Renting a car

[meliss35]

Has anyone rented a car in St. Lucia for the day? How are the roads? We would like to see the drive in volcano, botanical gardens for the waterfalls, soufriere, the beach with the view of the pitons.

[karenbf]

We just got back from St. Lucia and other ports. DO NOT rent a car from Budget there. I tried to confirm ahead of time that they had our reservation. They didn't have it and hung up on me. I called the national Budget number and they found my reservation. They assured me that they fax the reservations to the local franchises the day before because their computer systems don't sync. Sure enough, when we landed in St. Lucia, I called to get picked up at the pier. They didn't have our reservation.

 

We ended up renting from National Car Rental right there at the pier. I highly recommend them. The girl was very nice and matched the price Budget was offering. We had a brand new car that served our purposes very nicely.

 

Now, about driving in St. Lucia. I do recommend it with a big caution. You are driving on the left here and it is very stressful. We went all around the island but we were scared we weren't going to make it back to the ship in time. There are no street or highway signs. You will have to ask directions many times. There are concrete drainage gutters on many of the streets. If you don't watch your left curb, you will fall in and require a tow truck to get the car out. The person in the front passenger seat gets the duty of yelling out curb, gutter, person, car or whatever the driver is getting ready to hit with the car. I can't emphasize enough how stressful it is.

 

Here's what we did. We went south to Anse La Raye. Watch out for people trying to sell you beads, or tell you about the area. At the top of the hill there is a roadside stop called The View. They have a very clean bathroom you can use for $1 US. Believe me, it was worth every penny. Also, I got bottled water here (had ice in it!) for $1.50. AND there was a great view with no beggars!

 

On to Soufriere. Had to ask question about how to get to Ladera resort. Had lunch there with a wonderful view of the Pitons. On around to Vieux Fort, and the point there. Great views. On to Dennery and back to the port.

 

I wish we had had time to go on up to the Pigeon Point area. But, as I mentioned, no time.

 

You'll notice other than a couple of stops for views, the only thing we did that day was have lunch at Ladera. This island is deceptive in it's size and the amount of time it takes to drive it.

 

Also, we never felt completely safe here. Lots of people in towns wanting you to roll down your window to "help" you. Some even stood right in front of the car to make you stop. When you are in the more remote areas, almost everyone is walking around with a machete. We didn't ask any of them for directions.

 

Ask me questions, if you need to.