St Lucia

[scubalarry54]

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Looking for any information on Anse Chastanat in St. Lucia. Looking to go there next year and have an opportunity with a dive club. :dazzler1: :dazzler1:

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Nice resort. We rented a villa up the hill from Anse Chastanet and used their beach and dive op for the week. Very romantic although it is built into the hillside and there are quite a few sets of stairs. The rooms are very open and breezy. The restaurant is very good. The dive op was very professional. Very safety conscious. The diving was above average for the Caribbean (I would consider the Bahamas to be average). Lots of crabs, lobsters, urchins, etc. Some drift diving. We dove right at the base of the Pitons near Soufriere. There was one decent wreck (Lesleen M.?) about 45 minutes north up the coast. Other than that the boat rides were short (10 mins.) and the dives were almost an hour when we had current. Be aware that St. Lucia is very poor. The roads are horrible and the ride from the airport is better in the dark (drop offs, pot holes, hairpins). There is a helicopter that goes from the airport to the Hilton - highly recommended and well worth the $$ they charge. The island is very jungly (sp.?). Lots of big bugs and rats (heard but not seen). That was my wife's big complaint. Didn't bother me a bit. Good luck.

 

[DocVikingo]

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Looking for any information on Anse Chastanat in St. Lucia. Looking to go there next year and have an opportunity with a dive club. :dazzler1: :dazzler1:

The Scuba Diving Vacation & Destinations section has a forum dedicated to the Greater Caribbean & Bahamas. I have taken the liberty of moving your post here in hopes it will get a wider response.

BTW, I'm in agreement with Tim's description.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[peterjmaerz]

Hey ScubaLarry

Stayed in a beachside bungalow. Very convenient for diving and a pretty spectacular room as far as these things go, with loads of space, beautiful furnishings, very elegant dark wood louvered walls and a huge, covered porch area. It was, however, very very hot and sticky (and I *live* in hot and sticky in Florida and have dived most of the islands) and the mosquito netting was necessary. Just a couple of other caviats--the property itself is very isolated, carved into a depression in the mountain. It's a great setting, but you can't see beyond the mountainsides that surround the narrow valley it's situated in (hence the aerial views in their ads). The property's only accessible (at the time I was there two summers ago) by a deeply rutted and jarring 10 minute dirt track trip from the main road. Also, there's a heavy couples-oriented, honeymoon vibe at the resort which proved sort of humorous for my brother's and my stay there. All that said, it really is a wonderful property and the open air restaurant's food and views are terrific as well. There's also some pretty cool mountain biking to be done on another part of the property.

Agree with Tim on the dive quality. The checkout dive right on shore also serves as an excellent snorkeling opportunity for non divers. Other dives, almost all close to home, were definitely above average. The southern half of the island is beautiful to look at and easy to explore by rented vehicle. The little towns along the west coast are fun to explore as well.

If you don't want to stay at Anse Chastanet, but still use their op, there's a really unique place situated high up, exactly between the two "Pitons" , the twin peaks that are landmarks in St. Lucia. Maybe someone out there can help me with the name. It's got rooms literally carved out of the rocks in the side of the mountain, with views looking down the space between the Pitons to the sea. Anse Chastanet provides for transportation to their op. This is closer to the town and right off the main road so it's not as isolated as Anse Chastanet proper.

Happy Diving,


Regards,

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Rental villas are also another great option. They are staffed and comparable in price to a hotel/resort.

 

[Damselfish]

Hey ScubaLarry
If you don't want to stay at Anse Chastanet, but still use their op, there's a really unique place situated high up, exactly between the two "Pitons" , the twin peaks that are landmarks in St. Lucia. Maybe someone out there can help me with the name. It's got rooms literally carved out of the rocks in the side of the mountain, with views looking down the space between the Pitons to the sea. Anse Chastanet provides for transportation to their op. This is closer to the town and right off the main road so it's not as isolated as Anse Chastanet proper.

Happy Diving,


Regards,

http://www.ladera.com/

 

[peterjmaerz]

http://www.ladera.com/

Thanks, Damselfish!

Yeah, If I were to return to St. Lucia, that's where I'd stay..


Regards,

 

[Allison Finch]

Stayed there and loved it. I figured the climb up those steps for food (131) was necessary for working all that good food off. The dive center is tops. If Victor is still with them, he is amazing. He is supposed to get into the Guiness Book for most hours underwater. Ask him about his gold dredge diving......We gave him a bottle of Black Jack with his tip after a week with him. He really liked that <hint hint>. You will like it. While it is isolated, a quick trip in a water taxi gets you into town, easily.