9 Best Things To See & Do in Tropical St Lucia.

I’ve been to a few different islands in the Caribbean and always find it so interesting how they all feel so different to each other. I was last there a few years ago when I visited Antigua for the third time, and when my friend Sophie and I were looking for some Caribbean sun earlier this year, we almost went back to Antigua, but at the last minute we decided to book somewhere neither of us had ever been before. Step in, St Lucia.

I’d wanted to visit St Lucia for years and years, but I was always convinced it was ridiculously expensive to stay in any of the decent resorts there. We managed to find an incredible Black Friday deal for a week at the Royalton Resort & Spa for under £1800 each, so jumped on it, and just a few weeks later we were on our way! To be honest, other than the Pitons I had no idea what else there was to see on St Lucia, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were sooo many fun things to do!

1. Pitons

The Pitons really are so incredible! There’s just nothing like seeing them come into view – it actually took my breath away the first time we sailed towards them and I caught a glimpse of them rising up out of the water. The best way to see them is absolutely by boat. I’d recommend taking the Tout Bagay trip with Sea Spray Cruises. The whole day was totally seamless and the crew were amazing! It was well worth the money IMO and I much preferred it to the Carnival Sailing Sunset Pitons trip.

2. Sulphur mud baths

Now, the sulphur mud baths don’t smell as bad as everyone says they do – I promise! I have such a strong sense of smell, but the sulphur mud baths didn’t smell that bad to me. The visit to the sulphur mud baths is included in the Tout Bagay trip, as it’s located near the town of Soufriere where the boat stops, so you don’t have to worry about getting a ticket. If you did visit separate to the Tout Bagay trip though, the entrance cost if $15 per person.

There are changing rooms and toilets by the baths so you can get changed, and you need to wear dark coloured swimwear as the mud can discolour and ruin white or light coloured clothing. You basically then dip your hands into the giant buckets of mud, and smear it on your skin, and then get into the baths for a soak!

The mud baths/sulphur springs is part of the dormant Soufriere volcano that last erupted in 1700, and the locals claim that the mud cures skin issues like eczema and sun burn, as well as joint problems, arthritis, and more. I actually had a bad eczema flare-up during the trip, so was hoping it would help with that, but it didn’t work for me :'(

3. Toraille waterfall

The Toraille waterfall was one of my favourite parts of the trip. It’s sooo beautiful, and the water was really lovely and refreshing after the warmth of the mud baths! But be warned, the waterfall is POWERFUL! I tried to get a dreamy Instagram photo and it ended up looking…um…not so dreamy, haha. Again, like the mud baths, they have toilets and changing rooms built there. The queue to get a photo with the waterfall can be kinda long, but the Sea Spray team were great at making sure everyone got one!

4. Anse Chastanet Beach

Anse Chastanet is probably one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen…like, ever. It is beautiful, the water is crystal clear, and the beach is surrounded by the jungle and cliffs. It’s actually home to a super luxury boutique hotel, but lots of the day boats come in here so non-guests can use the beach and swim in the water.

5. Marigot bay

Marigot Bay is a beautiful and secluded bay that forms a ‘hurricane hole’, which is used to shelter boats from hurricanes. It’s also a historic landmark as it was used by the French and British navies, and it was one of the filming locations for the 1967 film adaptation of Doctor Dolittle.

You can visit privately via car, and enjoy the myriad of bars and restaurants that line the edges of the bay, or you can do what we did and visit as part of a boat trip. Both of the boat trips we did – the Tout Bagay and the Sunset Pitons – sailed through Marigot Bay, but they didn’t stop, which I was a little disappointed by. I wish we could have stopped and enjoyed a drink at one of the floating bars!

6. Sugar beach

Sugar Beach is soooo pretty, but be warned that the snorkelling is awful, so don’t bother snorkelling! It’s 100% worth going for the beach though, and the view over the Pitons is just beautiful! All of the beaches in St Lucia are public, so even though it’s a ‘hotel’ beach, you can still visit. You just won’t be able to use the hotel’s sunbeds as those are reserved for hotel guests, but you can take a towel and sit on the sand.

7. Boat trip

Of course, one of the best things to do in St Lucia is a boat trip! Like I said, the Tout Bagay trip was my favourite. It really gives you the best of everything as it takes you to the Pitons, Soufriere, Sulphur springs/mud baths, Toraille waterfall, Anse Chastanet, and Marigot bay, all for $145USD. The Sunset Pitons trip is $110 but only includes Sugar Beach and Marigot Bay, and you don’t even see the Pitons at sunset – you’re up at Marigot Bay for sunset! The boat on the Sunset Pitons trip also isn’t as nice as the Tout Bagay day trip.

If you don’t have very good sea legs you can hire a car or get a taxi driver to take you to all of the above places, but you really can’t beat a boat trip in the Caribbean! It’s always my favourite thing to do when I’m visiting an island – check out my blog posts about sailing in the Tobago Cays, and sailing around Antigua!

8. Gros Islet Street Party

Oh my gosh you guys, the Gros Islet Street Party was SO much fun!!! We had the best time! It only costs $15USD to get the shuttle bus from the Royalton, but you can get a taxi from any hotel/resort. I’d definitely recommend going later in the evening though – best to get there around 10pm to get the full experience as that’s when the music starts getting good. Also be warned, the rum punches are *very* strong!

9. Pigeon Island

We walked to Pigeon Island from the Royalton on the sunday morning, after almost a week of eating ridiculous amounts of food at the resort and laying by the pool we were desperate to do some exercise, and it was honestly so perfect. The walk from the Royalton takes around 40-minutes, and although the island isn’t actually an island anymore as they built a mandmade causeway in the 1970s, it’s still really beautiful.

The island is part of the St Lucia National Trust as it used to be a British fort, and it costs just $10USD, or $28 Eastern Caribbean, for tourists. The beaches there are also incredible, so I’d really recommend bringing your swimmers and a towel so you can go swimming!

Something for everyone in St Lucia

I was a little worried before visiting St Lucia that there wouldn’t be much to do there. I love sitting on the beach or by the pool, but I do need a day or two out exploring on a holiday like that! Thankfully, there really is something for everyone in St Lucia, and I thoroughly enjoyed the little trips out that we had. The pitons were stunning and really took my breath away, but Toraille waterfall was the place that really captured my heart. We were lucky that it was quite quiet when we arrived, and it was just so magical staring up at the water gushing from the jungle above!