What it's Like Renting a Car and Driving in St Lucia

In this video I show you exactly what it is like renting a car and driving in St Lucia. All footage is shot point of view, from our trip to St Lucia in August of 2024.

Many reviews online state that it is dangerous to drive in St Lucia. While it is difficult and intense to drive here, I still recommend having your own car so that you can take control of your vacation and see everything that the island has to offer. Cheers!

[starman]

Hello Callum, As mentioned, these are your views, and no one should ever be attacked for their opinions, even if others may not agree. However, there are a few points I would like to address.

Yes, you are correct that the roads in some parts of the island are extremely poor. That's why I have voiced my opinion to the government about investing in infrastructure. But to pretend that St. Lucia is the only place in the world with poor roads is unfair. I assume you might be from America. Even there, you have bad roads, though perhaps not on the same level. However, compared to other countries, the situation is similar.

You mention that my island is poor, and when you Google it, it says it's poor. St. Lucia has never claimed to be an island of wealth, but like most places, we have wealth gaps — some people are rich, and some are poor. America is a large country, so it's difficult to compare, but if you look at individual states, many of which are larger than St. Lucia, you'll find greater wealth inequalities in some of them than in St. Lucia. I've been to places in the U.S. where I've seen more poverty than I ever have in St. Lucia. Look at how America treats some of its people, for example, in places like Cancer Alley and many of the states who suffer with lead in their water. Yes, there are many people on the island who are not as financially stable as the average American, but let’s not forget that in St. Lucia, very rarely will you see anyone starving, as most of us know how to grow our own food.

St. Lucia faces the same issues as anywhere else in the world — unemployment, a shortage of jobs, and global economic crises. We are not immune to these problems, but we are a resilient people and continue to work through them as best we can.

You commented on the quality of the food, saying it’s not great unless you pay thousands. Every individual has their own taste preferences, and what you dislike, someone else might enjoy. It’s wrong to generalize. There are foods in the U.S. that many find unappealing, yet the U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the world. That speaks to food quality and choices as well.

Lastly, you mentioned that you may never return, which is fine, but it shows a narrow mindset to assume that all islands are the same. Traveling is an experience, and like you and me, we are among the lucky few who get to see what the world has to offer. But there are still some people who believe America is the world.

My final point: Many people say Africa is poor or backward, yet billions are stolen from Africa by more developed countries.

We in St. Lucia may be from a small island, but we are incredibly proud of it.

Have a great day.

P.S. I will continue to voice my opinion to those in power about improving our infrastructure, and in that, I certainly agree with you.

[melindalrahe]

I have spent 8 months in St Lucia and I disagree with most of your assertions, especially about the poverty. It seems to me that you are using American economics as the benchmark/baseline and that is just not appropriate for most of the world. St Lucians are not poor. They have a strong middle class who live comfortably. Their style of living is not like American middle class. But there is almost no abject poverty, where people are starving with out shelter or clothing, etc. Your video is a bit like fake news to me, especially since you express such confidence in your opinions. Yes, their primary income is from tourism but that doesn't make them poor or create significant class distinctions which make it dangerous to tourists, like in places such as Jamaica.

[irienorma]

I have lived in St. Lucia for 25 years. This is not an extremely poor island! No worse than anywhere else. And if you come here and you want good food, eat at local places and eat local food. Staying at an all inclusive resort you will be wasting your money! Stay at a non all inclusive hotel, or an air bnb, or a local guest house. Eat at local places. Many look like little shacks, but they have the best food! Get to know the local people, who are super friendly.

[technoplusinc]

Dude where in St Lucia did you live? because you seem to be in the wild. you chose people's backyard roads to highlight.

[chowpeng]

Sounds like 1. You chose to slum it. 2. Like anywhere in the world there are places to go and places to avoid when visiting and Im sure you didnt take anyones advice. 3. Tour guides are there for many reasons not just to take your money. They're there to help make your trip less stressful primarily.

[hmmmjamz]

I been in St. lucia. And i haven't had anyone ask me for change or seen drug addicts camping on the streets. Unlike when i was in america.

[Eastsideazzy]

Very excited to travel to St Lucia on my birthday next month, looking forward to interacting with all the Lucian locals and learning about the culture. I will be renting a car as I am originally from The Bahamas so there shouldn't be much surprises with that. Keep in mind that research and open-mindedness is crucial when traveling to the smaller countries. Looks like you wanted the resort experience without the resort.

[ingridfrancetravels]

I disagree. I have been here four times and stayed at Airbnbs and rented a car. St. Lucia is beautiful and not poor. When you drive you have to keep left and understand that the steering wheel is on the other side. Also, you should use Google Maps.

[julielaraenelson]

I watched your video and agreed with some of your comments, mostly about the roads. Thankfully, this is your opinion and your channel so I will respect that because you provided some great footage of the roads. I've been 18 times since 2014 and have rented a car each time, I count it as an adventure for sure. I'm from the US so yes, it does take some getting used to. I've made some terrific friends in SLU and stay with one of my besties there. Live like a local now. The food? The BEST! Fresh, delicious, farm, sea to table. I've explored North, South, East to West. Yes, there are poor areas and places I need to be careful, but I have that in my backdoor here in the States. I hope you go back sometime when you're not wealthy and try Laborie in the South, or go to Rodney Bay in the North. There are beautiful places to see up there. I'm not going to hijack your comment section because there are many others that have mentioned the beauty of the island. When I compare to the DR, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Caymans, Bahamas and Mexico, size does matter. You made some great points. Give the her another chance, find a boutique resort (not Sandals) and you'll love it! Still get that car!

[georgekenna]

Was there in January and the roads were a mess. There were potholes everywhere, people, chickens and dogs. There are no lights and it was raining by the time we got to the northern part of the island after arriving. Yes it was very very stressful. In fact we met some people who didn't even want to take a taxi back to the airport and hired a helicopter. Seriously. That said the people of St Lucia are so wonderful and it's just such a beautiful place and we had such a great time. There is so much to do there. I'm glad we had the car but we did several tours and they came to pick us up. I just wish the roads would at least be as good as Aruba but I get it, the country is poor but the people and the beauty more than make up for it. I was surprised about the comment on food. We didnt stay at an expensive resort. We ate at a great little place in downtown Soufriere as well as Dasheen-one of the most romantic restaurants I have ever been to and Ive been to 35 countries, a wonderful steak place in Rodney Bay as well as street food and strong rum drinks on a Friday night street party in Gros Islet. It was a blast. I definitely plan to go back. One last point. We live in South Carolina and never once while we were in St. Lucia did we worry about someone pulling out a gun and shooting us and if you want to see some poverty and run down? Drive through rural South Carolina.

[raymondn]

Im from st.lucia and live in Virginia usa. There are many places I've been to in the United States that look way poorer and third world than st.lucia with way more terrible food.all the crappy fast food around here is no better than what you get in st.lucia. just saying.

[DawnAguiar]

Dude. You didn’t make it seem as bad as it truly is. I can’t stress enough that no matter how good a driver you are, you should not under any circumstance rent a car and drive here. Oh my god. We drive from Castries to Soufriere yesterday and I can honestly say I’m grateful to still be alive. We literally called the helicopter company while we were driving to find out if there was any way we could just drop off the car and get a helicopter ride back to Castries. Money was no longer a consideration. (Unfortunately that didn’t work out so we did end up driving back.) Just don’t drive here ever. Never ever.

[ColoradoTravelerGreg]

Dude, have you been to any of the islands, or many other countries? Many are extremely poor compared to the US. If you're expecting rich communities scattered across the island, you did terrible research before your trip. I've been to 14 Caribbean islands (62 countries total), you need to know what you're getting into. Driving there is easy compared to places like Rio, Santiago, Bangkok and such. LOL, this makes me laugh.

[daniellestiff]

Totally agree. Currently here and drove the entire west side of the island. Town after town the infrastructure is bad. The food so far is... we'll done, not great. Don't feel safe anywhere here. Turned down a small one way road in one of those so called charming yet run down towns and had the local children surround the car which was ok until a guy came up to the car asking what were looking for and don't be scared while he's holding a knife in his hand. The other towns or beaches you get harassed with sales pitches just walking anywhere. Yep that's the kind of vacation we're having right now.

[FreedomIsNotFree]

You've obviously not seen much of the Caribbean. Stick to boring islands like the Caymans, Aruba or BVIs.

[chaseelder]

Granted I was there 15 years ago but I found St Lucia to be magical. The locals are so friendly. I bought fresh fish from fishermen, ate tripe stew on the beach with them, and was invited to pick as much fruit as I wanted from an old woman's yard for 10 EC. I went to a Street ball game between 2 rival teams and it was wild. Yes St Lucia isnt good for 5 star luxury vacations. But if you want to feel lost in the Caribbean and experience some of the most beautiful nature in the world it cant be beat.

[lucianrose]

Inaccurate information about my island home. Do your research....it is not run down. Those houses in that country are so elaborate that we who live in the US would not be able to afford them here. The people are just laid back and the currency is different. It seems poor to you because St.Lucia is not commercialized like most of the other places are and chose to remain in it natural form because that's what a tropical vacation should be like. We have two airports and the people are wonderful. The food is some of the best in the Caribbean. If you went there with the mentality of them being poor that's how you will see it. I live in Pa and there are many parts of this place that are poor and seem uncivilized as are many other parts of the United States. Your mentality made you not enjoy the tropical experience that you failed to take in as a tourist! I gave your silly little video a thumbs down. Try visiting again and actually opening up your mind to the experience and oh, by the way, St. Lucia is one of the top tourists destinations in the world!!!

[CK]

I agree that rideshare fares can add up in most Caribbean islands. Saint Lucia is a developing country, but I've seen worse roads and infrastructure elsewhere, including in certain parts of the United States. All Saint Lucia has is narrow twist-and-turn roads. You wanna see worse driving conditions? Go to Lebanon or Thailand. I'd deal with tighter roads than actual drivers who don't care about anyone's safety at all and their local authorities that doesn't enforce traffic laws lol.

[moda]

bro where in st.lucia were you because it's seems to me tht u were in sum bush back raod

[NikaRaniee]

I wont say the roads are bad at all...im originally from st Vincent and when i travelled to st Lucia 🇱🇨 i took a trip down south and tbh it wasnt that bad. Just stay on main road ❤