Where to Stay in St. Lucia
Photo by Windjammer Landing
There are lots of different types of accommodations for travelers to choose from, and many of the top hotels and resorts in St. Lucia are located near Marigot or Rodney Bay, which are about an hour and a half from the international airport.
I stayed at the Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort and there were a few things that stood out to me that made this an ideal resort for my trip. First, the resort has unique Mediterranean-style villas, and the gleaming white stucco walls, blue doors, and bright bougainvillea felt like being in a traditional Greek village. On morning walks, I would climb the hilly terrain and start the morning looking over the bay.
Solo-tripping at a resort is also great for making friends. I ate alone a few times, but I also met other travelers who I shared meals with throughout my stay. Though resort food can sometimes be hit or miss, the food at the Windjammer was top-notch (and diverse). The resort has five restaurants, and I ate seafood dishes like snapper and coconut shrimp at Upper Deck and tandoori chicken and samosas from the newly introduced ‘Masala at Embers.’
The resort is spread out over 65 acres, which meant that even though I visited during high season in February, the property never felt crowded. I spent a lot of time decompressing by sitting near the beach and journaling, but there were lots of activities at the resort to keep me occupied. I enjoyed a relaxing massage at the Serene Wellness & Spa and a morning yoga session, and along with the plunge pool in my villa, the resort had six pools and offered watersports like snorkeling and kayaking.
What to Eat in St. Lucia
Photo courtesy of Mariette Williams
St. Lucia’s local fare, like many other Caribbean islands, includes fried seafood like snapper and conch, peas and rice, and plantains. One way to get a taste of the local cuisine is to head to Gros Islet for the Friday Night Party. The 50-year tradition starts at sunset and locals bring their grills, set up tabletop bars, and eat and dance late into the night. St. Lucia also has some of the freshest fruit, and during my stay, I feasted on starfruit, golden apples, papaya drizzled in lime, and savory bananas.
Another St. Lucia “must-have” is Piton beer, a light, refreshing beer with a hint of floral taste - perfect after a day spent in the sun. And if you’re a rum drinker, St. Lucia has a litany of great rums - most notably Chairman’s Reserve, Bounty, and Admiral Rodney. I had a rum tasting at the resort, which was paired with St. Lucia’s delicious chocolate, and if you’re at a bar - make sure you order a rum punch - a signature drink in the Caribbean.
Things to Do in St. Lucia
Photo courtesy of Mariette Williams
Though it would have been easy to spend the entire stay at the resort, I spent some time exploring the neighboring areas. One of the highlights was booking a boat trip to see the Pitons. Though I had seen photos of the twin peaks, the majestic volcanoes are much more impressive in person, towering over 2,000 feet in the air. Our boat captain, Delbert, stopped the boat as we marveled at one of the Caribbean's most beautiful landmarks.
Another St. Lucian highlight is the sulfur springs in Soufriere where I slathered myself in thick grayish mud and soaked in the muddy, warm springs. After my al fresco sulphuric spa treatment, our driver took us to a nearby sulfur springs waterfall, and it was the first time I stood under a hot waterfall. On the way back to the resort, we stopped by some shallow waters to snorkel, and as the sun started its afternoon descent, I could see why people fell in love with St. Lucia.
Truthfully, nearly any country can make a good solo trip, but St. Lucia’s peaceful setting and access to attractions make it an ideal option for beginner solo travelers. It’s relatively convenient to get to as well - located just three hours from Miami, it’s ideal for a long weekend or week-long trip to recharge. Though I left so much to explore, St. Lucia is a place where you can fill your days with exciting activities or do nothing at all, and you’ll still have an unforgettable time.
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Feature image courtesy of Mariette Williams
“I started creating content after I took a trip to Jinja, in Eastern Uganda, and took a boat ride down the Nile River. I remember being so taken up and falling in love with exploring right then and there,” she says.
Uganda has been gaining popularity with adventure travelers, and the country saw over 1.5 million visitors in 2019 before travel halted in 2020. Arah says some of the most sought-out activities in Uganda include boating on Lake Bunyonyi, gorilla trekking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and hiking up Sipi Falls.
“I want people to see that Uganda is beautiful, but it's the people that make it even more beautiful.” Arah adds, “The future of travel in Uganda is brighter than ever before as more people in other countries learn about the country and more Ugandans embrace domestic travel.”
Kisoro Uganda beautiful sunset over mountains and hills of pastures and farms in villages of Uganda.
mbrand85/Getty Images
Tanzanian-born Fahad Fuad has a similar story. He started traveling through Tanzania and was blown away by how beautiful his country was. For the past seven years, he’s been sharing travel and wildlife photographs on social media, and he’s also built a travel platform, Unzip Tanzania, which aims to share Tanzania's hidden gems.
“I started creating travel content so that I can show the world what Tanzania has to offer beyond Mt. Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park, and Zanzibar,” Fuad says. “Tanzania has so much to offer than those three destinations, and I knew as a content creator there was something that I could do to change the narrative about my country.”
Fuad explains that there’s a lack of information about the more off-beat destinations in Africa and he’s working to raise awareness through every photo and video he shares online.
“I never knew how beautiful my country was before I started traveling. Apart from the history and culture, the landscape of Tanzania will leave you in awe. It has crystal-clean white beaches, untouched forests, beautiful waterfalls, hot springs, and lakes that are found at the base of majestic mountains, and the endless savannah in the Serengeti which hosts a huge ecosystem. All of this beauty made me change my entire lifestyle to become a travel content creator.”
Nathalie Bonte in Rwanda.
Courtesy of Nathalie Bonte
While travelers may be more familiar with Africa’s more visited destinations like Egypt, Ghana, or Kenya, countries like Rwanda are experiencing a renewed interest, partly because travelers have direct access to local content thanks to creators like Nathalie Bonte. After moving to Rwanda in 2014, Bonte started a blog, Joli Tropisme, because she was tired of being asked the same cliched questions. Bonte set out to counter the lingering poverty narrative that surrounds Rwanda and showcase why the country is nicknamed “the country of a thousand hills.”
“Rwanda has so many hills offering incredible views and landscapes,” she says. “It’s the perfect destination for the first trip to Africa or a solo trip because it's very safe and peaceful. You can do a safari, hike volcanoes, go canoeing and enjoy one of the biggest lakes, Kivu Lake. Because it's small, you can do all this in 10 days.”
Bonte says that it’s not easy being a content creator in Africa - finding well-paid opportunities is challenging, and she faces competition from foreign content creators for partnerships with big brands. But Bonte’s mission is unwavering - she wants to change how people see Africa.
“The best part is when someone tells me that my account put Rwanda or other African countries on their bucket list or when they thank me for helping them see our continent more positively,” the blogger says. “I see beauty everywhere in Africa. I see progress, and I see the rich cultures and talents of our people, and I decided to share my vision to change the many clichés people still have about our stunning continent.”
Bonte and her daughters in Rwanda.
Courtesy of Nathalie Bonte
Zambia is another overlooked destination but Dee Walker wants to change that. Walker created a food and travel Instagram account to highlight the under-the-radar country and some of her recommendations include spending time in Zambia’s capital Lusaka, which has a vibrant food and arts scene, and then making the trek to Kundalila Falls in the northern part of Zambia. Walker also says she’s excited to see the boom in African travel in recent years.
“I think the future of African travel is about to blow up even more than we’ve seen in the last few years. People are super keen and curious to visit the continent and I also think more Black travelers outside the continent are visiting and making it a popular choice,” she says.
While they face challenges, these content creators are opening doors for travelers to familiarize themselves with African destinations they may not have considered before.
“The old way of thinking about Africa as only being poor and downtrodden is changing because of how travel content creators like myself are showcasing our respective countries, and I think it’s definitely attracting more visitors,” Walker says. “It’s also a great way to address usual negative stereotypes and perceptions. We have a beautiful and varied continent and people are simply doing their best to enjoy themselves and represent well.”
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Featured image courtesy of Nathalie Bonte
The Bahamas has special meaning to me. It’s the place where my husband and I traveled as newlyweds, where my sister and I spent a weekend girls' trip, and it was one of the first places I took my kids when we started traveling as a family. The Bahamas has always been a place I return to, partly because it’s so close to my home in South Florida and because the beautiful beaches are an ideal setting for a peaceful break.
A New Year in a Familiar Destination
Last year was full of highs and lows, and I wanted to spend my first days of the new year in a good place. I set out to usher in the new year in The Bahamas by spending a week in Nassau with my two preteen-aged kids, exploring more than we had on our previous trips.
On December 29th, after a quick hour-long flight, we touched down in Nassau, and the pink Victorian homes and bright turquoise waters were a welcome sight. We checked into the newly opened Margaritaville Beach Resort, which offered easy access to all of Nassau’s attractions. On our first night, I sat out on the balcony watching the sun disappear on the horizon, and I knew I had made the right choice.
Margaritaville Beachfront
Mariette Williams
A Week Well Spent
We had always spent just a few days in The Bahamas, in Nassau and Grand Bahama, but on this week-long trip, we were able to take in a lot more. On one of our first nights, we made our way to Fish Fry, a nearby strip of local restaurants and food vendors, and ate freshly fried conch fritters and red snapper on the rooftop patio of Twin Brothers. On previous visits, we had only walked past Graycliff Manor, the historic 18th-century mansion in downtown Nassau. But on this trip, we ate an elegant seafood lunch and toured the iconic wine cellar, which is home to over 250,000 bottles of wine.
Though we loved spending our time in downtown Nassau, some of our best meals were outside of Nassau’s tourist areas. We followed the advice of locals and lunched at Traveler’s Rest, where we devoured battered crawfish bites while enjoying the tropical breezes coming off the water. Another gem was Studio Cafe, a former recording studio for stars like Bob Marley and James Brown that serves traditional Bahamian dishes like crispy cracked conch paired with sweet mango chutney.
We also spent a blissful day at Atlantis Paradise Island, and my kids made a beeline to the high-speed water slides at Aquaventure. Afterward, we lazed in the beachside hammocks and made plans to come back and explore the onsite marine habitat filled with sharks and stingrays. Atlantis was followed up by visiting some of the more uncrowded beaches around Nassau. And while there aren’t any private beaches in The Bahamas, the beaches outside of the hotel zone felt more secluded. Our favorites were Jaw’s Beach, Goodman’s Bay, and Cabbage Beach, and we often felt like we had the beaches to ourselves.
Beachfront of Atlantis Paradise Island
Mariette Williams
Jaw's Beach
Mariette Williams
Celebrating Junkanoo Festival
With Quentin "Barrabas" Woodside at Junkanoo World Museum
Mariette Williams
The highlight of our trip was attending the all-night Junkanoo parade, where we were exposed to the rich culture in The Bahamas. At the Educulture Junkanoo Museum, director Arlene Nash Ferguson explained how Junkanoo existed in The Bahamas for over 200 years, originating when enslaved Africans dressed in costumes made of leaves, straw, and shells and celebrated with dancing and parades. Today that tradition lives on with two Junkanoo parades on December 27th and January 2nd that feature bands parading through the streets of Nassau with elaborate floats and vibrant, feathered costumes.
Pasting Junkanoo masks
Mariette Williams
Before the parade, we also visited the Junkanoo World Museum & Arts Center where we had a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into putting the festival costumes together. We spent a morning with the owner, Quentin “Barrabas” Woodside, who explained how each costume and float was pasted with strips of colorful crepe paper by hand. He also showed us how to paste a mask, which gave us an appreciation of how much work went into preparing for Junkanoo.
And at 12:01 a.m. on January 2nd, the Junkanoo parade finally kicked off. The parade was back after a two-year hiatus, and it was hard not to get swept up in the energy from the crowd. Thousands lined Bay Street to see the return of their favorite bands as drums, cowbells, and trumpets rang out the triumphant return to the parade, which lasted until the sun came up. The night was an unforgettable display of Bahamian culture - and the best way to start the new year.
Junkanoo Band
Mariette Williams
Junkanoo Dancers
Mariette Williams
Why Return Travel?
While there’s also a sense of awe in visiting a new country, there’s a certain magic in revisiting the same places. My week in The Bahamas helped me slow down and have a deeper travel experience. I visited several off-the-beaten-path beaches, ate at local restaurants, and learned the history behind the one-of-a-kind Junkanoo parade.
When we return to the same countries, it’s nearly impossible to have the same travel experience because the places we visit also change. Since our last visit, new restaurants and hotels had cropped up around Nassau, and on this return trip, I was reminded that we had changed too. I had come back to The Bahamas with my kids, now preteens, and we sought out different experiences from when they were toddlers - ones that helped them learn more about the local culture.
Return travel also helps us go beyond our initial impressions, allowing us to see more and forge new memories. As we boarded the plane to go back home, my daughter asked me when we would be coming back. The week had made an indelible impression on both me and my kids, and we’re all looking forward to returning to The Bahamas to discover more about one of our favorite destinations.
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Featured image by Glowimages/Getty Images
