Simply Juric: July 2013

We used Tripadvisor almost entirely when planning the trip to as we always do. I truly appreciate all the reviews that are posted and wanted to make sure I did the same for people traveling to St Lucia. If you need any details or assistance please don't hesitate to contact me.

My husband and I are somewhat adventurers. We do not like all inclusive type places and we like to experience the local culture and discover most places on our own. When we are not on vacation we are ALWAYS on a schedule so our entire intent is to just go with the flow when we are on vacation. We do a couple of scheduled activities but we really hate making dinner reservations and being tied to any type of itinerary. First and foremost I must say that St Lucia is one exotic and unique island. I feel like it was a true gift visiting the island and experiencing all that we did. It has so many options as far as it goes to for outside activities.

Pros:

Scenery is one of a kind such as beautiful pitons, hills, country side, banana plantations, coconut trees, misc flowering trees and much more. It’s like a dream when you are driving around.

The locals are always willing to help or point you in the right direction. I did not run into any un-friendly people. I felt safe the entire time.

Lots of good restaurants to choose from and most options are healthy. I felt I ate far more balanced than I do in the US. We did not have a bad meal. This has never happened when we travel.

The groceries where priced far more reasonable than other islands we have been too. Felt like there was a good selection of just about anything.

The ocean water was clear as can be at just about every beach. No seaweed or cloudiness, just beautiful turquoise blue. I also felt I didn’t see nearly as many critters like string rays or jelly fish. The water was an also a nice refreshing temperature. It also wasn’t too wavy which I can appreciate since we like to snorkel and it’s much harder to enter if it’s too wavy.

The roads are much nicer than we expected. Sure they are extremely curvy but and narrow in some places but for the most part they smooth to drive on.

Cons-

While the roads where very nice you must be a focused and an assertive driver. If you have any type of fear of driving on roads like this then just don’t bother. There is no reason to put others are risk. We ran into another US couple who just could not handle the roads. So they just ended up returning the car rental. Lots of taxies and buses will take you were ever you need to go. It almost equals out to about the same as a car rental.

The dawn is at 5 ish in the AM. The dusk is at 6:00 ish pm, which for someone who is sensitive to light it can mean some early mornings. I think I woke at 5:30 a.m. no matter how hard I tried. I also passed out by 8.

I was not the biggest fan that most restaurants don’t open till 6:30 to serve dinner. I do not like eating late. This is just one of those culture shock pet peeves.

Flight- US Airways

We always seem to get lucky with US Airways. The flight was great. We had one small delay getting out of NC. But we only arrived 45 later than we supposed to. The only bummer is that they do not offer any movies or in air radio. Also, don’t be tricked into getting all day internet. It does not work once you leave the US. Not a huge thing at all. We did check our bags and there was no issues getting them back. Something to note though is that the line getting out of St Lucia was perhaps INSANE. I highly advise getting there 2-3 hours before takeoff. It’s very hot when you are checking in at your airline. We stood in line for at least an hour and then another 30-45 mins in the security line.

Rental: VRBO 499388 (review on the VRBO site)

http://www.vrbo.com/499388ha

Resturants: (all reviews posted on Tripadvisor)

Spinnakers

Razmataz

Jambe De Bois

Bayside Restaurant @ Sugar Beach

Zion Lion Farm

Jacques restaurant

Rituals Coffee Shop

Rainforest Hideaway

Elena’s Café