Located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, the 27-mile-long, 14-mile-wide tropical paradise of St. Lucia is one of the Windward Islands and its picturesque pink-sand beaches, turquoise waters and jutting mountains have made it hugely popular as a honeymoon spot. But not only newlyweds can appreciate the island's natural beauty; bachelors can also enjoy all that St. Lucia has to offer. With a volcano to explore, rum distilleries to drink dry and waves to water-ski, it isn’t all about candlelit dinners, proposing to a loved one and exchanging vows. However you choose to enjoy the island, one thing’s for certain: You’re sure to find much-needed peace and tranquility here. After all, if you can’t find it here, you might as well pack up your Vilebrequin swim shorts and head home.
Here's how we recommend you should spend your three days in St. Lucia.
Day 1 -- Beach BumAs you fly into St. Lucia, make sure you look out for the twin peaks of the Pistons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton) and some of the island’s iconic black-sand volcanic beaches.
To begin your three days in St. Lucia, take a taxi from the airport and head southwest to the luxurious Anse Chastanet Resort in Soufrière. Set in 600-acres of tropical foliage on one of the island’s most renowned beaches, the resort represents Caribbean hospitality at its very best. Splash out and opt for one of the deluxe suites with walls removed so that you can make the best of the surrounding vistas. And with no telephones, TVs or radios available, it’ll be easy as pie to forget all about the outside world. While you might twitch at the thought of no WiFi access, remember that St. Lucia is all about disconnecting from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
Spend your first morning unwinding at the Kai Belté spa. Peruse the list of treatments available -- including a Swedish massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, and La Stone therapy -- and let the worries of the world that you carry in a stubborn knot on your shoulders be eased away by trained therapists right on the sand. If you’re feeling particularly stressed out, treat yourself to the Sublime Six -- a package that consists of six treatments to be used over the course of your stay.
After you've been pummeled within an inch of your life, grab something to eat from the mouthwatering Caribbean buffet at the Trou au Diable restaurant. If you haven’t eaten too much and your ever-increasing belly isn’t too unsightly, strip off and hit the black-sand beach in St. Lucia-style. Frolic in the surf to get the attention of female guests and impress them by enjoying a variety of water sport activities like snorkeling, windsurfing, kayaking, and sailing. With shallow reefs that shimmer with 150 different kinds of tropical fish, the waters that surround the resort are protected and offer the best scuba diving to be found anywhere on the island. Beginning just 10-yards from the beach, the Anse Chastanet reef is brimming with species, such as peacock flounders, octopus, turtles, eels, lobsters, and sea horses, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled as you explore the ocean floor Into The Blue-style.
If you still have time, make sure you take in the Lesleen M shipwreck, the walls beneath the Pitons (where you’ll also be able to explore Superman’s Flight, a dive drift near Petit Piton), the Coral Gardens and Turtle Reef. Dive right in; the water’s lovely.
If you’re too tired to leave the resort that evening, don’t think you’re doing the island a disservice. The restaurants at the resort are actively involved with local farmers to produce the very best Caribbean cuisine there is, and many of the dishes are infused with Mediterranean influences. What’s more, the menu’s fresh herbs and fruit are grown in the resort’s very own plantation. Have an early dinner at the Treehouse Restaurant where you’ll be seated, as the name suggests, in open-air amidst treetops, and watch the glorious sunset as you eagerly make your way through the wine list. Have a few after-dinner rum cocktails before turning in for the night on your high thread count sheets, and with the smell of bougainvillea drifting through your open terrace doors.
