 Saint Lucia Travel Guide
Castries, Saint Lucia
Author: Chensiyuan (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Saint Lucia is a small Caribbean nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is part of the Lesser Antilles. Covering 616 sq km (238 sq mi), Saint Lucia is between Martinique to the north, Barbados to the southeast and south of Saint Vincent. Saint Lucia has a population of 174,000 (2011 estimate). Its capital and biggest city is Castries. The island was formerly a British colony, and today English is the official language. It remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.
Guide to Saint Lucia Hotels
Here's a list of hotels in Saint Lucia that you can book online, listed by city, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites.
Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia
Author: Charlesjsharp (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
More on Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-4). The East Caribbean dollar is the official currency here. Traffic is driven on the left here, just as in Britain. The phone IDD code of Saint Lucia is +1-758. The electricity here is 240V/50Hz using UK plug.
The economy of Saint Lucia is heavily dependent on tourism. This has not been all good news for the country, as the recession in North America and Europe have taken a toll on the tourism sector of Saint Lucia. The country is also developing its financial sector as an offshore banking center. Other than that, its traditional export of bananas has received incresed competition from neighboring countries.
Petit Peton, Saint Lucia
Author: Jayen466 (public domain)
In 2009, Saint Lucia registered an estimated nominal GDP of $973 million, equivalent to a per capita nominal GDP of $5,671. Its per capita GDP at purchasing power parity stood at $10,177.
Saint Lucia experiences a tropical climate. There are two seasons, the wet and the dry. The wet season is between May and August while the dry season from January to April. The island is occasionally battered by hurricanes.
Saint Lucia was first settled by the French in 1660. That was when the cultivation of sugar cane as a commodity was introduced. It became a British colony following the Treaty of Paris of 1763. Saint Lucia attained its independence from Great Britain in 1979.
Anse La Reye Catholic Church, Saint Lucia
Author: Egghead06 (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)
Planning your visit to Saint Lucia
Visitors not required a visa to enter Saint Lucia include the citizens of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Zambia.
Most tourists to Saint Lucia land at the George FL Charles Airport (SLU), as it is closer to the tourist resorts.
Recommended Travel Guidebook
My favorite travel guidebook for further reading in preparation of your trip is the Caribbean Eyewitness Guide, because it follows a format that I find useful to users, not to mention I have also contributed to some of the titles in the Eyewitness series of guidebooks.
|
Major Cities in Saint Lucia
- Castries - capital
- Gros Islet
- Marigot Bay
- Soufriere
- Vieux Fort
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Saint Lucia
- Pitons Management Area (2004)
|
|
