First-hand stories, useful guides and the people and places behind them.
St. Lucia pottery is still dug, pounded, coiled and fired by hand by the women potters of the south. Irene Alphonse, 70, learned it from her mother at nine, makes coal pots to order and has more customers than pots.
Stay at Balenbouche Estate, between Laborie and Choiseul, for the quiet south of St. Lucia, your own kitchen and black sand beaches. Laborie suits village life, Vieux Fort the airport and kitesurfing, Soufrière the Pitons.
Where to stay in the Caribbean comes down to what you want the land to give you. Jamaica for food and culture, St. Lucia for the Pitons and real healing, Dominica for wild rainforest, Turks and Caicos for clear water. Ten islands, the best base on each and the eco stays that pass our checks.
Mount Kailash is the only stay in St. Lucia where the garden feeds every meal. Fond Doux, Rabot and the Emerald Estate resorts farm for real but serve seafood and meat on top. Every farm to table claim on the island, checked against its own words.
Stay in Soufrière for the Pitons, the quiet south for village life near Hewanorra, the central mountains to heal and Rodney Bay for nightlife. Every area, attraction, airport and price in St. Lucia, checked.