If you’ve decided to honeymoon on St. Lucia, well done. You couldn’t have picked a more beautiful Caribbean island. With striking natural features that evoke the South Pacific, seductive resorts and exotic elegance, it’s no wonder why St. Lucia is one of the top honeymoon destinations for Canadians.
It’s not just weddings and honeymoons that St. Lucia does well though. It ticks all the boxes for just about any romantic getaway. To help you navigate this heaven on earth, we’ve put together a handy St. Lucia destination guide, especially for lovebirds.
The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Honeymoon in St. Lucia
A St. Lucia honeymoon is a sexy suite, a sumptuous spa and a perfect sunset cruise. It’s a sweaty rainforest hike to a refreshing pool of a hidden waterfall and a romantic candlelit dinner under a warm, starlit sky. So, where do you start? At the beginning, of course, by choosing the perfect stretch of sand.
Top St. Lucia Honeymoon Destinations
The island of St. Lucia isn’t big, so if you have your heart set on a certain resort, book it, and get around to everything you want to see with relative ease. Remember, St. Lucia is a part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, and its west coast beaches are the only ones that are swimmable.
If you’d rather not move around, staying somewhere central, like Soufriere, Marigot or Rodney’s Bay might be best. Otherwise, what you’ve come to do will decide where you should be staying. For watersports enthusiasts, the beaches around Anse Chastanet offer world-class scuba diving and snorkelling directly off the beach. For spectacular vistas of The Pitons, you can’t beat Sugar Beach. And if you want quick access to a town, beaches, and a Friday night street party, Gros Islet is the place to be.
Quick Tips for Honeymooning in St. Lucia
First, some housekeeping.
What currency should we bring to St. Lucia?
St. Lucia’s official currency is the East Caribbean Dollar ($1EC = $0.50CAD) which can be used everywhere. The US Dollar is widely accepted at resorts and in most tourist districts. Cash is best, but credit cards can also be used in more upscale stores, hotels and resorts, bars and restaurants. Use your debit card locally (ATM) to get the Eastern Caribbean Dollar but packing some US funds until you do is a good idea, too.
What should we pack?
Dress for the tropics. Living in the southern Caribbean, St. Lucia experiences hot and humid weather most of the year, with summer and early fall being the rainy hurricane season. Days can get quite hot, so it’s best to bring a hat to protect yourself from the rays. If you plan on early morning hikes up the peaks, a light sweater might be a good idea, too.
Note that many resorts and high-end restaurants have a dress code for supper, usually requiring men to wear long pants. Some smart casual items for a night out are always a good idea. Watersports equipment can be used or rented at your resort and clubs can be rented at the golf courses if you opt not to bring your own.
What’s the best time of year to visit St. Lucia?
November to June, weather-wise. Summers are exceptionally humid with tropical downpours in the afternoons, and with the season being hurricane season, heavy storms aren’t uncommon. Late fall, winter and early spring bring the best all-around weather and are considered to be St. Lucia’s high season. As with most destinations, the Christmas Holidays and March Break bring an influx of families to the island, raising prices in the process.
How can we make our honeymoon extra special?
As spectacular as your resort and its beach may be, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t get out to explore. That goes with restaurants, too.
Make a point of booking an excursion into the rainforest, a snorkel or dive trip, sunset sail or to at least visit a secluded beach, a hidden waterfall or a natural spring. Experiences are what memories are made of, and St. Lucia offers many.
Best Hotels in St. Lucia for a Romantic Getaway
There is no shortage of spectacular places to stay in St. Lucia. Here are our picks of some of the most romantic resorts and sexiest suites you’ll surely have a hard time leaving.
Jade Mountain
Perched high in the lush hills, whimsical Jade Mountain is St. Lucia’s pinnacle of plush properties. Living harmoniously with its surroundings, the well thought out design gives guests unlimited access to nature, with sexy stylings and organic architecture.
Striking stone bridges, rugged columns and sublime infinity pools for relentless otherworldly vistas make each seductive suite a masterpiece. Feast on sumptuous ‘Jade Cuisine,’ relax with treatments or a couples massage at Kai en Ciel, the resort’s heavenly spa, or melt back into your sanctuary spoiled by your personal butler, wishing never to leave.
Anse Chastanet
Jade Mountain’s sister property is Anse Chastanet, directly below, with rooms in the hills and near the beach. The original chic eco-resort was built with the same philosophy as its younger sister was, to bring nature in at the expense of a wall. Here, a tree might be growing through your living room while frogs and geckos sing you to sleep.
Less than 50 rooms make up the exclusive resort, each with a striking design. Hillside suites offer endless views of the majestic Pitons, king size beds and handmade locally-sourced furniture. The Piton Pool Suite comes equipped with a picturesque private plunge pool overlooking the endless Caribbean, and as the name denotes, the UNESCO designated Pitons.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian
Gros Islet, in the island’s north, features perhaps Sandals best luxury resort, the Grande St. Lucian. On its own peninsula, the ultra all-inclusive resort boasts a mile long white sand beach and the island’s calmest sea for swimming. On-site are 12 decadent restaurants, 6 premium bars, and a state-of-the-art fitness centre.
As is customary with Sandals, exchange privileges with two other St. Lucia properties are included, as are green fees at two nearby golf courses, PADI certified scuba diving (all equipment), and just about any other activity you can think of. Rooms include South Pacific-style over-water bungalows, oceanfront two-story penthouses, and Grande Rondoval suites with private pool sanctuaries, and private butlers included with each.
What to Do & See in St. Lucia
Lots! Here are our picks for the most romantic ways to spend a St. Lucia day.
Check out the Sea Turtles
A romantic day can be a private trip to Grande Anse or Coconut Bay. These remote beaches are important breeding grounds for three endangered species of sea turtle: the leatherback, green and hawksbill. October through March, sea turtles come ashore to nest and to lay their eggs, giving visitors a chance to witness the action. To see the hatchlings make a break for the ocean, aim for October or November.
Hot Springs, Mud Bath, Gardens & Waterfall
Make your way over to Soufriere, the Caribbean’s only drive-in volcano crater, complete with bubbling sulphuric pools and soothing hot springs. Take a dip in the mineral-rich baths before exfoliating in the healing mud. Nearby is a beautiful cascading waterfall surrounded by the Botanical Gardens amidst lush rainforest studded with tropical bird of paradise, wild orchids and giant ferns, and even some parrots, too.
For amazing photo opportunities, the combination of a volcano, hot springs, waterfalls and gardens can’t be beaten.
Go on a Sunset Sail
St. Lucia is as breathtaking from the sea as it is from land, and there’s no better way to take it all in than from a sailboat or catamaran.
Day trips include snorkelling stops at secluded coves, a fresh fish lunch and flowing rum punch, while sunset cruises take in the spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, crisp Champagne and live jazz, all in the golden glow of a Caribbean sunset - a perfect way to end a day.
Snorkel a Beachfront Reef
The beach at Anse Chastanet is a striking shade of silver from the rich mineral deposits of nearby Soufriere. Just offshore lies a healthy coral reef and its colourful inhabitants, ready to put on a show. Grab some snorkel gear from the nearby resort and get lost together in an enchanting underwater world, breaking for a casual shore lunch and some hard-earned beach time.
Honeymoons and romantic getaways are unique to you, and no one knows that better than our Expert Travellers. Get in touch with us to plan your ultimate St. Lucia Better Beach holiday today. If it's a dreamy destination wedding you're after, get a free quote from one of our Destination Weddings specialists.
