This itinerary covered our visit to St Lucia over the Thanksgiving Weekend. Due to the national holiday, we only needed to take one day off work, and it turned out that the short Thanksgiving week was not a bad time to travel abroad (though it tended to be crazy busy for domestic travel).

In any case, for Julie and I, this was our first experience at an all-inclusive resort.

And while you can eat and drink until you drop (a sure-fire way to pile on the pounds), we tried to mix things up by hiring a car and driving to the waterfalls around the island. That way, we could get a better sense of what Saint Lucia was like, instead of being couped up in a resort.

Here are some highlights as well as our trip logistics…

Jump down to:  Trip Highlights ♦ Travel Itinerary

Sault Falls – This was quite possibly the most satisfying waterfalling experience that we had in St Lucia. For starters, we were here by ourselves and we were able to get close to it to cool off. While we did have to ask someone nearby about where to find this falls, perhaps that’s why it was as quiet as it was.

Soufriere and the Pitons – The signature twin peaks of St Lucia served as a backdrop to the town of Soufriere, where there were thermal pools, a botanical garden (harboring the Diamond Falls, and panoramas to boot. We made our visit both by self-driving as well as by a tour in rain and in shine. And regardless of the circumstance or mood, it was still beautiful.

Enbas Saut Falls – While this waterfall was a bit on the diminutive side, the appeal here was more about being in the jungle amidst some impressive mountains. It was pretty much just us and our guide throughout the hike, which was a nice contrast to the busier tours and resorts.

Days 1-2: Fly to St Lucia then transport to Gros Islet

Overnight: Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa Beach Resort (Gros Islet, St Lucia)

This was basically a travel day where we flew overnight to Miami, then caught a connection to St Lucia, where we were then transported to our accommodation.

Day 3: Self Drive to Dennery and Anse La Raye

Overnight: Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa Beach Resort (Gros Islet, St Lucia)

After picking up the car rental, we then drove to Dennery, where we visited the Sault Falls. Afterwards, we drove to Anse La Raye to check out the Anse La Raye Falls. Eventually, we returned to Gros Islet at our resort.

Day 4: Self Drive deeper into St Lucia

Overnight: Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa Beach Resort (Gros Islet, St Lucia)

We drove south towards the Diamond Botanical Gardens where we met up with a local guide who helped us navigate to Enbas Saut Falls. He also navigated us to Spyke Falls as well as Toraille Falls. Then, we were on our own to check out Anse Chastanet, the views of the Pitons, and the Sandals Halcyon Resort en route back to Gros Islet.

Day 5: Cruise Tour

Overnight: Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa Beach Resort (Gros Islet, St Lucia)

We started the day by returning the rental car a day early (and apparently being penalized for it with a “change fee”). Then, we took a day cruise tour that took us back to the Pitons, Sulphur Springs, and the Diamond Botanical Gardens, which included the Diamond Falls. Since it was a rainy day, it was good that we got our own visit in yesterday.

Day 6: Fly Home

This was basically a long travel day though we were glad to be out of St Lucia due to the incoming heavy rain storm that threatened to sock us in with flooding.