Saint Lucia: Getting there & around

St Lucia has two airports: Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort, at the remote southern tip of the island, and Vigie Airport in Castries, near the main tourist area. International flights land at Hewanorra, while flights from within the Caribbean generally land at Vigie. Most visitors will find it more convenient to book a flight into Vigie. You can fly direct to St Lucia from New York, Miami, Toronto and London.

L'Express des Iles operates an 80-minute express catamaran between Castries and Fort-de-France in Martinique. If you come in by yacht you can clear customs and immigration at Rodney Bay, Castries, Vieux Fort and Marigot Bay.

Marigot Bay is the easiest place to clear the bureaucracy because you can anchor in the inner harbour and dinghy over to the customs office. Cruise ships dock in Castries Harbour.

The Caribbean's major inter-island carrier, LIAT, has flights between St Lucia and Caracas as well as daily nonstop flights to Vigie Airport from Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Martinique, St Vincent and Trinidad. Caribbean Star and BWIA also fly between St Lucia and other Caribbean islands. Air passengers leaving St Lucia pay a 54.00 departure tax.

Taxis are plentiful at the airports, in Castries and in the main resort areas. Always establish the fare with the driver before you get in, doubly so if you want to do anything 'unusual', like stopping to see a view.

St Lucia is only 44km (27mi) in length and 23km (14mi) in width, but its hilly terrain can slow you down. Most islanders use the cheap, convenient minivan bus service to get to town, school or work. Services are frequent on main routes (such as Castries to Gros Islet) during the day, but getting a bus after dark can be challenging. Very few buses run on Sunday. If there's no bus stop nearby, you can wave buses down en route as long as there's space for the bus to pull over.

There are car rental agencies at the airports and at Rodney Bay. Unless you have an International Driving Permit, you'll need to purchase a local license, which can be picked up from immigration at both Hewanorra International Airport and Vigie Airport. If you don't get a license on arrival, most car rental companies will either issue one or take you to a nearby police station to get one. Remember to drive on the left.