Volcano: You are bused in to a sulphur spring, Spend 15 minutes listening to a tour guide who shows you to 2 viewing points, who expects a tip, then you have to walk 800 yards to the buses through a line of neckless sellers... who wont take the fact you have hand and neck full of the things..

There are a limited amount of ptions as the island really isnt the most tourist orientated land !!

As for a car, use a taxi, they are cheap and you can hire them by the day... There are plenty of day trips on boats from Rodney Bay harbour but thats a very bumpy 1.5 hour trip..

You have quite a number of concerns Wanagosouth. The tours desk at Coconut Bay can help you decide when you get there. There seem to be quite a concern about the location of Coconut Bay, but be mindful that the Island is about 230 sq miles. You can access any tour you want, the prices may vary a bit. From Coconut Bay you are about 50 minutes away from the volcano / Anse Chastanet area.

Thanks to both of you. I've read that you can go from the south to the north in helicopter. I thought it would be great to go in helicopter in morning and then spend the morning to castries and come back with a cab on the west coast. Do you think it is possible? If so what would be the better itinerary? Do you think it would be better to rent a cab from place to place? I want to plan a special day for my hubby with special things to do. Any suggestions?

Go to the jump up at gros Islet saturday night its a blast

I think that the Gros Islet 'Jump Up' is usually held on Fridays.

Fish Friday at the fishing village of Anse La Ray is very good, good grilled fish to purchase, lovely evening.

wannagosouth: my recommendation for you is as follows:

1. Do the Soufriere Adventure Sail - it is a day-long excursion where you get to see the Pitons, Diamond Falls, Botanical Gardens, Volcano, eat lunch at a local restaurant (already chosen so you don't have to stress over it) and a 45-minute snorkeling adventure at Anse Chastenet I believe. It is THE BEST bang for the buck and a GREAT way to spend and day and see the some of the highlights of St. Lucia. You board a 65-foot catamaran and set sail down the West Coast of St. Lucia down to Soufriere. You disembark, do the tours, lunch, etc. You get back on the catamaran and sail for about 30 minutes or so, then stop for swimming and snorkeling. You get back on, they turn up the music and bring out the rum punch and it's a great sail back to Castries. It's awesome.

2. The alternative to 1 above it the Land and Sea Adventure. The only difference is that you DRIVE TO Soufriere and sail back. If you are driving from the airport, I say don't bother with the Land and Sea - you'll see plenty on your drive.

3. If you do the Adventure Sail, I would skip the trip to Martinique - IMO, it's an expensive ferry ride to go shopping at Martinique for a few hours. The catamaran and l lunch will be nice, but you get so much more out of the day sail and can go shopping in Castries another day.

4. Do the hike at Pigeon Island: on a clear day, you can see Martinique.

5. I heard the ATV adventure is fun.

There is so much to see and do in St. Lucia that, if it's your first time, and you are not going to be there for more than a week, I would stick to exploring St. Lucia - you won't be disappointed. Remember, you want some time to just soak up the sun too so . . .

Enjoy!

Anyone done the zipline? Sounds scary!

Steffi