5/19-5/26

We had an 6am flight on Delta out of Boston to Atlanta, flight was running a little late due to oxygen problems. Fixed the problem within 45 minutes and we were off. Landed on time for our connection to St. Lucia. Flight was very smooth all the way down. Breezed through customs and was met by Fabian from Fabian Tours. He was our taxi driver to get to the Hotel. Charge for taxi if you book a round trip was $120 for 1-4 people. Not to bad $60 one-way considering you have an hour and a half drive to the Hotel which was on Rodney Bay on the opposite side of the Island. A lot of great sites to see on the drive to the Hotel. Banana trees I have never seen so many acre's and acre's.
On parts of the Island it was very dry and other parts were very green. I would like to go back right after the rainy season.

Hotel

Royal St. Lucian

We had a 3rd floor seaview room. Rooms were immaculate but in need of updating a bit. Maid services room twice a day morning and around 6 p.m. for turn down service. Fresh towels, robes laid out on the bed with fresh flower petals sprinkled onto the bed a very nice touch. The grounds were very well kept with beautiful trees and tropical flowers.

Beach

Beach in front of the Hotel is nice but the water clarity is not as clear as most Caribbean Islands I have been to. St.Lucia is not a coral Island it is volcanic therefore the sand tends to be a little darker.
Beach service was great there are menu's underneath your umbrella that you can order drinks and food from your chair. In the afternoons the attendants come around with sorbet and cold washcloths a nice touch.

Vendors

This was a bit of a downfall everyday there were vendors frequenting the beach they would not leave you alone asking you to buy necklaces that they claim came from volcanic rock. Finally I got tired of them asking and I purchased a necklace. I wore it everyday and when they seen I already purchased one they didn't ask again.
I got a kick out of "THE FRUIT MAN" he was another vendor that came every morning blowing his horn on the tiniest boat with every International Flag flying selling fresh coconut,mango,papaya right from shore.

Renting a Car

We rented a car for four days we love to go out an explore a bit on our own. First day was a short drive to Pigeon Island (Fort Rodney) We hiked to the top of Pigeon Island. Beautiful views here and you can see Martinique on a clear day. I think the charge was $5 per person and there is also a nice beach there you can relax on after the hike.
Next day we drove to Souffiere make sure you have a good stomach for this ride as there are so many hairpin turns, this was a bit of a challenge. There are hardly any road signs. As you drive through the town people are very poor souls most houses are shacks it is defiantly 3rd world in this area. If you need to ask directions make sure you tip them well we were looking to get to the waterfall and botanical gardens and a young man on a bicycle had us follow him and he directed us were it was located.
We were not afraid at all every St. Lucian we met were the most friendliest people we have ever met.
Since is was so hard to find any tourist spots on the Island we decided to give the car back and opted for the sea tour.
I highly recommend this tour it was awesome. This tour left Rodney Bay marina at 8 am and returned at 5 PM. It was aboard the "MANGO" catamaran price was $90 PP which included all drinks,lunch,taxi's on Souffiere. Very well worth it. We went to a waterfall that you could bathe in, the sulfur springs,volcano,Marigot Bay where they filmed Dr. DoLittle and we can't forget about the PITONS up close. AWESOME views.

Helicopter Tour

I did not do this but my husband did the 30 minute tour and filmed everything he said it was well worth the $155 and would do it again.

Restaurants

Did not have a bad meal at all.
Spinnakers
L "Epicure
Elana's (ice cream)
Hong Kong (excellent we liked this one the best)
Castaways
Bar&Grill
Chic

All in all we had a wonderful trip and look forward to returning someday when the Island is a bit greener after the rainy season.

"I dig my toes into the sand, the ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket; I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless, and in this moment I am happy, happy... "