Best of St Lucia Travel Guide + 3 Perfect Days in NYC
Planning a trip to St Lucia? Check out my Best of St Lucia Travel Guide for my favorite spots for adventure AND relaxation!
I don’t know about you, but I love a mix of adventure + sightseeing + chill out time!!!
ADVENTURE + SIGHTSEEING + CHILL OUT TIME = THE PERFECT VACATION
Happily, our recent family trip to St Lucia {and NYC} was EXACTLY that.
Truly, Mr. Spicy, the kids and I, are so blessed to be able to share these adventures with our parents/grandparents {it helps that we are both only children & our parents really like each other!}, and I can’t think of a better gift to give to my kids, than the {almost yearly} family trips we take together.
Last year, SiSi chose Europe {hopefully one day soon, I’ll finally get around to posting those pictures too :-)}
Of course, it was a FABULOUS trip, but was sorely lacking in “chill out time”.
Like gazing at this *private* beach just steps from our villa…
St Lucia totally fit the bill!
BEST OF ST LUCIA TRAVEL GUIDE
TAKE A HIKE…
HIKING ON PIGEON ISLAND
If you’re staying towards the North part of St Lucia, you’ll get a good workout while taking in some gorgeous views on top of Pigeon Island National Park. Bonus: If you’re short on time, this hike is only ~2 miles round-trip. If you’re with kids, head on over to nearby Splash Island Water Park afterwards to cool off and grab a drink or some lunch!
MORE HIKING ON ST LUCIA
I’m not gonna’ lie…If we had been staying closer to Soufriere, I would have dragged Mr. Spicy and the kids all the way to the top of Gros Piton, or we would have hiked the Enbas Saut Waterfall Trail which gets great reviews too. Guess this means I just need to make a trip back one day soon. Don’t ya’ think?!!!
DIVE DOWN UNDER: SCUBA DIVING + SNORKELING
SCUBA DIVING
I highly recommend Steve’s Scuba Diving St Lucia! If you’ve never been scuba diving before you can sign up for their 1/2 Day Dive Today PADI Discover Scuba Diving Experience which includes 2 ocean dives, one of which you can apply to to becoming a PADI Open Water Diver at a later date. The instructors were great, and the under water life was spectacular at 30 feet under!
SNORKELING
If scuba’s not your thing, there are lots of great options for snorkeling too. My father-in-law snorkeled around the Anse Chastanet Reef while we went scuba diving, and really enjoyed it, plus we snorkeled in a pretty bay along the West coast of the Island. Also, the snorkeling was pretty incredible right off the beach by our house~lots of colorful fish, coral, and even a school of squid~so cool!
SEE THE RAINFOREST IN STYLE: ZIP LINING + CANOPY TOUR
Not only was the zip lining {and tree swinging!} a lot of fun, we also learned a lot about the rainforest from our fabulous guides. See that orange thing above? It’s a cashew nut on top! How cool is that??? I highly recommend a Zip Line and Aerial Tram Tour with Rainforest Adventures!
HEAD SOUTH {WEST}: SOUFRIERE + THE PITONS + DIAMOND FALLS + MUD BATHS
- Sulfur Springs Mud Baths ~ Hot and muddy, but fun, and your skin will be SO smooth afterwards. A great way to get rid of any aches and pains too! Just try not to go on a day when a cruise ship is in like we did, or you will be bathing in hot stinky mud with ALOT of people!!! #youvebeenwarned
- Botanical Gardens and Diamond Falls ~ So pretty! Of course my family made fun of me for taking so many pictures of flowers, but #whothehellcares !!!
CHILL OUT: BEACH LIFE + ISLAND LIFE = AHHH….
The grounds were beyond gorgeous, complete with a hive of honeybees for St Lucian honey, a refreshing pool and waterfall for swimming, a snorkeling beach behind the house, and lots of shaded areas for reading a book. Or sleeping…
Oh, and did I mention that amazing rum punch???
Oh, yeah. I think I did 🙂
Outside of the Villa we were able to use the beach at the nearby Windjammer Landing resort {where my dad, who rarely drinks, drank his weight in Pina Coladas!}, plus pretty and secluded Trouya Beach was within walking distance for a quick dip in the ocean.
Dining in Rodney Bay…
When we weren’t eating at the villa, we enjoyed eating at La Terrasse, Big Chef Steak House, Buzz, and Blue Olive Restaurant and Wine Bar.
I hope you enjoyed my St Lucia Travel Guide. All in all, the people of St Lucia are incredibly friendly and proud of their beautiful Island. If you are looking for your next perfect vacation, start planning your trip to St Lucia. ASAP!
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Before I go, here are some more family photos from our “pre-trip” to New York, en route to St Lucia. Enjoy!
3 PERFECT DAYS IN NYC
TOP: Spices at Grand Central Station Market; Sailing Boats in Central Park; Jersey Boys was so much fun!
MIDDLE: There are no words to describe the feeling you will have visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Bittersweet, but a must visit.
BOTTOM: View of NYC at sunset from our hotel room in the Grand Hyatt; Walking The High Line Park was fun. Big thanks to Lauren from Foodtrainers for recommending this!; Our first ever Yankees Game. Mr. Spicy, a die-hard San Diego Padres fan, had fun, but refused to cheer for the Yankees. The kids were most impressed with the “entertaining” Yankees fan on the subway ride back to our hotel room. And, they thought their dad and Grandpa Gil could curse. Ha!
P.S. If you enjoyed my travel post, check out these other fun travel adventures…
- Loving Lisbon
- 5 Perfect Days Walking The Camino de Santiago
- Food, Fun, and Adventure on The Big Island of Hawaii
- The Ultimate Grand Canyon Adventure Vacation
- New Zealand Top Ten Travel Guide
- Idaho River Rafting Adventure
- Mole, Mezcal, and a Mexican Wedding in Oaxaca
Let’s chat!
- Have you been to St Lucia before?
- What’s your idea of a “perfect” vacation?
- Have you been traveling this summer? Where?
- Where should we go on our next trip???
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