December, 2023

Not all of us want to be pampered at luxury hotels that don’t remotely reflect the culture they’re set in. If you do, that’s fine. This post isn’t for you then 😀

Honestly St Lucia wasn’t on my radar as a place to visit as I thought that’s all it was. Boy was I wrong. I saw a cheap flight advertised, (which is often how I choose my next destination) so I started to do some research. I learned I could get to Dominica by ferry from there and booked myself 16 days. I could have done much longer. Express ferries has a deal. For $300 EC (about $150 CAD) you can visit Martinique, Dominica and Guadalupe! That’s a great deal. 

Check it out here: https://www.express-des-iles.fr/en/

LABORIE

I started my trip in the Laborie area. I had booked a room with Anne’s Homestay and Cletus picked me up from the airport and took me on a 2 hour tour, stopping at an ATM and a grocery store. Now THAT is hospitality! Cletus pointed out bus stops and told me how to get a ride. 

Their amazing hospitality didn’t stop there. Breakfast was included and Anne made me delicious local food, explaining what a lot of it was. The next 3 days I spent exploring the area, going for walks and spending time in the town of Laborie. The beaches there are nice. At Rudy John beach there’s a small reef area that’s fun to snorkel around. People greeted me everywhere, many asking if I was enjoying my vacation. Several people told me I had to eat at Mama Tilly’s so I did that one evening. She cooks up good, simple food on the barbecue You choose your protein (I had fish) and she fills the plate with various sides that were all delicious.

At the end of my stay, the family was going to Vieux Fort so offered to drop me off at the bus stop. St Lucia has a interesting system of white vans with green licence plate. The buses leave when they’re full so there’s no schedule. I didn’t have to wait long for a bus to fill up and was on my way to Castries. The bus cost $9 EC ($4.50 CAD) A taxi costs about $100 USD. I was willing to give up air conditioning and put my suitcase under my feet for that. You can even buy a seat for your suitcase if you want. 

CASTRIES

The hotel I booked was a 10 minute walk from the bus stop and the ferry terminal. Perfect. If you need to catch an early ferry, check out the Harbour INN.

Castries is a typical port city. It’s BOOMING when the cruise ship is in and everything closes around 5 pm. So if you want dinner you need to plan. I wandered around and saw the sights and was at the ferry terminal for 6.30 am. The xray machine was broken so they searched EVERY bag. It was tedious. The 4 hour ferry ride was uneventful, though delayed an hour. I spent the next week in Dominica. That will be the next post. Find it here: A week in Dominica on a budget. The nature Island!

SOUFRIERE

The ferry from Roseau to Castries was a little easier, mostly because my ticket was printed and the xray machine worked. Note that the departure tax for Dominica is $86 ED! 

Again I took the bus. $9 EC vs $100 USD is a no brainer. That’s probably different if you’re travelling with a group but as a solo traveller, all expenses are mine.
I checked into the Frenz guesthouse, which turned out to be a GREAT choice. It’s a 10 minute walk anywhere. It’s reasonably priced, has AC and a very usable kitchen.
Check it out here: Frenz
I met Danuta who was also staying at Frenz. She too was travelling alone and this was her third time in Soufriere so she knew how to get around and what to see. I wasn’t interested in the tourist spots but wanted to see the real St Lucia. Right up her alley! We spent the next 4 days visiting the New Jerusalem hot springs, Diamond falls and the botanical gardens, Sugar beach and Anse Chastenet. If you keep walking past the resorts on Anse Chastenet you come to Anse Manin. That was was my favourite. There’s some nice snorkelling there too. Behind that beach are some trails that belong to Jade Mountain resort. They’re really nice and there are some ruins of a sugar plantation there.

Several times we got rides with kind locals going in our direction. Once it was a lumber truck who stopped and offered us a ride. Turns out he was our host’s cousin. It’s a small town. Several people gave really good restaurant recommendations. One woman helped us buy some rum on Sunday. (Liquor stores are closed) Fedo’s has really good local food but it closes at 4 pm. Voila was higher end but absolutely delicious and the chef even came to the tables for a chat. A new restaurant, Big Mama’s has local food and is open for dinner.