Travelrobe: Saint Lucia

Sunday, January 10, 2010

St Lucia more than lives up to the paradisal Caribbean stereotype with its glorious mix of honey sand beaches, translucent waters sheltering reefs and it’s lush interior rainforests

Despite the lack of hype, St Lucia offers great tourist facilities and caters to all budgets, you can stay at luxury hotels or inexpensive guest houses, dine in world-class restaurants or at roadside kiosks, and shop in large duty-free malls or at open-air village markets.

St Lucia makes for a relaxed, informal and incredibly friendly place to visit, If it's beaches you prefer, then you'll probably head first to the tourism strongholds of the northwest coast, the "Golden Mile" of St Lucia's resorts towns.

St Lucia's most famous sights - the twin peaks of the Pitons to the south. The rainforest smothered mountains of the forest reserves are strikingly beautiful and rich in flora and fauna, while the wild and windswept beach of Grande Anse on the east coast is where you'll catch the moving sight of leatherback turtles nesting in the sands.

For many visitors St Lucia's biggest attraction is its tropical climate. During high season (December to April), the island is pleasantly hot, with little rain and constant northeasterly trade winds keeping the nights cool. Temperatures rise even further during the summer months, which can also be wet: the rainy season lasts from June to October and the rainy months coincide with the hurricane season , which runs roughly from late August to October.

The island's growing popularity as a holiday destination is due in part to international airlines which have consistently increased their flight schedules to the island over the years. During the high season, flights are on a daily basis, with services only slightly reduced in the low season, check scheduled flights at www.travelrobe.com

Air Canada flies once a week from Toronto and US Airways now flies direct from Philadelphia to St Lucia; from JFK, Air Jamaica goes via Grenada or Antigua, BWIA via Port of Spain and AA via San Juan, and all have domestic connections; Jet Blue and United also fly to San Juan from JFK and Continental flies there from Washington - it's easy to pick up an American Eagle connecting flight from San Juan to St Lucia.

The great majority of British and Irish visitors to St Lucia arrive on a direct charter flight as part of a package holiday - and even if you plan to travel independently this is still the cheapest way to get there. Charters do have limitations, however, notably a fixed return date of one, two or a maximum three weeks. When it comes to direct scheduled flights, the choice is limited.

Virgin flies several times a week direct from London Gatwick and once via Antigua; BWIA departs twice weekly from London Heathrow; and BA has three flights a week via Antigua. Visitors from Australia and New Zealand will need to take a flight to one of the main US gateway airports and pick up onward connections from there. Generally, the least expensive and most straightforward routes are via New York or Miami.

Wedding parties are welcomed by most resorts in St Lucia, Sandal, Ladera, Rendezvous and with all inclusive deals available at almost every hotel St Lucia makes for a great vacation.

St Lucia's jazz festival and the islands Carnival are just a few of the reasons to visit or if you are a cricket fan then book St Lucia for the world cup in 2007, Travelrobe is encouraging customers to book a cheap hotel, car hire, cheap flight, cruise, or an all inclusive package for their holiday at www.travelrobe.com.

Image via Wikipedia

Travelrobe has claimed that many islands in the Caribbean over the past few years have continued to expand and develop their infrastructure towards tourism, noting that St Lucia above all has embraced the void left by it's failing banana industry and despite the lack of hype, it's tourist facilities are top-notch and makes it a perfect destination.

Mark Felix, the MD says that while many of the islands including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica continue to make their presence felt in sports and music worldwide, there are lots of unspoiled gems waiting to be discovered.

Dominica, the first thing you'll notice about this island is how intensely green the island is. Lush, steep-sided peaks rear up 4700 feet to meet cloud-capped summits that receive enough heavy rainfall to feed hundreds of mountain streams.

Grenade, is known as "The Isle of Spice" producing one third of the world's supply of nutmeg along with quantities of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, turmeric and mace, while largely dependent on agriculture, the tiny nation which includes other smaller Grenadine islands is steadily earning a reputation as a holiday destination.

The French islands of the Caribbean should not be forgotten, Martinique, Guadalupe, St Martin/St Maarten shared between the French and the Dutch since the mid-seventeenth century, the tiny island is one of the most touristed islands in that part of the Caribbean.

To add to the vast diversity of the Caribbean there is the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands with their sea-swept landscapes, historic towns, duty-free shopping and luxurious resorts, these islands bask in the combination of familiar yet exotic which makes them the most popular cruise-ship destinations in the Caribbean.

The average travel time to the Caribbean from the UK is 6-8 hours and the widely used currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar know as EC$. Sterling and the American dollar are always welcomed by the locals and the exchange rate for £1.00 is about $4.50 EC. For more information visit www.travelrobe.com destination guides.

Travelrobe provides over 30 destination guides for the Caribbean, from the Cayman Islands to Antigua the site offers recommendations on food and drink, where to go, money and costs, history and information on tours.

One draw back to booking the Caribbean year round is the Hurricane season, but there is good news because the season is predictable; Travelrobe is issuing caution when traveling between June 1 to Nov. 30.

For those customers who have not yet decided where to spend their summer holiday, Travelrobe can provide all the answers to the many questions they have and is recommending the Caribbean as the destination of choice.

To book a hotel, flight, car hire, vacation package, cruise, visit http://www.travelrobe.com

About The Author

Mark Felix writes articles or press releases on recommended destinations worldwide for Travelrobe - A travel site based in the UK.

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