Castries

Travel Guide Caribbean Saint Lucia Castries

Introduction

Saint Lucia - Castries - helicopter 6sm

Castries is the capital and largest city in Saint Lucia with a population of about 75,000. It is located in the northwest of the country facing the Caribbean Sea and as such it functions as a major port in the region. Cargo and passenger services as well as big cruiseships can all enter the port and as a consequence Castries has all the amenities that tourists want, including good hotels, restaurants, shops. The town is well served by buses to and from other places on the island. Apart from being important regarding the economics of the island, the government has its residence here as well. The town is not without its attractions, like the nearby beaches. It doesn't have a much in the way of historically and culturally significant buildings, but the fort above Castries is nice.

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Neighbourhoods

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Sights and Activities

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Government House
Derek Walcott Square
Fort Charlotte

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Events and Festivals

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Weather

Castries has a pleasant tropical climate with hot and humid weather but a nice sea breeze to cool things off a bit. Daytime temperatures average around 28 to 30 degrees year round and night temperatures are just slightly lower with 24 to 26 degrees. Although rain is possible anytime, the wettest period is from June to December, with peaks in August and November with almost 400 mm of rain.

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Getting There

By Plane

George F. L. Charles Airport (formerly Vigie Airport) (IATA: SLU, ICAO: TLPC) near Castries mainly caters regional flights from neighbouring islands. LIAT and Air Caraibes have connections to Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Barbados and Saint Vincent.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Saint Lucia - Guadeloupe vv
Express-des-Iles has several weekly sailings a week between Guadeloupe and Saint Lucia. Although most ferries stop on at Martinique and Dominica along the way, there are direct services in high season.

Saint Lucia - Martinique vv
Wednesdays and Fridays at 1.30pm and Sundays at 3.30pm, L'Express des Iles travels from Fort-de-France to Castries on Saint Lucia. In the opposite direction, ferries leave 5 times a week. Both crossings take about 80 minutes.

Saint Lucia - Dominica vv
L'Express des Iles has 3 to 5 weekly sailings between the capitals of Dominica and Saint Lucia, Roseau and Castries respectively. All of them stop on their route in Fort-de-France, Martinique (see above). Most boats leave around 10am and take about 4,5 hours to complete the total journey.

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