Cosol - Reduit Beach or Jalouise?

[Trish Traveler]

Cosol - Reduit Beach or Jalouise?

I'm confused, maybe some of you recent Cosol tourers can clear this up. Most posts say that the beach they went to was between the Pitons, some calling it Jalouise. The info from the Cosol website lists Reduit Beach which on the map is north of Castries, not by the Pitons? Also, did you stop at the straw market that it is listed here? One more question, Do you basically take the same road south as back north, so that it is winding both directions? Thank you.

 

From the Cosol website:

Drive back to the north of the island and enjoy freshly baked bread, hot out of the a local stone oven on the way to Reduit Beach for Swimming and Snorkeling. Stop at the Straw Market in Castries, and Duty Free Shopping areas. Situated in Castries, La Place Carenage is an air-conditioned, duty-free shopping complex. Pointe Seraphine is conveniently located within walking distance of the city of Castries, and consists of thirty-nine shops, offering silk-screened items, porclain and china, cigarettes, Liquor, leather goods, and a wide selection of arts and crafts.

[TypeAGal]

Trish...

 

The great thing about Cosol is he can kind of adjust the tour to your desires - so long as everyone agrees. On our tour (which we loved), we did not go to the straw market, however at one of our stops there was a man sitting peacefully making beautiful baskets. A number of us bought one. It was amazing to see them being made right in front of your eyes.

 

As for the beach, we went to Jalouise. A couple of pros a couple of cons. Let me first say that we asked to there. The beach is gorgeous and the drive there is amazing. There is a swimming side and a snorkeling side. It was some of the best snorkling I have done and I have done a lot. Good variety of fish, we saw a school of baby squid and some big fish eat little fishies.

 

There were nice bathroom facilities and changing areas.

 

The cons - it was a quick visit - 1 hour - barely enugh time to change, get equipment on and in the water...and then out again. It is a resort that allows the use of its beach. This means the hamburger at the restauant was $20. The all you can east buffet was $45. That did not includ the 15% service charge and the 15% tax. Take food off the boat with you or consider other options.

 

Having said that, I am so glad we stopped there. Maybe someone else will pop on who has been to the other beach.

 

Good luck and enjoy your trip. Cosol was our favorite all-day tour. Friendly, clean cans, lots of stops and a true taste of the island in all it's glory.

 

Leslie

[dkbryan]

Trish...I agree with Leslie that Cosol's tour was our favorite. When my DW and I cruised on the Serenade of the Seas in January, we did 4 all day tours and felt that Cosol's was the best. We did not stop at the Straw Market, but there was some shopping along the way. My DW bought some necklaces for our daughters. You can look up the Jalousie Resort on the internet. You can also see some pictures from our time with Cosol by clicking here: Our Day In St. Lucia .

 

The time allowed for snorkeling is short--about an hour. However, it is some of the best snorkeling I have done (I have also snorkeled in St. Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Costa Maya). My wife wasn't going to snorkel, but when I swam out I told her that she would be sorry if she didn't join me. She wasn't disappointed. There are large sponges, hard and soft corals, a variety of fish, and lots of reef to be covered. You will need to take you own snorkeling gear. Fins would be helpful, but we didn't use any and got along just fine.

 

Enjoy your trip!:cool:

[dkbryan]

Oops! One more thing. About the roads. Since St. Lucia is a volcanic island, the roads go up, down, and around the hills. There are very few straight roads. I tend to get carsick, but I didn't have any problems. The vans Cosol uses are very new and the air conditioning works great. Plus, you stop often to look at the sights.

 

We asked our driver how many turns he had made during our tour. He said, "Just two. Left and Right! :p" The roads were definitely some of the curviest roads I have ever traveled. Plus you go up, up, up, and then down, down, down, just to go up and down again! St. Lucia is very scenic. You'll love it.

[typintotravel]

DId this the beginning of January with Cosol. Did the beach at Jalouise. Beautiful, but too short and it rained on us while we were there.....

 

Take the Dramaine if you have a hint of motion sickness. Winding roads for sure and you end retracing your tracks back to the ship.

 

Our tour was too long to stop at the straw market. Just had time to check out the shops at the pier for shopping. A wonderful day, though, but take some snacks with you as there is really not a lunch provided.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

I was with the same group as TypeAGal - excellent tour by Cosol. See my more detailed post later.

 

We had one person with us who got motion sickness and they sat up front in the van and they said it really helped. We made numerous stops on the way there, and several stops on the way back so it really helped. Yes, it is the same winding roads.

 

You can work out with Reyno which because you want to go to. 2 hours at Jalouise may cost more, I know one hour was included and althought it was a beautiful beach, it would have been nice to have more time.

 

I've seen pictures and posts of REduit and I think Jalouise would be better. It has both a swimming and a snorkeling section that are seperate, and being between the pitons was just gorgeous. Also talking marble bathrooms here. Cosol feeds you so much if you are on his trip that you shouldn't need to worry about buying food here.

 

Lady Anna

[Trish Traveler]

Thanks for all the great information! Can't wait to go.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

I was with the same group as TypeAGal - excellent tour by Cosol. See my more detailed post later.

 

We had one person with us who got motion sickness and they sat up front in the van and they said it really helped. We made numerous stops on the way there, and several stops on the way back so it really helped. Yes, it is the same winding roads.

 

You can work out with Cosol which because you want to go to. 2 hours at Jalouise may cost more, I know one hour was included and althought it was a beautiful beach, it would have been nice to have more time.

 

I've seen pictures and posts of REduit and I think Jalouise would be better. It has both a swimming and a snorkeling section that are seperate, and being between the pitons was just gorgeous. Also talking marble bathrooms here. Cosol feeds you so much if you are on his trip that you shouldn't need to worry about buying food here.

 

Lady Anna

 

I meant Cosol - Got to caught up in another posting.