St. Lucia advice
Sat, 01/09/2010 - 16:31
My wife and I are planning on going to St. Lucia for the last week in February. I'm looking for suggestions on which part of the Island we should stay. I'll probably try to get like 4 kiting sessions or so. I'm still a beginner , just starting to get longer rides.
Right now I'm trying to decide between Vieux Fort in the south and Rodney Bay in the north. From what I've read on kitebeaches.com, the Cotton Bay spot in the north is better for beginners, but I also read that it requires some license and IKO 1. do you think this is enforced?
My wife doesn't kite so we will probably mostly be doing a lot of other things besides kiting. We like to make some of our own meals, so ideally we will be looking into some sort of rental rather then Hotel.
Sat, 01/09/2010 - 21:45
#1
South Side of Island is
South Side of Island is great, agree that its good beginner kiting. Some people have stayed at Coconut Resort which is three star all inclusive and they liked it, can kite right there, at or near resort. You could rent a car and drive to Ladera resort and visit the Pitons, Anse Chastenet at Soufrie for a daytrip, all of which I recommend. Great scuba diving in ocean in front of Pitons. All the beginner kiting in South is in Vieux Fort however.
Sun, 01/10/2010 - 10:01
#2
Down south is nice cause it
Down south is nice cause it is close to the airport... most likely the one that you will fly into. Not that much for options on places to stay. Robert is right, Coco Bay is only a 3 star all inclusive. There is a small hotel or 2 by the airport, but you'd have to walk to the kite spot around the airport. The kite place has a few rooms, and is right on the beach. I've rented out a place through them, which was a 2 bedroom shack with a kitchen that was right on the beach next to the Coco Bay. We called it a trailer park, but it was nicer and I felt totally safe there. And Coco Bay was a great spot to take advantage of, being right next door and everything was free.
You can do zipline tours up north on the east side. Definitely hike the Pitons. They are about an hour away by car from Vieux Fort. The roads are pretty crazy, as well as the local drivers. I bet you would't venture way up north if you stay in Vieux Fort. But there is plenty to do around Soufiere, like going to hot springs or swimming in waterfalls, and plenty of nice places to eat around, even though the town is a little rougher around the edges (which i loved). I've stayed in Casteries, and you wouldn't miss much if you didn't stop there. I think that's where the cruise ships come in, they have a duty free shopping mall etc, so it's not totally worth going there "just to see it." I've never been up farther than that, I hear there are some nicer all inclusive resorts.
Thanks for all the advice. Booking plane tickets today!