St Lucia
Come to St Lucia and it will not take you long to see why the island became known as the Helen of the West Indies – and why the French and British empires spent almost two centuries fighting to possess her.
The island’s French legacy can still be heard in the local patois, seen in the many Gallic place-names and enjoyed in the irresistible French Creole cuisine to be found in hotels, restaurants and bistros.
Now St Lucia, its lush peaks shooting up from the sea in between St Vincent and Martinique,
attracts sun-seekers – many of them honeymooners, who find that the natural
and unspoiled island more than lives up to all of their Caribbean dreams.
Capital: Castries .
Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar EC$2.68 = 1USD
Population: 153,000
Area: 238 sq mi/ 595 sq km.
Languages: English, Creole patois .
Economy: Sugar, tourism, .
Predominant Religions: Roman Catholic and other Christian denominations .
Government: independent nation, member of the Commonwealth .
Telephone Codes: 1 758
Airport Departure Tax: USD$22.00
Passport/Visa Requirements: Passports and no visas needed by citizens of Australia and New Zealand.
Health Certificates: None required. Contact health authorities for latest information.
Shopping Hours: Shops open on weekdays, 8.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4pm, and on Saturdays, 8am-noon.
Banking Hours: Monday to Thursday, 8am-3pm, and on Fridays, 8am-5pm.
Weather: The climate is subtropical with temperatures ranging from the mid-60sF to the mid-80sF. During the hottest time of the year, June through August, temperatures can reach the mid-90s0F although the island is kept cool by the constant trade winds that blow throughout the year. The rainy season is from June through October
Banking Hours: Monday to Thursday, 8am-3pm, and on Fridays, 8am-5pm.
Weather: The climate is subtropical with temperatures ranging from the mid-60sF to the mid-80sF. During the hottest time of the year, June through August, temperatures can reach the mid-90s0F although the island is kept cool by the constant trade winds that blow throughout the year. The rainy season is from June through October
Time Zone: 14 hours behind Sydney (EST).
Voltage Requirements: 220 volts.
Transportation: If renting a car you will need a St Lucian drivers Licence, approx USD12.00.
Taxis are usually easy to find and fares have been standardized by the government - just make sure which currency you are dealing with when quoted a price.
History: The peaceful Arawaks were the first to pitch their tents on St. Lucia. The warring Caribs came next and chased them away. Later, the Caribs killed the first British settlers as well. In the latter years of the 17th century, the British and French traded St. Lucia back and forth 14 times before the British took possession in 1814. By then, sugar plantations were well established. In 1979, the island was granted independence.
What to do: Explore Pigeon Island, St Lucia’s first National Park. Visit Castries public market, open daily except Sunday. DiamondBotanical Gardens, Waterfall and Mineral Baths at Soufriere estate showcases St Lucia’s lush flora and a breathtaking waterfall. After a tour , soak in the soothing mineral bath.
Teardrop-shaped St. Lucia has the world's only drive-through volcano. Visitors can walk past bubbling mud pits and steaming fumaroles.
The town of Soufriere in the southwest is nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano. It was the first settlement on the island and is now a picturesque fishing village.
St. Lucia is a mountainous island, and its pinnacle-studded skyline is as dramatic as any of the Caribbean islands. MountGimie is the tallest of the bunch at 3,145 feet. The landmark Pitons, Gros and Petit, peak at 2,620 feet and 2,460 feet, respectively. Much of the island remains unspoiled with beautiful valleys and a coastline that complements the green-mantled mountains.
Choiseul has the island's best collection of local art. Woodcarvings and straw baskets abound.
Bird watching is best at the Castries Waterworks Forest Reserve, where the once-fragile St. Lucian parrot is now beginning to thrive. Then again, on an island like St. Lucia, why wouldn't it?
Bird watching is best at the Castries Waterworks Forest Reserve, where the once-fragile St. Lucian parrot is now beginning to thrive. Then again, on an island like St. Lucia, why wouldn't it?
But when you’ve felt the sand between your toes and swum in the warm turquoise waters, why not discover what you have been missing on the rest of an island of ravishing beauty?
In the nature reserves, rainforests, botanical gardens and coastal mangroves you’ll see exotic trees and flowers, magnificent tropical birds and marine life. Between March and August, you might be sharing a beach with turtles, which have clambered out of the sea to lay their eggs.
You’ll see banana and cocoa plantations, the crater of a dormant volcano, bubbling sulphur springs, mineral springs in which visitors can bathe, 18th-century forts and sleepy coastal villages. And could you really leave St Lucia from one of its two international airports without seeing the Pitons, the massive twin volcanic cones that have become the island’s signature landmark?
