St. Lucia Photo Diary – A Week in Paradise

St. Lucia Photo Diary – Sharing how we spent our week in paradise, including the Botanical Gardens, Diamond Falls, Sulphur Springs, Soufrière, & more!

Last week, I had seriously the most incredible opportunity to spend a week in St. Lucia with my fiancé’s family. Devin, my fiancé, is playing basketball in Australia this summer, so he was supposed to go on the trip as well but obviously couldn’t since he got a summer contract. Anyways, I felt just so grateful to be included even though he was no longer able to go. We all joked that this trip was for soul searching, but wow it really was. It was so enjoyable to be surrounded by the immense beauty of the island, the Caribbean Sea & also a family that means so much to me – so thanks Devin! 🙂

I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from our week away. It was my first time to any of the Caribbean islands & surely it did not disappoint. We lucked out with weather, light showers occurred almost everyday, but it was perfect because they helped keep humidity down & sleeping at night manageable. We were surrounded by nature every which way & daytime stillness that made us feel like the only humans on earth, especially when looking out at the incredibly scenic views.

And we also celebrated Devin’s parents 31st anniversary which also was extremely special. We played a lot of Yahtzee at night, a few games of Scrabble, read quite a few books between the four of us, swam in the beautiful infinity pool, ate the island mangos every morning for breakfast, & amazing local, gluten free, & vegan meals for dinner. I couldn’t imagine a better trip. I don’t think any of us were ready to come home & I’m pretty sure the photos will show why!

Mango Point, Soufrière, St. Lucia

We stayed at an Airbnb called Mango Point 300 ft above sea level. The views facing the Caribbean Sea were absolutley breathtaking. From sunsets, to rainbows, we saw it all. The two famous Pitons Mountains sat front & center. We saw boats coming into the bay & were surrounded by so many little island creatures that made about 1000 different sounds at night. The entire place was open concept which definitely created a oneness with the island. I could have lived there forever – minus the bugs at night LOL!

Soufriére, St. Lucia

At the bottom of the mountain leading up to Mango Point was the town of Soufriére, which is pictured below. The little city was full of bright colored buildings, lots of street markets where the locals sold fresh fruit & fish, & a whole lot of hustle & bustle.

Tet Paul Nature Hike Trail

One afternoon we decided to do the Tet Paul Nature Hike & we were so happy we did, because although it was a pretty easy hike, about 45 minutes, it was so informative & we saw the Pitons from another breathtaking angle & met some sweet school children along the way. Along the nature trails, we were able to see a handful of flowers, trees, plants, & crops. Did you know that cashews grow on trees?! I had NO idea! Also, did you know that a single pineapple takes 9 whole months to develop & grow?! Again, I had no idea haha! Nature is seriously incredible.

Diamond Botanical Gardens – Waterfall & Mineral Baths

The Diamond Falls & Botanical Gardens of St. Lucia were breathtaking. It was sprinkling our entire walk through the lush vegetation but we all agreed it made the experience even more beautiful. I could have posted about 15 more photos of just the unique tropical flowers & plants, but I just chose one of my favorites, which I included below. It’s called the crab claw & for obvious reason haha!

The waterfall wasn’t too large but it was so beautiful & the most interesting thing is that the water streaming from the falls wasn’t clear. It was gray in color due to rainwater mixed with the volcanism Sulpher Springs which I will share more of below. The water contains so many naturally occurring minerals, as well as, sulphur, copper sulphate, magnesium, iron, manganese & calcium. The water will change color depending how many minerals are present at a given time.

My favorite part of the Botanical Gardens were the hot mineral baths. The mineral baths of St. Lucia were originally built in 1784 for the French troops, so they would be able to benefit from the healing capabilities of the therapeutic, hot waters. We hung out in the mineral baths for quite a while, in an attempt to soak up all of the healing & minerals for ourselves! So so enjoyable!

Ladera Resort

The second day on the island, we went out to eat at a near by hotel called Ladera in Soufrière. The views were magnificent yet again. Ladera sat high on a hill which gave us another view of the spectacular Piton mountains, but this time we were directly between them! We had an intent to hike the Pitons but just ran out of time. Dinner was wonderful though, we ate delicious local food while we watched the sun go down.

Boucan by Hotel Chocolat

Our second to last night on the island, we went to a restaurant called Boucon by Hotel Chocolat which is a boutique hotel located on a working cocoa plantation. We also were planning on getting a tour of the cocoa plantation on our last full day in St. Lucia but decided our pool needed us more haha! Anyways, the views from the Boucon restaurant were incredible & there was a golden light the sun gave off while it was setting which shined right on our table before we sat down to eat. The entire menu was infused with flavors of cacao. The thought & creativity that went into the dishes was definitely admirable & the food presentations were lovely, although it definitely was not my favorite meal of the week. Their diary-free coconut milk creme brûlée definitely made up for it though!

Also the chocolate in St. Lucia was next level. I’m talking insanely good. So fresh & flavorful. I’m a hard-core chocolate lover & it was definitely the best pure dark chocolate I’ve ever had.

Sulphur Springs Mud Bath – Drive In Volcano

The photo directly below is the only drive-in volcano in the world…its last eruption was 200 years ago! The volcano & Sulphur Springs Mud Bath definitely go hand in hand & it definitely was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The hot sulphur mud bath was fueled with minerals directly from the volcano & has been visited by some of the most influential people in the world, including Oprah!

In the mud bath, it was so funny, we met a couple from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I’m originally from & grew up. It was crazy that we both were from the same place & met in a volcanic mud bath in St. Lucia…wild! Anyways, the mud bath was seriously SO much fun. We all so enjoyed slathering the course mud all over our bodies, face included, & then soaking it off in the bath. The mud bath has so many healing benefits & is known to make you look 12 years younger! Talk about a win win!

Anse Chastanet Hotel & Beach – Jade Mountain

We were able to walk down to the Anse Chastanet Beach from where we stayed, which only took about 20 minutes on a pretty steep slope downhill. We had lunch twice at the beach & it was also where we snorkeled, which I think was my favorite part of the trip. It was my first time snorkeling & the water, fish, & corals were simply magnificent. Me & Devin’s mom, Kelly, spent an entire hour in the water & we almost didn’t want to get out. We picked the perfect day to snorkel because the beautiful waters of the Caribbean sea were so calm. The water was a perfect temperature & so salty! It was amazing!

P.S. – Calling all Bachelor fans, Jade Mountain & St. Lucia has hosted the show & a finale!

Overall, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better trip. I left feeling very inspired, abundantly grateful, & definitely recharged. I got to spend a beautiful week in a breathtaking place with some of my favorite people & it was truly an unforgettable experience.

Have you been to St. Lucia or any of the Caribbean islands?