Saint Lucia Itineraries: Ready-Made Ideas for Your Trip

How to use these plans

Each itinerary is a starting point. Swap days, add rest days and move activities around to suit the weather and your energy. Journeys on the island take longer than the map suggests, so our getting around guide and how many days guide are worth reading first.

Whichever plan you choose, where you stay shapes the trip, and our trip planning page can help you turn an itinerary into a booking.

How do I choose the right Saint Lucia itinerary for my holiday?

Choose your Saint Lucia itinerary by deciding what you most want from the days: iconic sights for a first visit, rainforest for nature lovers, village life and food for culture seekers, easy days for families or sea and sand for swimmers. Our five plans each follow one of those moods, so the quickest way to choose is to read the opening of each and see which one makes you want to pack. If you are torn, think about what you would regret missing. Most people know instantly. Start with the iconic Saint Lucia plan if you are visiting for the first time, because it threads together the best known places at a gentle pace and shows you the island's range in just five days.

Think also about the people you are travelling with. A couple who love walking will enjoy the nature and rainforest plan, while a family with young children will be happier with the gentler pace of the family fun plan. Friends who like food and music may find the culture and local experiences plan the best fit. Every plan can be adapted, so treat them as starting points rather than rules, and keep your own energy levels in mind, since a holiday that suits the least energetic member of the group is usually the one that everyone enjoys most, whatever the age or fitness of those travelling.

Your base matters as much as your plan. A northern base suits the sea and beach plan and the family plan, with short journeys and plenty of restaurants, while a southern base makes the nature and iconic plans easier. Our hotels in Saint Lucia pages explain the character of each resort, and our getting around guide explains how journeys work. Choose the plan first, the base second, and then the details of tours and transfers, and the holiday will fall into place without the feeling of rushing between places that are further apart than they look on a map, or of spending half the week in a car.

Can I combine two Saint Lucia itineraries in one holiday?

You can combine two Saint Lucia itineraries in a holiday of ten nights or more, for example the sea and beach plan in the north followed by the nature and rainforest plan in the south, but a week is better kept to one theme with a few borrowed days. Combining plans means moving between regions, and the road between the north and the south is long and winding. Each transfer costs the best part of a morning, so make sure the change of scene is worth it. Our how many days guide helps you judge how much time each region deserves, and how to avoid the common mistake of trying to cover too much in too few nights.

A neat way to mix plans is to keep one base and borrow a day or two. If you are staying in the north and following the family fun plan, you might borrow one day from the iconic plan for a long trip south, or an afternoon from the culture plan for the capital. If you are staying in the south and following the nature plan, borrow a boat day from the sea and beach plan. Our beaches in Saint Lucia and things to do pages give extra ideas to slot into the gaps, from a snorkelling stop to a visit to a cocoa estate, a waterfall or a quiet botanical garden on a rainy afternoon.

Leave slack, because combined plans are easy to overfill. Weather, tiredness and spontaneous discoveries will change the schedule, and the holiday is better for it. Treat one day in every four as a free day, with no booking and nothing to prove. If you are celebrating, see our honeymoon inspiration page for ideas on how to blend adventure and rest. A good combination feels like a story with a beginning, middle and end, rather than a list of places, and it leaves you with a clear memory of each part of the island instead of a blur of long drives, quick photographs and hurried lunches.

How do I turn a sample itinerary into my own Saint Lucia holiday plan?

To turn a sample itinerary into your own Saint Lucia plan, keep the order of the days, swap activities that do not suit you, build in a free half day, check opening days and book the few things that need advance notice, such as guided hikes, boat trips and special dinners. Start by writing your dates and the nights you have. Slot the sample days around arrival and departure, which are rarely full days. Then adjust for your own interests. If you do not like heights, skip the climb. If you love food, add a cooking class from our Creole cooking classes guide, and if you love the sea, swap a land day for a boat day, keeping the overall balance of the week.

Check practicalities next. Some attractions are closed on certain days, markets are busiest on particular mornings, and street parties happen on Fridays. Make a rough timetable, then speak to your hotel concierge, who can confirm details and book drivers. If rain is forecast, move outdoor items and use ideas from our rainy day ideas guide. A plan that bends is better than a plan that breaks, and the most satisfying itineraries are those that make room for the odd detour, the long lunch and the afternoon you decide to spend entirely in the water, with a book, a cold drink and nothing at all to do.

Finally, share your plan with your travelling companions and ask what each person most wants from the trip. Let everyone choose one highlight. Build the days around those, and the holiday will feel generous rather than imposed. If you need help, send your dates and interests through the trip planning page, and we will point you in the right direction. Once the framework is set, relax, because the island will provide the rest, and the best moments are often the ones nobody wrote down in advance, such as a sunset from an unexpected viewpoint, a conversation with a fisherman or a plate of something delicious from a roadside stall.

Building an itinerary with a feel for the island

Each itinerary works better when you know the landscape it crosses. Geography shows how places connect, and districts and towns describes what each area offers.

To choose between a history day and a nature day, see the history of Saint Lucia and wildlife and ecology. Both help you decide which route to follow.

Matching an itinerary to your hotel

Every itinerary works better from the right base, so compare hotels in St Lucia before you commit. Jade Mountain, Sugar Beach and Ladera put you beside the Pitons, while Cap Maison is the northern alternative.

To finish your holiday in St Lucia, read about the best time to visit, getting here and honeymoon ideas.

Questions travellers ask