It is impossible to see everything if you only have 1 day to spend in St. Lucia, but if you are just doing a short layover or visiting as part of a cruise you will most likely start your vacation in the capital, Castries. The highlight of my experience would have to be visiting the breathtaking pitons so all the sights suggested are en route to the mountain range which is a 1.5-hour drive on narrow winding roads which are not for the faint of heart driver.
STAY
Sugar Beach Resort – this chic hotel won TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice Award
Jade Mountain Resort – highly luxurious suites that have private balcony pools that look onto the Pitons.
SEE + DO
Castries City – the capital of St. Lucia
Marigot Bay – Crystal clear water attracts people wanting to go yachting or other watersports
Pitons – Two twin volcanic mountains next to each other beside the town of Soufrière
Soufrière – A small town next to the Pitons whose name means sulphur in French due to the fact there are several sulphur/mineral baths nearby.
Canaries – A friendly tiny fishing village with colourful houses and boats, that offers a great view of the ocean.
Castries City
Exploring the capital I found myself wandering onto the campus of the University of the West Indies which has a breathtaking view of the lush landscape surrounding the city.
As an artist, I’ve always been captivated by sculptures as it is the medium while studying visual arts that challenged me the most. Painting, drawing, media and photography can like second nature, but let’s just say I’m not going to attempt to make an income out of carving wood or stone. So when I heard about Eudovic’s Art Studio, where the island’s primary sculpture works on carving animals, masks and abstract pieces with local wood I decided to pay a visit.
This studio is so famous, that when Prince William and Kate Middleton got married St. Lucia had this art studio create a sculpture to send the newly married couple. The interlocking rings on the table is a replica of the sculpture sent to Will and Kate.
Marigot Bay
A short drive later, I arrive at Marigot Bay, which is a sheltered bay that was filled with large sailboats and yachts. When I have longer to explore St. Lucia I plan on returning to take a boat tour, but even with my limited time, it was still a nice lookout point which had a few stalls of local cuisine and products to try.
Canaries
Next, up I visited the Canaries, a small fishing village known for colourful buildings and boats.
Here I had the pleasure of talking to some of the locals, such as this local who explained how a conch (which he happens to be balancing on his shoulder) is blown to notify the village when there is fresh fish available for sale.
En route to the Pitons, I came across several banana plantations where I decided to take a short pit-stop to explore and talk to the local farmers. It turns out that the bananas are covered with large blue bags while growing to protect them from bugs. Thanking the locals for their insight into local farming I bought some bananas and banana ketchup (yes it tastes exactly like normal ketchup) I was ready to visit St. Lucia famous twin mountains.
Soufrière & Pitons
My last stop was to venture to Soufrière to see the Pitons mountains. I was drawn to the sulphur springs as the tourist guides promised a “drive-through volcano” which turned out to be sulphur hot springs. Even while viewing from within a car, I couldn’t escape the area fast enough as the smell was too intense.
After a day exploring the famous St. Lucia twin mountains were as breathtaking as I imagined. I’m already dreaming about spending a week exploring St. Lucia to explore more of what this island has to offer. Even in a short amount of time I quickly fell in love with lush landscape and friendly people. St. Lucia, I’ll be back soon!