There is shack further down that dishes up local food too. Razzmatazz Indian restaurant is a must, run by English lady & the staff are fantastic. The area of Rodney Bay seemed pretty good, a few rasta guys were a pain in the ass, but overall I didn't feel unsafe at all & the bars were good fun & friendly. I didn't think the area was overdeveloped, but u are not surrounded by forrest if thats what u are looking for.Try one of the catamaran tours down to the Pitons, full day & good fun - sadly there are some tours, 1 touted as being inside a volcano - pretty ordinary because the cone disappeared eons ago. The waters off the Pitons are mentioned for its diving if thats of interest. Have a small number of pics at www.trekshare.com/members/neilzonwheelz Have a lovely trip.

Thanks! Your pictures are beautiful and have convinced me! I always think you have to be a bit careful with rough guides - they are helpful but sometimes the balance between having good facilities close by and being 'in the middle of a forest' is not too well appreciated by them!

I think you are right, the thing about the beaches is that they aren't white sand - didn't stop me going on honeymoon there though! We stayed on Reduit beach, lovely sweeping stretch of golden sands and clear water. There are also black sand beaches on St Lucia which we saw on catarmaran trips. The area isn't isolated, there are (or were when we went in 2002) about a dozen restaurants in Rodney Bay, 5 mins from our hotel. I felt safe at all times. We got the odd vendor but nothing we couldn't handle - even for our first trip to the Caribbean. There wasn't much snorkelling from the beach, but quite a few people snorklelling across the stretch by Pigeon Island. (short boat trip away). Best snorkelling we did was on a day trip to the Grenadines from St Lucia. BTW, we went in June, and it was dead at our hotel, (which we liked) and the general area was not really busy. (not deserted, just right) hth LisaMJ

Thanks! If you chose it for your honeymoon it must have been really romantic :) Was the trip to the Grenadines expensive? Lxxx

Back then it was250 each........... but worth every penny in my opinion. You get picked up from your hotel in the morning, and driven to the local Vigie airport about 15 mins away. You then get a little propr plane over to Union Island in the Grenadines, and then onto a catarmaran. You spend the whole day there....... stopping at 3 different islands for snorkelling, lunch, drinks etc..........there isn't a huge intinerary, but laying on the cat, rum punch in hand, snorkelling, & seeing some of the best beaches I've seen (one stop, Palm Island, the colour of the water was on a par with the Maldives) was pure bliss. Plus the fact that the beaches when we went were desserted was great. It was just nice to be able to see a different island while we were in that part of the world. So, if snorkelling, sunbathing, swimming and cruising on a cat isn't your thing then you'll hate it! hth LisaMJ x

Sounds awful ;) Lxxx

Most of the beaches are o.k Reduit is the best beach on the island. There are many places to eat, all along the main road across from the rex saint lucian . just walk along the road and you will see many places. Some are a little of the road but easy to find. this is one of the best places to stay on the island. we have taken the boat tour down along the coast and done snorkeling down there, great time. Renting a car would not be my choice, better off aking bus or taxi. The area has grown since we were there but don't let that stop you