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Castries & Marigot Bay holidays
Take a buzzing capital, throw in a busy port and trim with bays so pretty they’ll blow your sandals off. The result? Charming Castries on St. Lucia’s western coast.
- Flight time
- 9h
- From London
- Currency
- EC$
- Eastern Caribbean Dollar
- Time zone
- GMT -4h
Package holidays to Castries and Marigot Bay
Getting to Castries and Marigot Bay
George F. L. Charles Airport (SLU) is in the Castries district and serves as an inter-island airport with flights to Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The drive from here to most hotels in Castries takes 10 minutes, Choc Beach is 5 minutes away and you can reach Marigot Bay in about half an hour.
For flights from further afield, St Lucia’s main airport is Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) on the south end of the island in Vieux Fort. The drive from here to most locations in the Castries district takes about an hour. UVF has direct flights from Gatwick (with a journey time of around 9 hours) as well as Miami, New York, Chicago and Boston. Transfers often come included with your hotel package - if not, you can book a transfer or hire a car from the airport.
Other ways to get to Castries include the ferry from Martinique – this and cruise ships regularly stop in Port Castries.
Average weather in Castries and Marigot Bay
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Holidays in Castries & Marigot Bay
Doolittles at the Marigot Bay Beach Club tends to steal the show in these parts, much loved for its happy hours and cocktails (try the Pink Parrot or dumb-punch). Craft beer buffs can try the likes of Passionfruit Pale Ale at the Antillia Brewing Company, while Rum Therapy on Point Seraphine is popular with cruise ship passengers, with good drinks deals, live singing and karaoke. Something well worth doing while in the area is heading down to Anse La Raye for the Friday night fish fry – eat street food, drink Pitons with the locals and enjoy the music as the sunsets.
Soak up some history with your supper at the Pink Plantation House, which is surrounded by tropical gardens and has brilliant views over the harbour and Rat Island. The catch of the day is cooked terrifically, and followed by amazing desserts like cheesecake, pancakes and crème brûlée.
They’re not the easiest restaurants to find, but the Coal Pot and Brown Sugar (in the Vigie Cove off Seraphine Road) are worth seeking out for tasty seafood on the waterside.
For Asian-fusion food, try Masala Bay (ask for a table by the balcony).
One of the coolest eateries on the island is the Rainforest Hideaway in Marigot Bay, which is surrounded by mangroves and reachable only by boat from the pier. The chefs here were some of St Lucia’s first to serve lionfish to help the environment and introduce tasty new seafood – and boy do they cook it well. It’s a place to eat good food, listen to jazz and look out over the bay as candles and fairy lights twinkle around you.
With the bulk of St Lucia’s population living here, hordes of hotels and a busy cruise ship terminal, Castries has become one of the best places for shopping on the island. The town market takes place under a bright orange tin roof in the town centre and is especially buzzing on Saturdays when the farmers come to town with the week’s produce.
By the cruise port, Pointe Seraphine’s Shopping Complex has a gaggle of duty-free shops selling perfume, spirits and souvenirs from Pirana Joe and beachwear at Crazy Al’s Beach Shack and Surfer’s Paradise. There’s also La Place Carenage on Jeremie Street which sells VAT free goodies. The Blue Coral Shopping Mall is less touristy, with shops selling electronics, cosmetics and everyday clothing. Look out for indie shops too – like the one at the Pink Plantation House (amazing pottery) and Caribelle Batik (beautiful fabrics).
Activities in Castries & Marigot Bay
Watersports
Diving in Castries & Marigot Bay
This stretch of the island is superbly positioned for access to some excellent dive sites. To the north of Castries Harbour, the Bone Yard is a sunken WWII vessel and (what looks like) an aeroplane wing, occupied by tropical fish, lobsters and corals. The Anse La Raye Wall gradually edges down to a bouldery slope, covered in coral and a favourite spot for pufferfish and rays (Anse La Raye = bay of the rays). Another popular place to dive is Virgin’s Cove, which was named to commemorate a shipwreck when a group of nuns were lost at sea. A cross marks the site, and beneath it, barrel sponges and corals spread out to form a beautiful wall dive. But by far the best place around here for divers is Anse Cochon – the beach has colourful reefs to the north and south (look out for turtles) and the southern end is also home to two wrecks: Lesleen M is a 165ft cargo vessel that was purpose-sunk in the eighties. These days it’s covered in corals and you can swim in and explore the engine room. The bigger and newer of the two is Daini Koyomaru, a wrecked Japanese dredger that was sunk in ’96 and has developed as an artificial reef for advanced divers. If you’re looking for PADI courses or tours, check out local dive companies like Dive Fair Helen.
Surfing in Castries & Marigot Bay
Marigot Bay is the main surfing spot in these parts (a point break right-hander), and when the swell’s behaving it’s a blast to play about in. It isn’t the most reliable break on the island though, so you might want to head up to Gros Islet for more consistent conditions at Pigeon Point, Commaret Point and Windjammer. We haven’t found any surf companies providing hire yet, so if you’re keen to surf you’ll want to bring your surfboard with you.
The calm nature of the sea here is generally better suited to stand up paddling – take your own board with you (the inflatables are good when it comes to packing) or see if your hotel has equipment for guests to use.
Windsurfing & kitesurfing in Castries & Marigot Bay
From Castries, you can access St Lucia’s best wind and kitesurf beaches by driving north for half an hour to Plantation Beach or south for an hour to Anse des Sables. On the nearer spot, Plantation Beach (AKA Cas en Bas) is home to Aquaholics and Kitesurfing St Lucia, who provide equipment rental, lessons and supervised sessions. The trade winds are brilliantly consistent here, with the curved bay being reef-protected and swells found further upwind. Down in des Sables, the bay is also reef-protected with a reliable cross-shore breeze from the left.
Sailing in Castries & Marigot Bay
While Rodney Bay further up the coast is the head of St Lucia’s sailing scene (if you want lessons or bareboat, that’s your place), Castries’ offerings are still pretty impressive. Last time we checked, local company Bateau Mygo provided full and half-day crewed catamaran charters including food and drink, and it’s also possible to arrange multiday trips to Martinique and St Vincent. The Marigot Bay Marina provides skippered day sails, and you can usually join tours from here up to Pigeon Island or down to Soufriere. If you want to work on technique, the bigger resorts and hotels have watersports centres with a fleet of Hobie’s for the use of guests.
Fishing in Castries & Marigot Bay
Castries Harbour is a brilliant set-off point for deep-sea fishing, with local companies like Captain Mike’s – run by the talented Hackshaw brothers – providing sportfishing trips. Marlin, Mahi Mahi and sailfish make regular appearances in these waters, and fishing charters come with all the gear and expertise you’ll need to have the best possible chance of a catch.
Canoeing & kayaking in Castries & Marigot Bay
Marigot Bay’s the hub of paddling action over here, excellently positioned for kayak tours down the coast to Anse La Raye village (for a taste of proper St Lucian life), Anse Cochon (for incredible snorkelling) and Soufriere (for a close encounter with the iconic Pitons). You can also head north to the buzzing tourist hub of Rodney Bay and historic Pigeon Island, or opt to kayak over to the Roseau River for a jaunt between shady mangroves. Besides the local tour companies, a lot of the big hotels and all-inclusives have a fleet of ocean kayaks for guests to use in the local waters.
Land activities
Golf in Castries & Marigot Bay
The capital is where you’ll find the Sandals La Toc 9-hole course, which plays to 3,141 yards, par 33. It might not be the biggest course in the Caribbean, but it certainly has a bite – narrow holes, unpredictable winds and lots of jungle terrain to swallow up errant golf balls. As your technique’s tested, the rewards are bountiful: sizzling sunshine, rolling hills each way you turn and a view of the sea from the fourth tee. If that leaves you itching for fairways new, head north to the Cap Estate, where the St. Lucia Golf Club is the island’s only 18-holer.
Cycling & mountain biking in Castries & Marigot Bay
Castries is well-positioned for a variety of two-wheeled experiences – you can head south to the mountain bike forest trails of Soufriere, north for a fatbike tour from the cricket stadium, or east for a ride to Dennery’s waterfall. The route down the coast to Soufriere is worth a peddle, with testing but rewarding rainforest sections, and you can continue down to Vieux Fort to explore further.
Walking & hiking in Castries & Marigot Bay
There are some splendid walks in and around Castries: the Barre de L'isle trail in the Forest Reserve leads along the ridge on the divide of the island’s east and western sides. About a mile long, the walk to the ridge takes about an hour and there are some incredible views of Mount Gimmie and the rainforest from the lookout points. Another favourite is the Forestierre trail, which goes along an old road built by the French and leads through the rainforest. For animal lovers, the Union Nature Trail’s an easy hour-long loop with a visitor centre and mini zoo. There’s also the Millet Bird Sanctuary trail for twitchers, which usually takes a couple of hours – look out for the St Lucia Parrot, St Lucia Black Finch and St Lucia Warbler.
