Tucked between Martinique and Barbados in the middle of the Caribbean, St. Lucia is a quiet island retreat with a culture rich in music, literature and tranquility. They have a very peaceful political situation, and native son Nobel-winning poet Derek Walcott immortalized the island with his 1990 epic poem Omeros. The poem tells the story of a beautiful maiden who magically attracts the love of two local fishermen. It talks of island rain forests and white beaches and egrets. It speaks to the love of people for their home and their culture. You can see what Walcott was writing about as well at Derek Walcott Square in the heart of St. Lucia by taking advantage of the many good summer travel deals to the tiny island paradise. With St. Lucia's annual Carnival coming in July, the summer is a great time to experience the fruits of the island.
Start your trip to St. Lucia at www.stlucia.org. The site has great listings for all St. Lucia hotels, restaurants, sites, honeymoon and wedding planning, adventure sports and pure beach vacations. It lists all the resources for airline travel, including the airlines that fly directly to St. Lucia from which U.S. destinations. For example, American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) flies daily non-stop to St. Lucia from Miami, and USAir (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usair.com) has weekend service to St. Lucia from Philadelphia. Normal fares for the above routes start at around $650 for the American flights and $750 for the USAir flights. Check their respective websites for last minute weekend Internet-only specials and summer deals to the Caribbean that may come up on short notice. They won't apply, however, for this Memorial Day weekend. The site also lists banking services. Word has it the St. Lucian government is in the process of cleaning up its banking system after years of being renowned as some of the more popular money laundering institutions in the Caribbean Islands, making St. Lucia the home to some colorful ex-patriots with loads of good stories and interesting personal histories. The site's accommodations search engine let's you choose an island region and the type of hotel you're looking for. Expect rates at most three-star hotels or bed and breakfasts to fall between $60 and $120 per night. We found a seven-night package at Crystals (tel. 758/384-8995; www.stluciacrystals.com) in the Soufriere district, which is about an hour from the international airport, costing approximately $800 for the entire week. Crystals is a luxury guest-house with cottages equipped with kitchenettes and stellar views of the mountains on one side and the beach on the other. This weekly rate at the Crystals is good through December 15, 2005.
For vacation packages to St. Lucia, Cheap Caribbean (tel. 800/915-2322; www.cheapcaribbean.com) has some specials, one of which includes 50 percent off at a brand new resort scheduled to open on June 1, 2005. If you book by June 1, 2005, a five-night trip with air at the brand new Coco Palm costs approximately $699 per person. The package includes round-trip airfare to St. Lucia from your departure cite, five nights in a pool view room (a free upgrade) from the garden view room, and daily continental breakfast. Taxes and charges are not included in this package, nor is ground transportation to the airport. But, the four-star resort is brand spanking new. Did we say that already? Amenities at the 84-room French Creole hotel located in the heart of Rodney Bay a short walk to one of St. Lucia's finest beaches include a swimming pool, an internet café, a gym and massage center, as well as large rooms with bicycle and scooter rentals. Normal prices at the hotel start at $133 per night from June 1 to December 15, 2005. For the golfer looking to enjoy the St. Lucia experience, Cheap Caribbean has a six-night air/land package costing approximately $799 per person out of New York (see the site for prices from other U.S. gateways) with double occupancy that puts you up in a studio apartment at the Gateway Villas, a development located right next door to St. Lucia's only 18-hole championship golf course. You need to purchase this trip by June 10, 2005.
Tradewind Tours (tel. 800/860-8013; www.tradewindtours.com) has some land-only specials to St. Lucia that include some great savings in hotels. If you book by June 30, 2005 and travel between June 1 and September 30, 2005, you can get 40 percent off of your stay at the Jalousie Plantation on the southern coast of the island. That means prices start around $76 per night. The Jalousie Plantation is allegedly one of the top five resorts on the island. A former member of the Hilton Hotel family, the Jalousie is known for its great beachfront, pretty pink cottages, and adjacent forest area. Travelers say the location is one of the prettiest on the entire island. The Tradewind site also lists discounts and specials at other hotels on the island. Just scroll down the above page once you hit on the link for details.
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