Flagship homes

The New York Post Traveled to St Lucia Recently to give their expert account of the island:

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IF heart-shaped Antigua is the ticker of the Caribbean (as it likes to remind everyone), then St. Lucia is most definitely its ample bosom.

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Just check out the emerald island’s pointy twin peaks, Gros Piton and Petit Peton. Jutting out of the island’s southwest coast, you’ll find these two volcanic cones on every postcard, every hotel brochure — the national beer’s even named in their honor.

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Freud could probably tell you why. But mountains resembling the female anatomy are just one reason to hit the island — with JetBlue one day into its first ever nonstop service to St. Lucia

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from JFK, it’s time to take a look at some best reasons to head to this chill little corner of the south Caribbean.

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1) NON-STOPPAGE American’s seasonal nonstop service to St. Lucia resumes on November 19, but you don’t have to wait (or worse: transfer in Miami) to hit the tropics. Yesterday, JetBlue

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launched its first-ever nonstop to Hewanorra International from JFK, operating three times a week. They’re offering a special starting fare of $129 each way when you book by Friday, good for travel between Nov. 2 and Feb. 8 (jetblue.com).

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2) LODGE FOR LESS With the economy the way it is, resorts and hotels are rolling out the deals. Over at the Stonefield Estate Villa Resort

, you can lounge like a Luddite in its Internet-and-TV-less rooms from $250/night through Dec. 21 — you won’t even notice they’re missing with the private plunge pools, wide hammocks (extra-person wide, wink wink) and the new Bamboo Door spa (if you absolutely, positively have to, there’s WiFi at the bar; stonefieldvillas.com). At the posh, 32-suite, hillside Ladera

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, you get 4 nights for the price of 3 for stays through Dec. 20; rates start at $480 (ladera.com). It’s a similar bargain over at Cotton Bay Village, the sole resort on the white sands of Cas en Bas beach: buy 4, stay 5 nights, with rates beginning at $275, good through Dec. 19 (cottonbayvillage.com). On the all-inclusive front, save up to 55% at the half-adult-only, half-family-friendly Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa. It starts at $97 per adult, based on double occ, $35 for teens 13-17, and $25 for kids 3-12. Use code JET09 to book, valid for stays through Dec. 20 (cbayresort.com).

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3) TWO-FER Geologists call those nearly-3,000-foot-tall Pitons “volcanic plugs,” but rocks-for-jocks types can just call them a great excuse to laze out on a chaise-lounge, find the bottom of a rum punch and take in some of the most unique topography in all the Americas. The Treehouse Restaurant at the renowned Jade Mountain download Arabian Nights dvd resort provides just about the most perfect vantage point of the World Heritage Site (jademountain.com). Hiking these pyramidal puppies, on the other hand, is a whole different animal. Petit Piton is out altogether ever since a fire eroded its surface — only few have tried, and by tried I mean fell. However, Gros Piton is totally doable, as long as you go with guide. Hit up the Gros Piton Tour Guide Association

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— it’s $30 for a four-hour hike along the nature trail (758-286-0382).

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4) ONE DAY! BEDY Oceanline’s two fast ferries — the (unfortunately named) BO1 and BO2 — were originally supposed to be carrying 260-300 passengers at a time between the islands of St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Trinidad in July. But after a few delays, their launch was pushed back to early October. Now, they’re simply “coming soon” — but the good news is BEDY has initiated manned test runs. We, and they, are hopeful by year’s end you’ll be able to fast-ferry from St. Lucia to its south Caribbean neighbors at up to 32 knots for as little as $120 roundtrip (bedytravel.com).

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5) NEW WAVE Slices video Mellow-yellow as St. Lucia is — it has the world’s only drive-in volcano, for crying out loud — you can still get your thrills. Take a kiteboarding course off Anse de Sables on the gustier, choppier Atlantic side of the island. Even the name of the company that’ll school you in the sport is extreme: The Tornado Center. Prices start at $210 a person for a beginner’s course — worth it just for the radio helmets (tornado-surf.com Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. download

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6) MAKE IT A QUICKIE Not interested in dropping anchor on the island? You can always just stop over for a half-day or so via cruise: an 8-night Southern Caribbean voyage on Carnival Miracle takes you to Castries, the capital, on day 5. The cruise departs from Ft. Lauderdale on Nov. 4 and 20 (from $529/pp; cruisesonly.com).

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7) PADI WAGON Renovated in ‘08, Island Divers isn’t your typical skeevy Caribbean dive shop. Located at and run by the Ti Kaye Village Resort in Anse Cochon Beach, the facility has a training room for certification, a brand new boat (after the last one “met with a dire and sudden end”), Mares equipment and an affable staff, each with a minimum of 10 years of diving time under their weighted belts. Their simple 5-hour scuba certification program — which, per “industry standards”, has to take place over two days — starts at $275, including all equipment (758-456-8110).

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR With Carnival and the Jazz Festival far, far, far in the rear view, St. Lucia gears up for a much more interesting annual must-see: the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). It’s a 2,700-nautical mile, transatlantic speed-off between 200 racer and cruiser yachts, now in its 13th year, kicking off next month in the Canary Islands. The 2-3 week-long race ends in St. Lucia’s Rodney Bay on Dec. 19 — meet ‘em at the finish line (worldcruising.com).

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9) OPEN MIKE Ghost Month video There’s only one thing that St. Lucians get their jollies over more so than cricket — good little British West Indies alum as they are — and that’s karaoke. Especially now when everyone’s still mourning the death of MJ in the only way they see fit. Toss back a few Pitons and go toe-to-toe with locals doing “Smooth Criminal” at the Late Lime nightclub, next door to The Lime restaurant in Rodney Bay (758-452-0761).

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More info: stlucia.org

Tags: New York Post, St Lucia

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 8:04 am and is filed under Tourism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.