We are planning a diving trip in October, possibly too St. Lucia. After some research , and never trusting travel agents (sorry too any agents who might be reading this)we would like too know if maybe someone else could give their opinion on this would be beutiful island. Any tips would be apreciated.
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I have been to St. Lucia twice over the past year. I am a travel agent who specializes in Belize travel but I can honestly say that St. Lucia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been!!! It is an all day trip from Texas (where I'm from). I would recommend NOT renting a car, unless you are familiar with driving on the left side of the road, up winding roads, that are quite run down. I can tell you that although this is a beautiful country, I never really felt at ease. There seems to be alot of soliciting by locals, and one gentleman even came to our hotel room and knocked on the door to try to sell us things. I realize this is common, but not to the extent that we experienced it. While walking around town, we were offered drugs several times as well. I would recommend a resort/hotel with 24 hour security. I stayed at a different place the second time, and although it was quite expensive, it was AMAZING...and no one soliciting us!

I spent a couple of weeks in St. Lucia last month. It is beautiful and I would go back. We stayed at Mago Estate Hotel. Wonderful family run hotel. It's about 1500' from the waterfront (all up a steep hill) which is just far enough to keep most of the local traffic away. I'd suggest staying in Soufriere and diving with Scuba ST.Lucia. Castries is a big city with more crime. Most local hotels have fulltime security guys that patrol all night. There is more hustling of the tourists there than in most Caribbean Islands. There are about 4 people in downtown Soufriere that will ask for a change, etc. From what other locals tell me, they're crack addicts. If I'm just passing through, I never give these people anything. But if I'm going to be around town for a while, I befriend them, give them a couple of bucks (literally $2) with two understandings: (1) don't ask for anymore this trip and (2) tell the other guys not to bother me. Works great. I continued to chat with them each day but they never asked for money again. One was especially colorful and I did a bunch of photography of him. If you're interested in more info, email me and I'll send my phone number. I did rent a car and scoured the entire island. It's a little scary at first but you'll adapt quickly. Coral diversity was great in St. Lucia than anywhere else I've been in the Caribbean including Bonaire. Fish life was only OK. All drift diving but the current was slow enough to do photography..tom