There’s something for everyone in stunning St Lucia (Image: Anse Chastanet)Sun, rum, reggae, picture-perfect beaches, calm, warm waters, snorkelling, friendly locals – there are so many reasons why St Lucia is a winning destination for anything from a family holiday to a memorable honeymoon. Here’s our guide on how to explore all the wonders this island has to offer while also enjoying a spot of luxury at an all-inclusive resort… READ MORE: Welcome to paradise – with an unpacking service, hot tub and your own personal butler Where to stay in St Lucia With villas set on the hillside above a white-sand beach in a sheltered bay, Windjammer Landing is a special occasion holiday resort (playing a game of ‘spot the honeymooners’ proves very fruitful). But it also welcomes families with open arms, and children are very well entertained with swimming, snorkelling and a floating inflatable assault course.
We stayed at the stunning Windjammer Landing Resort
(Image: STEVEN BRANCO)
The rooms at Windjammer Landing
(Image: Windjammer Landing Resort and Residences)
There are water sports available on tap, too. You can go out for a family kayaking trip, hire paddle boards or wind surf (all included), or try your hand at wakeboarding or water skiing. For an altogether more laid-back experience, there’s a luxe spa, morning yoga classes and hammocks overlooking the ocean, where you can relax with a book or simply soak up the view. The rooms are villa-style, many with their own private pools, and there’s low-key entertainment, including live music, in the evenings. What to eat and drink in St Lucia Let’s start with the important stuff. Rum. Like many of the Caribbean islands, it takes centre stage here at bars, roadside shacks and even on reggae boats (one pulls into Windjammer Landing daily). There are pale and dark varieties, including the local Chairman’s Reserve. St Lucian cuisine includes roti, a West Indian flatbread served most commonly with chicken or shrimp curry, and the national dish: green fig and saltfish. St Lucians eat saltfish for breakfast with a fried dough they call bakes. Another favourite is stewed conch, also known as lambi, which tastes quite like calamari. And then there’s the fruit – coconuts, soursop, guava and juicy mangos like you never find in our supermarkets back home – as well as sweet bananas, which make the biggest contribution to the local economy outside of tourism. Windjammer has seven restaurants and we can highly recommend the all-inclusive buffet. We felt like kids in a sweet shop every lunch and dinner time. Try Jammer’s beachfront diner for Caribbean oxtail, goat stew, beef pepper pot or mahi mahi fish, or Dragonfly seafood restaurant for local snapper ceviche and sushi.
The fresh fruit in St Lucia is delicious
(Image: (c)LarsenCollinge International)
Enjoy fish freshly caught each day
(Image: Getty Images/500px)
What to do in St Lucia Head to the capital Castries to look around the market. It’s not just full of stalls selling souvenirs, it’s where the locals shop for their dinner ingredients – and the spices for making rum punch make a good take-home gift. Horse play If you’re feeling adventurous, try horse riding on the wild Atlantic coast with Sandy Hoofs. You’ll be taken on a two-hour trek over the hills for stunning views before heading down to the beach, where you can take your horse swimming. Snuba diving Snuba, you say? It’s somewhere between snorkelling and scuba diving and is a great option for families with older kids who aren’t quite ready for deep sea diving but want to get in among the colourful marine life. Your oxygen tank is carried on a raft above the surface of the water, with a tube bringing air down to your regulator. You go out with a guide and it’s possible to go as deep as 20 feet. We saw everything from eels to sea horses, making it such a memorable experience. You can find more information at Dive Saint Lucia. The base is on Pigeon Island, worth a visit in itself to hike to the top of the hill for wonderful views over to Martinique and the sites of historic forts used by British soldiers to spy on French ships in the 18th century.
Explore St Lucia’s sea life by snorkelling or snuba diving
(Image: Getty)
Stuck in the mud One of St Lucia’s claims to fame is that it’s home to a drive-in volcano near the pretty town of Soufrière. Don’t worry, it last erupted in 1766. Just down the hill are mud baths where both tourists and locals go to cover themselves in medicinal mud, which gives a natural detox and soothes everything from sunburn to psoriasis. After a rinse off, head to nearby Anse Chastanet and climb the hill for stunning views of the Pitons, the two volcanic plugs that are a UNESCO world heritage site. Street life Most of us have a street party once in a blue moon. In St Lucia, they have one every Friday night. At sunset, the locals in the fishing village of Gros Islet set up sound systems, rum bars and barbecues, and everyone from families to late night revellers swing by to take in the atmosphere (we recommend heading to the beachfront fish fry for the day’s fresh catch – they’re open on Saturdays too). How to book British Airways flies to St Lucia from London Gatwick from £488 return. Windjammer Landing Resort offers hilltop one-bedroom villas from £539 per night. Book direct through Windjammer’s website, or through booking sites such as Booking.com. For more on St Lucia, click here.Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnTravel
