Off to the Caribbean: 6 reasons why you should travel to Saint Lucia
Relaxing in the sun, but would like some action? Then the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia is the perfect destination for a winter escape. We show what makes a trip to the tropical island in the eastern Caribbean so appealing.
The one with one
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Do something in the New Year that you have never done before: On the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia – located between Barbados and Martinique – this good resolution can be implemented in a playful way. Because the 43 kilometer long and 23 kilometer wide island not only offers luxury, sun, rum, white palm beaches and gentle ecotourism, but also lots of adventure. And the evening chirp-cheep sound of the Antilles dart frog, which is only the size of a fingernail. The best time to travel is from January to May. Since the world’s most famous travel guide, Lonely Planet, rates Saint Lucia as one of the top ten destinations for 2024, we recommend visiting as quickly as possible. We present six breathtaking activities on the insider tip island.
1. Ziplining in the rainforest: Be Tarzan for once
“Darling, first the hairnet, then the helmet, please,” chimes Smartie, one of the two female guides in the jungle. Your speech is not aimed specifically at me – the locals speak so warmly to each other. The ziplining tour begins in the rainforest in the northern part of the island near Babonneau with a smile, even in view of the rest of the equipment with climbing harness and chest harness. An old-fashioned, windowless gondola, the Aerial Tram, takes adventure seekers up a steep mountainside. As far as the eye can see there is only greenery, densely forested mountains, trees the size of skyscrapers, lianas, huge fern leaves and hummingbirds just a few centimeters tall in iridescent blue. Once at the top, after a short walk, you climb a step platform on a jungle giant. After a loud click, the two carabiners are hooked onto the thumb-thick wire rope, which is stretched a good 40 meters high up to the next tree.
A tingling sensation goes from your stomach to your head. But don’t think about it for long, just jump off and rush off. Adrenaline rush! I’m racing at what feels like 100 kilometers per hour – in reality it was probably 35 kilometers per hour – over a distance of 250 meters towards a meter-wide tree. Melissa, the other guide, is already waiting there and slows me down so that I can make a gentle, precise landing on the platform. Wow, that must have been what happened to Tarzan. The feeling of flying continues: over a total length of one and a half kilometers over eleven ziplines through the canopy of the rainforest.
2. Sea Trek: Astronauts walking underwater
Snorkeling was yesterday. Nowadays you no longer have to struggle with fins, diving goggles and snorkels to get an insight into the Caribbean underwater world. You simply put on an astronaut’s helmet, which is connected to oxygen via a hose and is so heavy that it pushes you under water. The underwater walk begins to a depth of seven meters. There it is again, that wonderful feeling of weightlessness! Two divers secure the strange figures that look like Teletubbies doing a moon walk.
Parrotfish swim by. Lobsters stick their long feelers out from behind stones. Be careful not to step on it, a sea cucumber sways with the waves in the sandy seabed. Soft corals grow on a car wreck. A spooky and fascinating atmosphere at the same time for someone who has never been so deep under the sea. And in a more vertical position than usual when snorkeling.
3. Gros Piton: volcano climb to the UNESCO World Heritage Site
The term Piton has several meanings in Saint Lucia. The island’s landmark, the two cone-shaped and cooled twin volcanoes Petit Piton and Gros Piton (771 meters) are called this, as is the national beer brand. However, this is only available as a reward after climbing the Gros Pitons, which is 28 meters higher than its little brother, but easier to climb. But what does easy mean? That’s why in the protected area in the southwest of the island, great care is taken to ensure that the tour to the mountain, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, can only be undertaken with a guide.
His name is Hughelan, 40 years old, slim and already in a good mood at seven in the morning. His sneakers don’t look like that, but they seem to have something like seven-league boots about them. With a spring in his step, he jumps over huge roots, flat rocks, moss-covered stones and slippery terrain. We wear mountain boots and are really happy about it because it rained the night before. You can rent hiking poles on site, but they are often a hindrance due to the many steep rocky passages. But Hughelan is always there to offer his hand to the ladies or point out the rather makeshift-looking protection made of wooden slats along the way. The first reward awaits you about halfway: a viewpoint. With a view of the turquoise sea that stretches directly below you and the 70 kilometer long Caribbean coast with small bays hidden between lush vegetation. After just under two hours the summit is reached – natural and surprisingly small for the second highest mountain on the island. But the effort was worth it.
4. Mud bath in the Caribbean’s only drive-in volcano
There are a total of 19 volcanoes in the Caribbean, but you can only drive into one of them by car – the 274 meter long crater of Mount Soufrière in the southwest of Saint Lucia. The reason: During the last major eruption in 1780, a good third of the mountain was blown away, allowing entry into the caldera. Hence the name “drive-in volcano”. Since the Feuerberg is still active, it is bubbling and steaming everywhere – and it smells of sulfur.
Brown bubbles rise from mud holes, streams carry hot water and, especially during the full moon, geysers shoot out of the ground. However, the attraction in this geothermally active zone is mud bathing. To do this, young boys drag bucketfuls of volcanic mud into specially built bathing pools. Giggling tourists cavort there, rubbing themselves from head to toe with the volcanic mud and then climbing into the pools of warm water like gray ghosts. The mineral mud bath is not only said to be good for the skin and healing, but also has a rejuvenating effect.
5. Sailing trip with dolphin watching
Of the island’s two coasts – the rougher Atlantic coast in the east and the Caribbean coast in the west – the latter is particularly suitable for sunset boat trips. A sunset cruise like Captain Kerwin on a 15 meter yacht is not only one of the most luxurious adventures, but also one of the most unforgettable. In a stiff breeze you get a completely different perspective of the island with its picturesque twin volcanoes – with sparkling wine and haute cuisine finger food.
When the skipper’s scream is heard: “Dolphins!” there is no stopping us. Despite the tilt of the sailboat, you get up, cling to the railing and don’t want to believe what your eyes are seeing: a pod of dolphins jumping around the bow of the boat. Disappear briefly into the depths and then continue playing on the other side of the boat. The shiny gray marine mammals ride up and down the waves elegantly and weightlessly. Again and again. And it’s hard to say who has more fun and enjoyment – you or the tourists on the yacht.
6. Friday Night Jump-up: The superlative street party
After so much adventure in nature, it’s time for a bit of urban culture. This can be experienced every Friday evening in Gros Islet in the north of the island – for more than 30 years. Friday Night Jump-up is the name of the mega party that attracts people from all parts of the island. Raggaeton can be heard from meter-high speakers until two in the morning, whose bass alone makes the hips of the partygoers sway. The party is of course also a tourist attraction.
Sweating bodies of all stripes dance close together, rubbing each other while twerking and grooving like there is no tomorrow. It smells of cigar smoke, rum punch and grilled fish, chicken and spare ribs, which is offered at many stalls. And of course for weed (also known as marijuana, grass or ghanja), possession of 40 grams of which is permitted for personal use. However, the Rastafarian culture in Saint Lucia is nowhere near as strong as in Jamaica. But the cool atmosphere with palm leaves blowing in the wind and a crowd of people eager to party.
The research trip was supported by www.stlucia.org