The Deep Southern Caribbean – 3 Popular Islands

Cruising out of Florida, there aren’t too many cruises that make it as far down as St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados, but those 3 islands are favourites with us Brits, who can benefit from direct flights to all 3 of these islands, and cruise companies such as P+O and Marella, who cruise out of Barbados and St Lucia during the winter season.  So what is of particular interest?  Well, in the case of both St Lucia and Grenada, you get spectacular mountains and lush rainforest, which contrast with the typically drier, flatter landscape of Barbados.  All 3 islands boast gorgeous beaches and snorkelling opportunities, with the west coast of Barbados having the edge over the others, in my humble opinion.

So where should you head to, given a day on each island?  On Barbados, beach lovers should head a few miles from the port, up the west coast, where the beaches are fine white sand.  If the beach isn’t your thing, then the ‘Mount Gay’ rum distillery is always worth a tour.  If you’re lucky, your ship will cruise past St Lucia’s famous ‘Pitons’, the 2 steep-sided pinnacles that adorn many a postcard, but if not, then you can take a tour which stops off to admire them.  If you’re after the best public beach, Rodney Bay is the place to head to, just a short ride from the cruise dock in Castries.  Grenada has the beautiful Grand Anse beach within easy reach of the capital, St Georges, where you’ll be docked, but if you’re all ‘beached’ out, you can take a tour of spectacular waterfalls around the island instead.

Small US dollar bills are accepted on all 3 islands.  St Lucia and Grenada use the ‘East Caribbean Dollar’, whilst Barbados has its’ own ‘Barbados Dollar’, so just don’t be surprised if you get some of these notes in your change!