Anse Chastanet in March

[hamiltt]

We are considering going to Anse Chastanet in St Lucia in early March. I have looked at some of the discussions of diving there and also the resort itself. There are many comments about the lack of air conditioning and adequate breezes. I wonder if this is a problem in the winter period as well as summer? Also - there appears to be a range of opinions about the quality of diving here. I have been to Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, GC, St Vincent and Turks and Caicos (liked St Vincent best of those actually) so I would appreciate any comments about this as well. We were also considering going to Little Cayman.

My wife is planning on doing open water referral but has a tendancy to motion sickness so the shorter the boat rides the better.

 

[totallyreel]

We went to St. Lucia two years ago in August. We stayed at Marigot Bay and there was no a/c and it was so hot. When you pay over a hundred bucks a night you would expect a/c. The food was pretty bad so we found bars that served french fries, they were good. My idea of fresh fish is much different than theirs, they dont even refrigerate the fish at the market.
I loved the diving, the drop off was incredible and the water was crystal clear. I dont think I will ever go back, there are just too many other places to visit.

 

[TracyKent]

We went to Sandals in December... We had a/c but would have been fine without it. Different resort, but I've heard good things about Anse. Diving was great, especially for first timers... It was our first after check out. have fun!

 

[divingjd]

We were there in November several years ago and were fine without A/C. I won't tell you I didn't miss it - I am a big fan of A/C - but the rooms were well-ventilated and all had ceiling fans. We got used to it. It was all part of the atmosphere and the charm of the place. I don't think it is going to be a lot different in March.

If you like the diving in St. Vincent, I think you'll like St. Lucia. From what I understand, the diving is very similar. The boat rides from Anse Chastenet are generally very short. Many are 5 minutes or less and I think the longest (down to the Lesleen M wreck) was no more than 15. One of the best dives in St. Lucia is the house reef at Anse Chastenet, which is a great shore dive. The key to the diving in St. Lucia is that there are lots of little critters and lots of colorful sponges and corals. Big animals (turtles, barracuda, sharks, jacks) are not plentiful. If that sounds appealing, I think you would like it. It would be a great place for your wife to get certified. The dives are generally not too challenging and the dive operation there is first-rate.

I liked the diving in Little Cayman better. The water is clearer and there is more variety. Little Cayman is the best diving I've done so far. The resorts there are not as nice as Anse Chastenet and there is really nothing to do topside. That's not an issue for us, but it is for some people. The best diving (Bloody Bay Wall and neighboring sites) is on the opposite side of the island from the resorts, so boat rides are longer, at least for the first dive of the day. There are also shallower dive sites, usually used for the third dive of the day, on the south side where the resorts are. My wife got certified in LC.

If you are going for an all-out dive vacation, LC is hard to beat. If you want a really good combination of a fabulous resort (really romantic, by the way), lots of stuff to do topside, a beautiful island, and some good diving, Anse Chastenet is hard to beat.

 

[jeffrey-c]

We stayed there a few years ago in April. I found the lack of AC a little uncomfortable, but not too bad, but my wife was bothered more by it. The biggest disadvantage we found was without AC it was harder to control the bugs, and St. Lucia does have a lot of bugs. My wife freaked out a little when she figured out what that cute romantic netting hanging around the bed was really for. The place is pretty hilly, and walking up and down from the beach to the rooms had us working up a bit of a sweat, which seemed to attract the mosquitos.

The diving was good, with nice short boat rides and not too many divers on a boat. The best part was the reef right off their beach which offered some good shore dives and endless hours of snorkeling. Pretty good corals and small critters, but not extraordinary.

Food at the resort was pretty good, certainly better than the usual run-of-the-mill Carribean resort.

We also found the locals in St. Lucia to be a bit cool. They weren't hostile or anything, but in some islands they seem to welcome tourists and are much warmer. We also found that there were always people on Anse Chastenet's beach trying to sell us something - we'd have to go all the way to the far end to be able to lay on the beach without being pestered every 15 minutes.

Perhaps the telltale sign for us was that we haven't been back, whereas there are a number of other places on other islands we've returned to several times.

 

[landlubber]

Hi there
We(wife+I)were in St.Lucia in july and stayed at sandals halcyon.
One thing to mention is anse chastante is in the middle of nowhere
if you don't like the food you will be travelling a while to hit a "restraunt"
We were there for 2 weeks,the 1st week I found the corals + critters
interesting but after my 12th dive or so i noticed I kept seeing the same
stuff over and over.There is NO large sea-life to speak of,in 20 dives i saw
0-sharks of any species,1-hawksbill turtle,1-fleeting glimpse of a stingray+
0-dolphins or any pelagic animals.Quite simply put the fisherman have top
billing in St Lucia and diving is a distant second-fiddle in fact I was told that
if a fishing boat pulled up the dive boat would have to leave!!! There seemed
to be only 2 types of eels+a sea snake critter.I dove several sites(supermans flight,
the wreck,pitons,etc)and felt like deja-vu on every one.
Sandals was excellent great food,a/c,and the diving is included.
It is about a 20 min boat ride to the dive sites,the seas were always
calm and never noticed anyone getting ill.
Bottom line is the island is beautiful,but the diving is only so-so
been there done that+would probably go somewhere different
rather than return.