Sapphire 4: Reviews From Those Who’ve Lived, Shopped, Explored & Dined in St. Lucia

Although our stay has been short here at Sapphire, it has been so lovely and exploring Soufriere has been a great adventure!!

Janus has been such a wonderful host, organizing a car service to pick us up from the airport as well as assisting with our departure to Castries. This apartment had all we could ever need and is a short (15minute) walking distance into town. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR TRIP: 

Spending the day at Anse Mamin Beach – we were told this was the most secluded beach and this proved to be true! We took the advice from a previous entry, and called Giddy Up company for a water taxi to the beach. Simon and friends were super accommodating (we called an hour before pickup-up) and the ride to the beach was beautiful. Simon took us up close to the cave with fruit bats and let us rent snorkeling gear from the day. At Anse Mamin, we rented beach chairs (2) for $33.00 (although you can just lie on a towel if you wish) and the restaurant on the beach served delicious burgers (although pretty pricey - $28.00, so we shared + it was plenty). We gave Simon a pickup time of 3:30pm and he came right on time. Simon’s round trip water taxi and renting 2 snorkeling masks came to $70.00. 

Dinner: Ruby’s  - Great pork and mac + Cheese, good portions. 

Hummingbird Restaurant – Stunning views of the Pitons, very pricey for small portions (if you do go here, wear your bathing suite and sneak in a swim at the pool!)

We really got lucky tonight with a big street fair/party going by the water – local food, drinks, Dj/music – So fun! 

We’re off to Castries tomorrow to catch the ferry to head to Dominica! We highly recommend Janus + Team and had a blast here in Soufriere!! 

Meghan and Andrew 

Day 1 – Feb. 14th,2017

Fabian picked us up from the airport. We were able to stop at the Supermarket to stock up on a few essentials. The drive to Soufriere was breathtaking. We had a long day of travel so we decided to stay in, drink a couple of beers and watch the sun set over the Caribbean.

Day 2 – Feb.15, 2017

Woke up to rain, lots of it! Walked down to downtown for breakfast at Waterfront De Belle View. The Sausages that came with my breakfast were hot dogs – had a good chuckle! It was reasonably priced! Many of the locals showed us around… and lurked around awkwardly for a tip. Bring $XCD. A friendly rasta man offered me some “special tobacco”. I couldn’t resist. We ended our evening with an amazing dinner at Orlando’s. Not cheap but worth every dollar. U.S $55.00 for a five-course tasting menu. All the ingredients were local and every dish was artfully plated. Menu Changes Daily.

Day 3 – Feb. 16,2017

Went up island to Babonneau to visit the rainforest and do some Ziplining through the canopy. The tram-ride down was breathtaking with clear views of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Martinique. The drive there and back were very jerky. Alex got sick on the way back. We stopped for some local produce on the ride back and has a light lunch. We spent the rest of the evening at Still Beach and had a couple of drinks at The Still Beach House, where we wet a couple of Extremely friendly locals. Ask for Pinky or Francis.

Day 4 – Feb.17, 2017

Today was Soufriere Adventure Day! Janus Booked us to a Guide Named Jamal from ‘’Real St Lucia Tours’’ (amazing name written on car) he was great. We started at Tet Paul Nature Trail which was a good amount of exercise for me (I’m the lazy one, while chris wanted Gros Piton). The view from up top was breathtaking. A must see! Then we did The Sulphur Springs & Mud Bath which was an unusual experience but we loved it, still. Our skin actually feels better than it actually did going in. We bought a chunk of mud from the guide there to bring home. An official sale-of-goods I presume since after he bagged it we were asked to hide it. Jamal said leave the mud on our face only while we rode to the waterfall for our next Soak. As if we didn’t stand out enough. As tourists, we drove with him through town, windows open with a white & black pointed mud face. Well worth it though – my skin looks replenished  Then we went into the cold waterfall. Torielle Waterfall and a local grabbed us both and took us under the fresh and heavy pour of the falls. When we came out with clean faces, Jamal was waiting there with cold Piton for both of us. A good combo between the hot/stinky/dirty Sulphur Bath which relaxed you and the cold refreshing waterfall. The off to the Botanical Gardens (Diamond) I really liked it while Chris thought it was a little boring. The flora and fauna were beautiful and there was a lot to look at. Didn’t do the bath- They looked kind of gross anyways. There is a waterfall at the back which was nice. I think it was worth the U.S $7.00 each. Lastly we went to Fedo’s which is very close to the apartment and amazing value! I had the creole fish – a whopping piece of tuna to rice, ground provisions and salad.

Day 5 – Feb.18, 2017

Took a cab to Anse Chastanet from beach time and snorkeling. Beach was Beautiful with White Sand and clear water. Got Busy Between visitors and guests. We ate at the beach front restaurant and both got burgers. My veggie burger was weird… I would avoid it, otherwise food and drinks were delish. They make mean virgin banana daiquiris. The snorkeling was affordable for the day and lots of fun. Even with a tan I got a very bad burn! Careful out there, friends. Amenities at Anse Chastanet were clean and everyone was super nice.

Day 6- Feb. 19,2017

Sundays are quiet in town, so we started the day off early with a walk around, sat near the waterfront and talked with some locals. Ate delicious and well-priced (14.00 us) buffet lunch at the beautiful outdoor beach dining room of Still Water Inn. A local chef from Still Beach Inn named Francis walked up to meet is and show us around town. He knew a lot of people and is filled with kindness and positivity. 

Thanks to Janus & Team for a lovely stay at Sapphire! Fantastic apartment with everything that you need. We especially enjoyed the beautiful Sunsets from the balcony :)  Soufriere is truly a beautiful town with lovely friendly people.

In a bit of a rush, but here are a few tips: 

Restaurants in Town:

• Hummingbird – amazing fish dishes and good cocktails, Beautiful View too! Reserve a table for the best view.
• Ruby’s – nice food (good steaks) and good prices + it’s close by, really friendly staff too!
• AVOID!!! Pitit Peak – horrible food and really EXPENSIVE!

Sights – Our Favorites:

• Tet Paul Nature Trail- Beautiful panoramic view of both Pitons
• Anse Mamin – Our Favorite Beach, really quiet and amazing fish burgers!!! 
• Sugar Beach- beautiful white sand and fabulous location. Man selling fresh fruits on the beach! Good snorkeling!
• New Jerusalem waterfalls – Relaxing hot pools to bath In night in the rain forest. Very relaxing!!!

We didn’t rent a car so Janus helped us arrange car transfers, very helpful!

Hope you will all enjoy St. Lucia, Soufriere as much as we did. Cheers!!!!! 

Linda

Very Good Apartment with amazing views from the balcony – We enjoyed watching the Sunsets.

Highlights for us include:

Botanical Gardens and Diamond Falls – a lovely walk through the gardens with lots of interesting plants and trees ending up at the spectacular Diamond Falls.

The local Beach by the Hammingbird Resort – usually mainly quiet except on Sundays when the locals are out enjoyed themselves, Good for swimming and snorkeling.

Tet Paul Nature Trail – Fantastic 360 degree views of the island a very easy climb taking about 30-45 minutes.
Sugar Beach – lovely beach in between the Pitons. Drinks are very expensive at the restaurants though- a bottle of sparkling water cost us U.S $15. 60! 

Anse Chastanet & Anse Mamin, both beautiful Beaches with good restaurants. 
Sandy Beach near the airport is nice for a change as there’s usually a cooling breeze and is good for watching the wind and Kite Surfing. Reef Beach Café is O.K for Lunch.

Marigot is an attractive sailing resort. We took the free water taxi to Dolittle for linch. Small beach, not very welcoming to visitor outside the resort.

Rodney Bay didn’t appeal to us as it is to much like Florida with shopping malls and a long beach lined with restaurants. The traffic was horrendous going through Castries and on the road leading up to Rodney Bay. 

Pigeon Island was worth the visit though – good for walk and nice beaches. Interesting to hear abot it’s history. 

Our Favorite Restaurant for the evening was the Hummingbird. Excellent food if a bit pricey. Petit Peak was O.K for lunch but not the best was the food was expensive for what it was. Orlando’s was even more expensive for what it is. Should be better.

The Fox Grow Inn on the east coast near Praslin Bay was really excellent for Lunch and very good value. Sit in lovely local Gardens. We also enjoyed a superb lunch at Boucan, Hotel Chocolat – Really good food and amazing Views.

St. Lucia is a really Beautiful unspoilt Island and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our stay here .


Thank you Janus for your welcome and for planning the car mechanic for us 


Ros & Graham