Living Her Vision

When my husband and I got engaged in 2017, two things we immediately agreed on were that we wanted our honeymoon to be amazing and memorable, and we wanted to go to a destination that was full of culture and history.

Initially, we thought about a European vacation, but after getting advice from another couple, we decided to save that trip for another time.

We both work in education, and we were getting married at the end of the school year, so wherever we went, we wanted to relax and unplug.  

With that said, it did not take us long to decide on a Caribbean getaway. I’m West Indian, so the Caribbean is home to me.  My husband has vacationed in the West Indies before and was looking forward to going back.

Now came the difficult decision of determining where exactly to spend our honeymoon. If you’ve traveled to the Caribbean before, you know the beauty of the islands. Given the beauty and history of the many islands that encompass the West Indies, deciding which one to visit can be difficult.

Admittedly, St. Lucia was not on my radar. But once my husband mentioned it, and I researched St. Lucia, I knew immediately that it was where we should spend the first week of our marriage.

If you are looking for a great vacation destination, here are some reasons why St. Lucia is for you.

1. A multitude of lodging options

St. Lucia has many hotel and lodging options for visitors ranging from all-inclusive resorts to Airbnb’s.

Because we were on our honeymoon, we chose an all-inclusive resort. We selected to stay at a Sandals resort because of the adult-only policy and Sandals’ “stay at one play at three” policy with free shuttle service.

St. Lucia has 3 Sandals resorts: two in Castries and one in Gros Islet.

2. Adventure

There is so much to do in St. Lucia. If you are looking to just relax on the beach, there are several beautiful beaches you can choose from. However, if you crave an adrenaline rush, there are attractions such as ziplining and cliff jumping offered on various parts of the island.

Because of its mountainous terrain, St. Lucia has great areas for ziplining. For our ziplining excursion, we chose Adventure Tours St. Lucia. Their treetop adventure course is located in Dennery. The course has 12 lines with the longest cable spanning 800 ft. across to the next platform. The views of the rainforest from 150 ft. in the air are breathtaking (and a little scary if it is your first-time zip-lining lol).

For another adventure, we took a mud bath in St. Lucia’s Sulphur Spring which is considered a drive-in volcano.         

The bath begins with a dip in the water followed by the mud which has volcanic ash. St. Lucians claim that the mud detoxifies the body and can heal minor aches and pains. Once the mud is dry, you rinse off in the hot Sulphur Springwater. My skin felt ah-ma-zing!

After the rejuvenating mud bath experience, we visited Toraille Falls one of several waterfalls on the island. The waterfall provides a striking photo backdrop.

3. Beautiful Beaches

It is no surprise, that the beaches are what attract so many vacationers to the Caribbean. And St. Lucia is known for having some of the most beautiful beaches.

Because we stayed at Sandals La Toc in Castries, we had access to the La Toc beach. La Toc beach is nice and offers a beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea.

While vacationing, we also visited Sugar Beach, Marigot Bay, and Rodney Bay. We accessed both Sugar Beach and Marigot Bay by boat and then spent some time walking around Soufrière visiting local markets, bars, and restaurants.

Sugar Beach offers a great view of the infamous Piton Mountains which can be admired by land or sea but is said to be best experienced by hiking. Before heading to our next destination, we spent some time snorkeling in Sugar Beach.

Marigot Bay which is located a few miles from Soufrière, is one of the more popular locations because of its white sand and views of boats and catamarans at the dock. Several famous Americans such as Oprah Winfrey and George Foreman are said to have houses there.

As mentioned before, Sandals offers a “stay at one and play at three option”. We took advantage of this by taking the shuttle from Sandals La Toc in Castries to both Sandals Halcyon and Sandals Grande in Gros Islet. While visiting Sandals Grande, we walked a short distance to Pigeon Island National Park and then down to Rodney Bay.

The beach at Rodney Bay was simply beautiful, and by far was one of my favorites. The water is warm, calm, and a beautiful blue. Although public, it is a bit secluded and had fewer people of all the beaches we visited. If you get hungry, you can take a quick walk to the Jambe de Bois restaurant.

4. Rich History and Culture

When I travel, I like to learn as much as I can about my surroundings and the history of the town or country. Luckily for me, my husband enjoys history as well and was open to learning about the history of the island.

One of the most historic locations in St. Lucia is Pigeon Island National Park. Pigeon Island was used by the British Army to spy on the French naval base during the years that the countries were at war with each other. France and Britain fought over St. Lucia so many times that the island was nicknamed the “Helen of the West Indies”.

For a small entry fee, ($8 US dollars per person), visitors can tour Fort Rodney. The park offers a guided tour, but, in my opinion, it is not needed because there are informative landmarks along the way that provide historical information.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Pigeon Island is that if you choose to hike to the top, on a clear day, you can get a glimpse of the island of Martinique. Unfortunately, for us, the day we visited the landmark, it was rainy and cloudy, so we did not get a glimpse of Martinique.

Once you have worked up a sweat hiking, you can cool off with a swim in beautiful Rodney Bay.

Final Thoughts

St. Lucia was the perfect destination for our honeymoon. We definitely plan on visiting St. Lucia again.

Overall, there are many reasons to visit St. Lucia, and this shortlist does not do it justice. But if you are looking to get away to the Caribbean, St. Lucia should be at the top of your list – no matter what the occasion.

If you have questions about planning a trip to St. Lucia, feel free to contact me. I would also recommend visiting St. Lucia Travels and scrolling through their Instagram page to see pictures of the island – many of which are submitted by visitors. While in St. Lucia, I connected with the women behind the company and was featured on their site as a guest contributor.