How To Spend 5 Days in St. Lucia

The eastern Caribbean gem of St. Lucia is a diver’s paradise. No matter where you are on the island, you’re never more than a short boat ride to a spectacular dive site. With five days to explore, you’ll be able to see the best of what St. Lucia has to offer.

DAY 1

Get your fins wet at Anse Cochon North. This easy reef site is the perfect place for a re-introduction to scuba if you haven’t had the chance to dive for a while before your trip. Depth ranges from 5 to 60 feet, and with patches of coral, boulders and sand, there’s plenty of diversity. Octopus, moray eels and turtles are frequent visitors, as well as more elusive species like frogfish. Access to the site is easiest from Ti Kaye resort, where you can spend an entire day diving with Island Divers and relaxing on a pristine black sand beach.

After you surface, head to the resort’s Ti Manje restaurant for al fresco dining overlooking the Caribbean Sea. A guava barbecued pulled pork wrap, fresh-cut sweet potato fries and banana ketchup — a St. Lucian delicacy — will satisfy even the biggest post-dive appetite.

Lounge the afternoon away on Ti Kaye’s cove beach, then cap the day off with a nighttime shore dive. There’s a reef just off the beach that’s known for its abundance of tiny, unique animals like frogfish and seahorses. Even the most unlucky creature spotters will have a great chance to lay eyes on these bucket-list species, plus basket stars, sleeping parrotfish and plenty of active crustaceans.

DAY 2

To start your second day on the island, tour a famous wreck site with Eastern Caribbean Divers, which is run out of the beautiful Windjammer Landing resort. The Lesleen M was purpose-sunk by the St. Lucia Department of Fisheries in 1985. The artificial reef is 165 feet long and lies upright at a max depth of 60 feet. In and around the ship’s wide-open cargo hold, which has enough natural light to make it safe for exploration by novice divers, you’ll see anything from moray eels and sea turtles to spider crabs and large schools of tropical fish.

After your morning dive, take in some of the terrestrial beauty and rich history of St. Lucia at the historic Pigeon Island National Landmark. The island was used as a military base for years as countries fought over the land, and the remains of the original fort are still standing. In addition to a bar, two restaurants and two beautifully secluded beaches, Pigeon Island also offers one of the most spectacular lookout points on St. Lucia. A short but steep hike will take you up through the fort to the gun platform, which gives you an incredible view of the island’s northwest coastline. In the distance to the south, you’ll see St. Lucia’s iconic Pitons. To the north, spot the neighboring island of Martinique.

DAY 3

Advanced divers, head to the Daini Koyomaru. This 224-foot wreck sits in 70 to 110 feet of seawater. When the Daini Koyomaru was sunk in 1996, an air pocket turned the ship upside-down, making diver penetration a bit confusing. Luckily, the outside of the ship has more than enough excitement to fill a dive. Since its sinking, the Daini Koyomaru has attracted much sea life. She’s now encrusted with gorgonians, tube and barrel sponges and home to French angelfish, spotted moray eels and barracuda. If you’ve got a sharp eye, you might be able to spot the pair of seahorses that hang out around the bow of the ship. In the sand around the wreck, look for garden eels poking their heads out and swaying in the gentle current.

To see more of the lush topside beauty of St. Lucia, make your way down to the Toraille Waterfall in the afternoon. It’s just a short walk to get to the 50-foot falls, so you can spend less time hiking and more time taking in the beauty and indulging in a refreshing dip in the natural pool below. The waterfall is located near the town of Soufriere, where you’ll want to spend the last days of your trip.

DAY 4

Arguably the best diving on the island is found in the Pitons Management Area. The famous “twin peaks” of St. Lucia are as stunning underwater as they are topside. Diving with Scuba St. Lucia out of Anse Chastanet Resort, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is right in your backyard.

Bright orange sponges, royal purple gorgonians, neon yellow tube sponges and massive red barrel sponges polka-dot the reef, turning the area into an unforgettable kaleidoscope of colors. There are multiple dive sites to choose from. For an easy morning dive, check out Fairyland. Because of converging northern and southern currents, the waters at Fairyland are nutrient-rich, attracting more marine life than other surrounding sites including many types of reef fish, stingrays, octopus and even a huge resident school of crevalle jack.

On your surface interval, take in the grandiosity of the Pitons. Then drop below the surface once more, this time at Superman’s Flight. On this drift dive, named for St. Lucia’s cameo appearance in the movie Superman II, you’ll really feel like you’re taking flight over the reef. Let the current do the work as you soar over swaying gorgonians, healthy corals and giant sponges, coming across several species of grouper and snapper, moray eels, schools of blue tang and more.

DAY 5

At Anse Chastanet, spectacular diving is just steps from your room. The house reef has been long recognized as one of the best shore dives in all of the Caribbean. It plateaus at about 25 feet, then drops off, plummeting to 140 feet. This allows you to explore the best of both shallow and wall diving, seeing species like hawksbill sea turtles, spiny lobsters and spotted eagle rays, plus thick schools of grunts.

Depending on your flight time, either squeeze in an afternoon dive in the Piton Management Area — Turtle Reef or Trou Diableor are excellent options — or just kick back on Anse Chastanet’s private beach.

In the evening, head south for a local street party. The Anse La Rey Fish Fry happens each Friday night and is full of local food, drinks and music. Dancing the night away under stars and streetlights makes for a perfect ending to your Caribbean getaway.