If you have been to St.Lucia............

If you have been to St.Lucia............

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

I absolutely loved St. Lucia however, I think the outside areas are worse than Jamaica. The people are totally friendly and open you with welcome arms but it is so easy to get lost - there is nothing there, very poverty stricken. I would definetely recommend going with a tour...we actually had a private van and he took us around the whole island, touring the volcanos and stuff. He knew where to go and that was totally fine. good luck!

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

Actually, St Lucia is nothing like Jamaica. Yes, people are poor, but it's not as dangerous. Still, if you're not used to that sort of thing, I wouldn't go out without a tour. My husband and I did go out with a local friend of his, and people left us alone, but I'm used to traveling in iffy places and am good at the 'leave me alone' glare, and she was obviously a local. I did see a bunch of tourists get swarmed by people trying to sell them stuff, but I don't think they were in any danger, other than maybe getting pickpocketed. If you do go off site, I don't think you'll get attacked, which is a real possibility in Jamaica, from what I understand, but you might lose your wallet if you're not careful.

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

Actually, while in Soufriere, my FI and his friend were talking to a local (I dunno how a convo got started), but the local wanted them to walk over to some place with him and FI saw the guy was concealing a huge homemade machette and the guy def looked suspicious... They left there quick! Our boat guide even warned us not to wander too far away because of how the people are... maybe it was just the town we were in, but it was a lil creepy... I live in the Bronx, and for me to say that, they really must have had a bad effect on me...

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

i loved loved LOVED st. lucia...like any island it has it's parts that are 'slummish'.... but there are also parts like Rodney Bay that are absolutely GORGOUS and EXTREMELY wealthy. We did a tour of the entire island and it was great...u have someone that knows where there going & takes u to all the 'must sees' from waterfalls to volcanos to shopping and so on. I loved it :) no complaints.

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

ps: ask around for a private tour guide....we went with another couple we had met - and toured the ENTIRE island for only $80 per couple....the resort would've done the same thing for almost $300! crazy...and we had way more fun 'cause it was just us :)

Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

Soufriere did look pretty slummy, I have to say. As a basic sort of safety rule, if someone local chats you up and then wants you to walk away with him to a less populated area, say you're late and leave immediately! If that happened in NYC you'd know to leave. He was probably going to mug your FI. Who knows if he would have used the machete (they're pretty common around there for work, it's not just a big nasty knife, I saw people using them in the fields and even at Sandals) but if any tourist was threatened with a machete, they'd give their wallets over quickly. However, I've heard some terrible stuff about Jamaica, like they'd use the machete on you for fun or gang violence, not to rob you. Which is why I think Jamaica's worse than St Lucia. This is an old story, but years ago my aunt's ex-husband was an engineer working on a big building project in Jamaica--it wasn't a resort, it was more likely new roads, an electrical plant, water plant, he did that sort of thing. Anyway, the locals did NOT want them to build whatever it was, and not only did they get shot at, they had to have armed guards patrolling the fenced perimeter and it was dangerous to go in or out because gangs of men armed with machetes would chase after the cars and trucks going in and out. That's dangerous.

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Posted by FuTuRe MrS MaZz
Actually, while in Soufriere, my FI and his friend were talking to a local (I dunno how a convo got started), but the local wanted them to walk over to some place with him and FI saw the guy was concealing a huge homemade machette and the guy def looked suspicious... They left there quick! Our boat guide even warned us not to wander too far away because of how the people are... maybe it was just the town we were in, but it was a lil creepy... I live in the Bronx, and for me to say that, they really must have had a bad effect on me...

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Re: If you have been to St.Lucia............

Well, my husband just told me that there's a State Department travel advisory out about gang violence in St Lucia. So...stick to a tour group! I never felt unsafe while I was there, even when we were out with my husband's friend--who is not some big guy, either, but a slim pretty girl in her twenties. (She runs IT at the local hospital. Really nice girl, loves living on St Lucia.)

St Lucia is a wonderful place, and I can't wait to go back. But it's prudent to be careful wherever you go. Two years ago my sister and I wanted to go to a museum in London, which we didn't realize was in a very iffy neighborhood. We got out of the Tube and walked a few blocks, and nearly turned right back around, but we wanted to see it, so we just walked fast and did our best to look like savvy urban dwellers. And we were fine, but I wouldn't have been surprised if we got mugged there, even in broad daylight.