Transport options on the island of St. Lucia.

If you have been following earlier posts you will have learnt a little about this beautiful island of St. Lucia, some tips on how to get here and where to stay. Now some information about transport options during your time on the island and for such a small island public transport is really quite good and convenient.

If you are on or near a main route (for instance if you want to go to the capital Castries, or even further south from Rodney Bay) buses are very convenient and cheap. There are designated bus stops but if you hail one they will stop anywhere, likewise when you want to get off, just ask the driver to stop. All are mini buses and can be identified by their green registration plates, prefixed with the letter 'M'. The procedure is to pay on arrival at your destination, not when you get on. There is no fixed schedule but there are many of them and they just run up and down their routes all day, so you rarely have to wait more than a few minutes. If you are setting out at the beginning of a route you will normally find them lined up and then leave as the first in line fills up, and so on. One word of caution, a few drive with careless abandon, particularly on the longer journeys down to places like Vieux Fort in the south, so you might want to restrict your use of the buses to shorter more local trips. If nevertheless you decide to continue your journey south of Castries you will need to change buses there.

Taxis, like the buses are plentiful so you will never have a problem finding one. Of course your hotel will always arrange for you or alternatively there are a number of taxi ranks in the towns and larger villages. In the Rodney Bay area there is one in the village itself, one at the supermarket and another at the marina. Many taxis specialize in tours to the places of interest including round the island tours. A great number of them are in fact mini buses and can be identified from the actual buses by their red or blue registration plates, prefixed with the letters 'TX'. They are almost without exception clean and tidy. The first time you use a taxi the driver will almost certainly give you a business card and ask you to call him for any future requirements, so if he is good you can do just that and in all probability by the end of your stay you will have a good friend! Again if he is good he will be able to recommend some of the worthwhile places to visit. One final word of advice, taxis here do not have meters and so it is important to agree a price before setting out on the journey.

If you want to be more independent car hire is another option. There are many operators on the island including some of the international companies. They will offer advice on where to go (and probably where not to) and normally supply you with a map, although maps here are very basic and do not show many of the smaller roads.

Driving here is on the left and a word of caution, many of the roads are narrow, particularly in the towns and villages and there are many very steep hills. Also road names and signposts are almost nonexistent. Quite often you end up on un-surfaced roads so you should be a little cautious and not too ambitious in terms of the places you endeavor to go.

To drive you will need to obtain a local Temporary Driving Permit. These will normally be issued through the car rental company but if not they can be obtained at the Immigration Department at Hewanorra airport, at the police station in Gros Islet (Rodney Bay) or from the Motor Transport Department located just north of the capital Castries. You will need to produce your driving licence from your home country and the cost is 54 East Caribbean dollars, valid for 3 months. They will also issue one for a single day if that is all you need.

It is also possible to travel down the coast by boat. There are several options and I will make another post covering some of those tours.

Of course everyone has their own ideas and requirements and where you stay will to some extent dictate what you need. However, in general (particularly if you are staying in the Rodney Bay area) I would suspect the best way would be to take advantage of each of the above options depending on the type of journey and place you want to visit on any given day. It would probably not be beneficial to rent a car for the whole duration of your stay, as it could end up parked at your hotel for a significant part of the time.

Finally, if you are a regular follower of the Tropical Trader you will already be aware of a beautiful property for sale here in St. Lucia but for the benefit of new viewers please take a look at the posting of 15 December 2009, or click here for full details.