The time period ‘paradise’ is overused in present-day tourism, but it’s no overstatement for the Eastern Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Ridged with high and improbably green hills – the tallest of which can be dual volcanic peaks the Pitons, which upward thrust from the west coast like a pair of mythical horns – Saint Lucia’s numerous environmental make-up takes its form in geothermal sulfur springs, clean white sand beaches kissed through turquoise waters, cascading waterfalls and acres of rainforest.
Small marvel, then, that this eye-alluring island, also referred to as the ‘Helen of the West Indies after the Greek mythology ‘Helen of Troy, is the arena’s main honeymoon vacation spot and dotted with couple-centered luxurious inns. Yet, there’s infinitely extra to Saint Lucia than romance. In reality, its kind of landscapes allows site visitors to revel in a couple of holidays rolled into one. Thrill-seekers will adore navigating mountain trails and treetop zip wire adventures. At the same time, foodies can feast on the freshest seafood and seek out domestically grown superfoods and spices at the markets.
Saint Lucia is a nature lover’s dream, too, blessed with reef-diving sites, many indigenous plant life, and the biggest variety of birdlife within the Caribbean. Whether you need to explore the military forts and bunkers of Pigeon Island National Park or birthday celebration with locals at Gros Islet’s weekly Friday Night Jump Up, Saint Lucia grants. Here’s our manual to maximizing the fun of this idyllic island with aware tourism in thoughts.
Where to live in Saint Lucia?
Stonefield Villas, Soufriere: the primary Saint Lucian lodge to enroll in Kind Traveller Waking up to the solar breaking on the hovering Petit Piton, with the tangled inexperienced jungle to the left glittering Caribbean Sea to the proper, borders on the transcendental.
This is the vista from the private terrace of my one-bedroom villa at family-run luxurious motel Stonefield Villas. The records of the website are as wealthy as its plants – at first a cocoa plantation; it’s domestic to several rock carvings or petroglyphs, said to were drawn via the Carib Indians to discover the area as a birthing website online and location of fertility. From mango and papaya timber to root veggies and herbs, an abundance of sparkling produce is grown onsite.
Aesthetically, Stonefield blends the actual layout with upscale services. The spacious outside terraces, surrounded by mature greenery and ready with personal pools, hammocks, and outdoor eating areas, sing luxurious. Venture inside, and the interiors are rustic in fashion, taking a concept from the old West Indies with domestically handmade wooden furnishings, rattan rugs and lampshades, and uncovered beams.
My canopy King bed is blissfully cozy, while the outside stone-tiled bath is stocked with cruelty-free toiletries. A homely kitchen place has the whole thing wanted for meal prep, together with a stove, fridge-freezer, coffee maker, glassware, and silverware. In February 2019, Stonefield became the first Saint Lucian motel to enroll in Kind Traveller, the first socially aware ‘Give + Get’ hotel reserving engine that connects travelers to accommodations with charitable affiliations.
Kind Traveller’s companions are selected based on ‘kindness factors’; Stonefield’s being a natural farm-to-desk menu at onsite sea-dealing with restaurant The Mango Tree, a no plastic straw coverage, composting of organic waste, and a bee program. A US$10 nightly donation from every booking is made to Parasol Pour Ti Mami, which affords training and healthcare services to underprivileged Saint Lucian kids.
What to do in Saint Lucia?
Diamond Botanical Gardens and Waterfall, Soufrière
My Sunday go to those historic award-triumphing gardens is quiet, giving me the feeling that I even have the vicinity all to myself. The site forms a part of 2000 acres of land granted to a few Devaux brothers by King Louis XIV of France in 1713, and legend has it that as a toddler Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, bathed in the authentic baths.
Mr. Andre du Boulay evolved the site from the Nineteen Twenties onwards and handed it to his daughter Joan Devaux in 1983, who restored it with care. Here you may spend a tranquil hour or so meandering via overhanging palms and coconut groves, admiring bulbous purple torch ginger flora, smelling fragrant jasmine, and being attentive to the Diamond Waterfall cascade down from above.