Adventures for Anyone: St. Lucia...The Wildest Ride I've Ever Had!

As you all know, I visited St. Lucia recently and discovered that most people I've ever talked to have been missing most of the experience of visiting the country. When I booked my trip, I purposely didn't take a cruise or stay at a resort. As a matter of fact, I didn't visit the north end of the country at all. I'd seen videos about it and read all about it. It seemed nice, but I felt and still feel that it only has so much to do with the country. We all know that all inclusive resorts are for people who like things to be easy. You get to go there and everyone else worries about your good time. I get it, but that's not traveling. That's tourism. I believe that, and you'll never convince me otherwise.

When you arrive in St. Lucia, it most likely will be mid to late afternoon. This especially rings true if you come in from the United States. The airlines tend to have one flight a day. They come in with visitors, turn the plane and take visitors back home. Remember, this is an international airport and that means that there are flights coming in from all over the world. Afternoon is just the time allotted mostly for American tourists.

The first thing that you notice when you arrive is that it isn't the type of airport you're used to if coming from the states. You will be exiting down stairs and not through a jetway. It seems old school, but it works. From that point you expect a kind of backwards experience, but wrong again. You will find yourself in a line for entry into the country. Your passport will be examined and the security staff will ask questions. For instance, they wanted to know where I was staying and I didn't have much to tell them. We rented an apartment in Marigot Bay from a person who we knew their name, but we didn't have a regular street address to report. The official hopped on her computer with the information I gave her and found what she needed. Once again, not backward. Tech savvy and able to solve the issue in a matter of minutes. Then we were on our way.

Another thing that might surprise you about Hewanorra International Airport is that most services are provided right at the terminal and are outside. There's an outdoor terrace area where all of the shuttles and rental cars and such are provided. We noticed immediately that most people weren't picking up a rental car as we were. There were a plethora of vans, cars and so forth with the standard color coded license plates that most tourists didn't understand the significance of anyway.

Learn this one. Black license plates tend to be regular cars and vehicles. Blue tends to mean taxi. Green tends to mean public transportation. Yellow tends to mean government vehicle. That covers most vehicles you may encounter in the country. Public transportation tends to be minibuses and vans with green plates. They run semi regular routes across the country. Make sure you do some research before being that much of a local. I didn't even go there, but I did see how it could be a lot of fun if done properly.

Taxis are a way of life in St. Lucia. They tend to have blue license plates and they are a viable mode of transportation. Always make sure you discuss your fare before setting out. They can be expensive. Most taxis also offer guided tours if scheduled ahead of time. Once again, discuss the price for your adventure before taking off on said adventure. Other things to remember about taxis are that you should see the credentials of your driver. If you see the roads in St. Lucia, you'll know how important it is to have a qualified driver. Professional drivers in St. Lucia go to school for their license. In Castries where the cruise ships dock and at the airport you'll find tons of people with cars and vans asking if you want a taxi. They can be quite insistent, so be clear and decisive if you don't want one. I didn't make it to the north end of the country, but I'm guessing that my advice is useful up there as well.

We had a rough day of travel, so after an easy pick up of our rental car (minimum age 21, maximum age 65 for rentals) and purchase of required driving permits for St. Lucia ($22 US) we went in search of basic needs before driving halfway across the country or 37 miles. One of our first stops was at a stand nearby the exit from the airport, sitting directly on the shore that sold chicken and sides for dinner. This was my first look and taste of local food. The chicken was Caribbean spicy and so was the rice. It was delicious. Stands turned out to be some of the best places in the country to eat. They aren't designed for the sheltered tourist and tend to have real local food. However, if you take a day tour with a guide, you will have the chance to stop a stand along the way and try local faire.

We met our first two stray dogs at that stand. Strays are what Americans would call a problem, but in St. Lucia are just a way of life. The random animals, whether dogs, cats, chickens or goats are calm and friendly and tend to be pretty good at taking care of themselves. It was something to get used to, but perfectly normal in St. Lucia.

Some of the other things to get used to is driving. St. Lucians drive on the left of the road and the drivers side of the car is the right. We found out quickly that since we got an automatic transmission vehicle, which isn't a foregone conclusion so make sure you're specific when renting a car, that most parts of driving backward from what we're used to isn't really a problem. Two of the most aggravating parts of the adjustment from right to left was remembering which way to look at intersections and turn signals. We spent days turning on the windshield wipers instead of turn signals before getting it right.

Once we'd done our business in Vieux Fort, we headed across the country to our apartment in Marigot Bay. St. Lucia has a main road called the Micoud Highway. This main drag goes from Vieux Fort to Point du Cap. It goes up the east side of the island and crosses the midsection to the west coast then up through the capital of Castries to the resort areas of the north. It's a handy road that if you follow it, you won't get lost.

Driving in St. Lucia is a bit tricky and it's more than just being on the alien side of the road and hitting the windshield wipers every time you make a turn. The roads in St. Lucia are part of the adventure. They're narrow, curvy, and full of potholes. If you're expecting signs to give you any kind of information, forget that. Google shows most roads as unknown roads. That's how hard it is to get information about where you are. That doesn't meant that Google won't get you where you're going. It did a great job of that. We never got lost once.

What you will find is that driving in St. Lucia isn't for the feint of heart. A curve is normally a hairpin turn. The roads go up and down elevations like a roller coaster. There are no shoulders, lines on the road, and very few guard rails. This means you need to pay attention. If you pay attention to where you're driving, you'll be fine. I recommend taking a full sized map along with you. It helps get your bearings about where you're at and where you're going. By the time you've driven the thirty miles or so to your destination, you'll get the lay of the land. It's really not hard.

The other thing that you'll need to get used to about driving is the locals and the potholes and road construction. The locals know the roads well. They tend to drive like they know the roads by heart and that can be unnerving for us tourists. Our method was just to let them pass and go on their way. But also remember, if for any reason you find yourself by the side of the road with a flat tire or just being a lost tourist; the locals will stop and make sure you're all right before they go on their way. The people of St. Lucia are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet.

We didn't have any car trouble on our trip, so no locals had to help us with that. But, we were coming back from a day out and decided to check out a local village near our apartment. We went down a side road through banana plantations and discovered a rainbow. We pulled over to take pictures of said rainbow and couldn't get the view we wanted. We went back and forth a bit to find the optimum view. By the time we'd driven up and down the road a bit, a local came by and stopped to ask if we were lost or needed help with anything. We explained the rainbow and he smiled and told us to have a good time. Friendly and wonderful. This you will find in St. Lucia.

Then, there are potholes. I don't mean regular potholes. I mean things that could eat your car. When we rented our car, the agent highly recommended we get the insurance. When we returned the car, he was genuinely surprised that the car had survived.

It can be tricky. Sometimes, you're driving along a cliff and there's a giant pothole. You have to make sure you don't drive into the drainage ditch at the side of the road or off the cliff while trying to miss the potholes. Also the roads are narrow. I mean not even two lanes wide here in the U.S. Throw in some hairpin turns and it can become a sport very quickly. So, here we were driving up and down mountains, on narrow roads with hairpin turns, along cliffs, dodging potholes, on the left side of the road. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I recommend it highly. By day two, you're pretty used to it and after a few days, you're a pro. It gives you freedom to see the country on your own time and feel like you've immersed yourself in the culture. Make sure you aren't driving alone though. You will need a navigator so you can keep your eyes on the road.

There are other things to be aware of when you drive yourself around the island. Traffic is the biggest one. By day three I was calling the cruise and resort crowd an invasive species. We went to Castries on day two and the traffic was outrageous; particularly at 8 am and 4 pm. It was all due to the guided tours leaving and arriving back at the cruise ship port. We sat in traffic jams that were almost entirely tour vans. It really puts a damper on an otherwise great day of checking out the capital.

Other things that we discovered are as follows. There are treacherous drainage ditches both in the cities and in the country across the island. It rains five times a day during the dry season and the ditches are necessary to keep the roads from flooding. However, the roads are narrow and you have to be careful not to run off the road into a ditch.

So, in short, driving in St. Lucia is challenging, but worth it. Parking isn't really a problem. If you're somewhere and can't figure out where to park the car, the locals will help you figure it out. They will also charge you for helping you find a place to park in a parking lot, so watch out for that. Most people will happily just answer your questions. We couldn't figure out where to park in Castries and the locals explained every integral quirk about parking in their city. We were grateful for the information and then had no problem finding a place to park. The key to getting around St. Lucia is meeting the people. They are always willing to help and give information on whatever you need.

The thing about St. Lucia is that we didn't want to miss it by barely having contact with the island. We rented our car and drove it for a week and had a great time. We didn't have a massive accident. We didn't get lost. The car didn't break down. It was wonderful, even though in the beginning it was a challenge. I can say the by the time I returned to New England, I was wondering why there were so many road signs. Suddenly they seemed unnecessary. So, rent a car, see the island of St. Lucia and enjoy!

Links to accommodations, tours, resorts, and cruises can be found at:

https://adventuresforanyone.blogspot.com/2023/02/st-lucia-post-1overview.html

Other links for this post:

https://www.drivestlucia.com/

https://sunrisecarrentals.business.site/

https://www.discoversoufriere.com/

http://www.carrentalstlucia.com/

https://www.vacaycarz.com/

https://www.kayak.com/Saint-Lucia-Car-Rentals.206.crc.html

https://www.expedia.com/Destinations-In-St-Lucia.d168.Car-Rental-Destinations

https://www.momondo.com/car-rental/Saint-Lucia-206-crc.ksp

https://www.tripadvisor.com/RentalCars-g147342-St_Lucia.html