St Lucia is a beautiful island destination.

The island of St Lucia, small compared to other islands but robust with its beauty is the perfect destination for intimate weddings or a couples retreat. St Lucia is at the top of the list when it comes to deciding where to visit for honeymoons. We have visited St Lucia three times with our first time visit photographing a destination wedding.

The Journey to St Lucia

We fly straight into St Lucia from the Atlanta airport. Approximately a 4-4.5 hour flight, the journey really begins when you step off the airplane. Getting through the small airport is generally fast if your flight has arrived before another airline otherwise you may be in line behind 300ish people waiting to get through customs.

Depending on the location of your hotel or resort, there are options to arriving to your wedding destination (or vacation). Our resort is an 1.5 hour drive by car – or – 10 minute ride by helicopter followed by a 15 min ride by car. When we arrive, we do choose the helicopter because we are just too impatient for the longer drive. Our journey home, we will rent a private car that takes us straight to the airport without stops.

What to Pack for St Lucia

Honestly the easiest decision for your trip, swimsuits for however many days your are there, sundresses, tank tops, shorts, sun hat, flip flops and sandals for the ladies. The guys packing is basically the same except for the sundresses.

Before you arrive to your hotel or resort, check to see what clothing restrictions the restaurants have during the evening. Most resorts do not allow swimsuit, coverups, shorts for dinner and the guys are required to wear collered shirts with pants.

Choosing Our Resort

When we visit St Lucia, we chose the Sandals resorts. Our decision was made based on us wanting an all-inclusive, adult only, and directly on the beach. Having stayed at a Sandals in Jamaica many years back, we knew what to expect from a Sandals resort and it didn’t disappoint. The Regency La Toc and Grande are the two we have stayed at and we love both for different reasons.

The Regency La Toc feels a bit more secluded and is surrounded by beautiful towering bluffs. The waves are rougher and getting in the water is a bit more treacherous (although doable) but if you enjoy the sound of crashing waves this is the spot. Rent a cabana for the day and enjoy the sounds.

The Grande is the biggest and busiest of the Sandals in St Lucia. It has the most restaurant choices which is why a lot of people shuttle in from other Sandals resorts for the evening to eat. The water at the Grande is phenomenal if you love to see waves gently lapping on the sand.

What We Did in St Lucia

Our first two visits to St Lucia we did absolutely nothing but lay at the beach. We love water, sun, sand and relaxing and hit we every one of those for every moment of the day. Finally our third visit, we did a little more than usual but still sat the beach 99% of the time sipping Caribbean drinks.

The Sandals Grande is located beside Fort Rodney and is within walking distance. Entering the park you do have to pay a fee so bring $20 with you. After entering the park, we followed the paths and climbed to the top of both of the mountains. It took us about an hour or so and views were 360 degrees of stunning Caribbean and Atlantic waters. You can also see the neighboring island of Martinique from the top.

We rented a catamaran one evening and sailed around our little neck of the waters. Dinner was served on the boat right at sunset. I highly recommend taking this adventure an evening out of your stay to do something a little different for dinner.

It is so hard to leave this island with all its natural beauty. I can’t recommend St Lucia enough for a destination wedding, vacation, or honeymoon.