How do I get to the island of St. Lucia?

The simple answer is, quite easily. Quite easily because unlike some of the Caribbean islands, St. Lucia has two airports, one of which can take all sizes of aircraft including Boeing 747 jumbo jets, which facilitates direct long haul international flights.

The larger one of the two is Hewenorra (UVF) situated in the very south of the island at Vieux Fort. The second smaller one is George F.L. Charles (SLU) located at Vigie, Castries and caters to the smaller prop driven inter island aircraft. Hewenorra is shown on the photograph (click on it to enlarge and you will easily see an American airlines jet on the runway).

There are several long haul international flights each week:-

U.S.A. American Airlines and Jet Blue.

Canada. Air Canada.
United Kingdom. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic    .

Germany. Condor, although this is only seasonal at present.

Most travellers from Europe transit in London.

The vast majority of visitors stay in the Rodney Bay area of the island which is in the extreme north and a little under a one and a half hour drive from Hewenorra. Conversely George F.L. Charles is only about a 15 minute drive to the same location.

On arrival at Hewenorra there are several alternative means of transferring to the north. Most common is by taxi (many of which are actually mini buses so can easily take a family and luggage). There are plenty of them and they are clean and tidy. However, there are no meters in St. Lucian taxis so make sure you agree the price before beginning the journey.

Some hotels provide transfers and so check with your hotel prior to leaving home. All the larger hotels and resorts have staff and information desks at the airport to assist their clients.

By far the cheapest route is by bus but this takes longer and requires a change of buses in Castries if proceeding on to the Rodney Bay area. I would not recommend this option unless you are travelling light and are a true budget traveller.

If on the other hand you want to transfer quickly and in style there is a helicopter service which takes passengers to the George F.L. Charles airport and then by road to the final destination. Apart from the speed this affords spectacular views during daylight hours so you get the additional benefit of seeing the island like very few others do!

One final note. Both airports run alongside fantastic beaches so it is quite realistic to take a last swim just prior to departure. Not many places offer that facility!