St. Lucia - Facts
Saint Lucia FAQs
Pre-Arrival Boat: SailClear online clearance can be completed in advance. See Clearance for details.
Pre-Arrival Crew: An Immigration form must be completed online for all crew. Some nationals may require a visa in advance. See Immigration for details.
Where can I enter? There are 5 ports of entry. Click on the anchor symbol in the blue “Explore Country” drop down, to see ports of entry.
Are fees high to enter by yacht? Entry fees for a small cruising yacht in the region of XCD$30. See Fees for further details.
What security concerns should I know about? Saint Lucia does suffer its fair share of incidents, particularly in Rodney Bay, Vieux Fort, the Soufriere/Pitons area and Anse Canaries (mainly theft from boats at anchor). See Security for more info.
Saint Lucia Facts for Sailors
- Saint Lucia is part of the Windward Islands and a good base from which to explore the rest of the Lesser Antilles. Situated between the islands of Martinique and Saint Vincent, Castries is the capital city and the main port located on the northwest coast.
- St. Lucia is the largest of the English-speaking Windward islands with a population of 183,629 as of 2020.
- English is the official language, and French patois, a Creole dialect, is also spoken.
- The Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$) is the island’s currency. See money for more details.
- UTC−4 (AST) is observed all year in St. Lucia.
- The weather in Saint Lucia stays consistently warm throughout the year. The busiest time to visit Saint Lucia is from December to April during the driest season. The rainy season in Saint Lucia is from June to December.
- The island is mountainous and lush, with tropical rainforest in the interior and cultivated land on its coastal slopes. The area around Soufriere and the Pitons is impressive with stunning anchorages and the island has a number of beautiful white sand beaches.
- Cruising attractions include excellent facilities at Rodney Bay Marina in the north and in the well-protected port of the capital Castries, the scenic anchorage of Soufrière Bay overlooked by The Grand and Petit Pitons and the delightful, yet crowded, the landlocked harbor of Marigot Bay.
- The government has actively encouraged the establishment of yachting related businesses, aiming to make Saint Lucia one of the prime yachting centers in the Caribbean. See Yachting Essentials for more details.
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Mark Burton, boat owner, rode out Hurricane Beryl in Rodney Bay Marina – this is his report:
[13:20, 7/4/2024] Mark Burton on S/V Cohiba.
IGY Rodney Bay marina filled up a day before (Sunday) with a mix of local boats resort boats and everyone from the anchorage. A few boats left and headed south, unfortunately into the issue.
Ferries from Castries and lots of tour boats came into the marina and the Fuel dock was full of sports boats from Barbados stacked in.
It was a little scary but knowing the entrance to the marina is so narrow means a surge is very un-likely although this could’ve been a disaster if the docks lifted above the pile height.
Smaller power boats and water taxis were at risk of sinking due to rainfall. some were looked after by people in the marina and others where checked every few hours; no power loss or internet interruptions and if there had been, starlink was on many vessels.
We only felt safe visiting the Pitons anchorage (don’t skip this!) , Marigot Bay and Rodney Bay. View our article, pics and video here.
https://bluedotvoyages.com/anchoring-by-st-lucia-pitons/
There is a relatively new step in the arrival/clearance process.
The Department now has an online immigration form to be completed prior to arrival which can be found here:
https://travelslu.govt.lc/
We didn’t have an issue with it not being completed, but that may of course vary by officer.
We also did not have to provide the health clearance form.
Soufreire Bay…
Beautiful setting but be prepared to be approached by local “entrepreneurs” wanting to sell you something or serve as your tour guide. We were met approaching the bay by two men on a fishing boat that nearly insisted we follow them to a mooring ball….a bit too aggressively. The same two men approached three other boats coming into the bay as well. They asked for $20EC in return. Thereafter we were approached 6 other times by other “vendors” all of them, including three kids ages 7-11 on a old broken paddle board. None have been too aggressive but it gets to be annoying…..but this is how they make a living so take it in stride. We’ve seen police and harbor rangers three times in the last twenty four hours so they do patrol the area. That said, my crew may go into town for a tour of the mud baths and waterfalls but I’m staying with the boat.
This is a beautiful place…highly recommend you see it but it warrants caution
The following incident which occurred in the Pitons area of Saint Lucia was reported (2nd Hand) to the CSSN.
A cruising yacht approached the SMMA moorings between the Pitons intending to practice mooring pickup and self-moor. They were intercepted by aggressive boat boys who demanded excessive payment for unwanted services, which were declined. When the yacht attempted to pickup the mooring their boat hook became entangled in the lines which had been tied off underwater. The boat boys immediately retrieved the boat hook and then maliciously bent it, making it unusable. The boat boys were paid a fee in excess of the customary $20ECD recommended by the SMMA park rangers, and they hung at the boat in a menacing manner demanding additional payment for sometime before departing
They stolen our dinghy.. tonight.. then we found the tender without outboard.
Hi Stefan! I believe you met my husband at the police station. We had our dinghy stolen that same night. Please file a report here!
https://safetyandsecuritynet.org/submit-incident-report/
We wrote our story here:
https://www.rubbertorudder.com/journal-content/2020/2/8/theft-unchecked-and-the-need-for-community-involvement
This is my opinion and yours may differ. In reviewing crime statistics of St. Lucia, we were hesitant to visit. However, other cruisers encourage us by claiming Rodney Bay and Marigot Bay were perfectly safe. This is not true.
CSSN continues to report a huge amount of dinghy thefts in these areas. The numbers continue to grow and the theft is now rampant. It has been going on for at least two years that I am aware of. The situation is now so bad statistically speaking you will have a greater chance of theft in these areas than just about anywhere else in the Caribbean.
I think Noonsite is being very kind with the details given about St. Lucia under the crime heading. I would encourage you to look at other sources and do your homework. Determine if the offerings of St. Lucia warrant the risks to your well being or potential loss of possessions. Does St. Lucia offer anything that cannot be found somewhere else on a safer island? You need to evaluate this before visiting.
I intend no ill harm to the residents of St. Lucia or businesses by posting this. There is no doubt the continuing crime will impact them with cruisers failing to visit (as I see from other postings here). Expecting cruisers to support their economy when they are continual targets or crime is not realistic.
Be smart and be safe!
We had a perplexing encounter with Customs at Soufriere last night. The customs officer insisted on charging us EC$125 for mooring in the marine park – on top of the US$20 we had already paid to the marine ranger for use of the mooring. He also asked for payment of his overtime as we’d kept him past closing hours (we arrived 15 mins before closing).
There is no mention of this fee in Doyle’s Windward guide and it’s much more than the EC$15 clearance fee suggested on various websites. Also, he couldn’t produce any documentation to support such a charge – but it was late and we were late for dinner so paid anyway. I hesitate to suggest that we were scammed by a customs officer but this is what it felt like.
Addition to Francis V comment: We arrived with ARC 2017. A rafia box of our shoes sitting on the pontoon next to the boat was stolen. ‘Security’ staff were posted on the pontoon leading ashore, and I recognise security is difficult with all the comings & goings, but it was useless.
Maybe St Lucia government reads this site ? I just want to signal that due to the ongoing thefts we skipped your island. So did also 4 dutch, 2 english and 1 german boats we know of. There are certainly numerous more…
I’m wondering if a Pet Permit is needed to sail from Martinique to St. Lucia, and anchoring in the bays, and NOT taking my small dog to shore (at all).
SAINT LUCIA CARNIVAL 2016 – JULY 18TH – 21ST
If you ever need a vet when visiting St. Lucia, we highly recommend Dr Scotland in his clinic as he knows what he is doing. He is helping our little dog who is struggling for his life after being bitten by a bigger dog and getting stitched up with fishing line by the first vet we went to. The first vet charged us a lot of money and did not do a professional job.