Saint Lucia is on the high of everybody’s dream listing of Caribbean island getaways. The island is blessed with stunning seashores, fascinating volcanic geography, and spectacular mountain climbing trails. It’s no surprise you’re debating a visit; Saint Lucia is considered one of our favourite locations, too.
However, these planning levels do beg the query: Is Saint Lucia protected? What do you have to anticipate out of your journey by way of crime and pure catastrophe danger? As a complete, we’d let you know to train regular precautions, however that’s simple sufficient to say. What precisely are “normal” precautions anyway?
In this information, we’ll look at security in Saint Lucia. Get able to dive deeply into particular crime charges, pure catastrophe danger, and extra. We may help make Saint Lucia one of many most secure locations you would presumably go to.
Is St Lucia Safe?
We know that not everybody has the posh of limitless time to analysis Saint Lucia. If you need fast solutions, don’t fear; we’ve received you.
Here are the principle issues it is best to know concerning the danger of journey in Saint Lucia:
As a complete, Saint Lucia is likely one of the most secure island international locations to go to within the Caribbean. The main resort areas and most neighborhoods are extremely protected, with thousands and thousands of tourists touring to Saint Lucia hassle-free every year.
There are some pure risks in Saint Lucia, together with a hurricane danger from June till November. The island additionally has the chance of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The probability of a extreme catastrophe occurring is low however can’t be dominated out. It’s clever to know the correct protocols earlier than touring, have enough insurance coverage, and keep away from high-risk instances, like August till October for hurricane danger.
There are crime incidents in Saint Lucia, particularly at massive occasions just like the Saint Lucia Carnival. Be cautious of petty crimes like bag snatching and pickpocketing in heavy crowds. However, additionally remember that there’s a severe crime danger, together with armed theft. These are fortunately rare incidents usually occurring in distant areas or after darkish.
There are some strict cultural variations, enforceable by legislation. The foremost factor to notice could be very conservative attitudes to LGBTQ+ relations throughout the nation. While members of the LGBTQ+ can nonetheless journey to Saint Lucia, it’s advisable to be conscious of issues like public shows of affection. You also needs to be aware that drug offenses carry extreme penalties, typically together with the dying penalty. It’s additionally unlawful for anybody to put on camouflage clothes, a rule not even youngsters are exempt from.
Speaking of issues which might be enforceable by legislation, you want a brief driving license to lease a automobile in Saint Lucia. Some rent firms can acquire this cross for you, nevertheless it’s good to ask prematurely; in any other case, you’ll must consider an in-person go to to the official Department of Tourism. Quick facet be aware: by no means cease for pedestrians flagging down your car, and at all times preserve your doorways locked whereas driving.
St Lucia Crime Rates
Unfortunately, there’s truly been a spike in Saint Lucia’s crime charges previously three years, just lately scoring a murder rating of 77.6 % in 2022. There’s an general crime rating of 70.24 on Numbeo, which is deemed excessive danger, and the security rating falls by half while you stroll through the day versus strolling at night time. that being stated, we felt extremely protected after we have been visiting the island.
As a normal rule, its remoted areas appeal to opportunistic assaults and theft. In the capital of Castries, there’s a extra clockwork sample of normal crime, like medicine and armed theft, in locations just like the (paradoxically named) Serenity Park and Vieux Fort. This is typical amongst large cities, and we’d advise you to maintain your wits about you. It’s clever to take a look at the precise crime hotspots of explicit locations in Saint Lucia that you simply’re visiting.
As at all times, take additional care or just keep away from touring after darkish. Solo night time walks on seashores and drunken rides in taxis with out a pre-agreed fare are all recipes for catastrophe. Similarly, take additional care within the daytime when main occasions just like the Saint Lucia Carnival are going down.
Keep jewellery and costly gadgets at residence or well-concealed when in Saint Lucia. Despite precise occasions of focused vacationers being low on this stunning nation, a very good rule when touring wherever is “bring it if you’re prepared to lose it”. In the case of a mugging, by no means attempt to struggle on your belongings.
Police Force Presence
As a complete, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force is an efficient system on the island. It is somewhat short-staffed and underfunded, with occasional accusations of corruption within the type of bribes. However, the police power receives help from the US in its operations and does a very good job of dealing with justice on the island. You can contact the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force on 911 and know that they’re one of the best level of contact in a harmful state of affairs.
However, we suggest reviewing the principles and cultural variations in Saint Lucia earlier than touring. These are the next legal guidelines it is best to know:
You should carry a brief Saint Lucia license if renting and driving a automobile on the island.
Drugs, together with marijuana, aren’t authorized in Saint Lucia and carry extreme authorized repercussions, together with the dying penalty.
It’s unlawful for anybody to put on camouflaged garments.
LGBTQ+ exercise is presently not authorized, and exhibiting affection in public is doubtlessly harmful.
The police are efficient in Saint Lucia, so don’t get on the improper facet of them both! This is especially true when you’re driving fairly than utilizing public transportation.
Natural Disasters in St Lucia
Saint Lucia isn’t proof against pure disasters, though there’s often minimal disruption or extreme occasions. Generally talking, these are the three foremost dangers:
Volcanic exercise
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Volcanic exercise and earthquakes are uncommon and fairly arduous to foretell. However, you’ll be able to subscribe to alerts when touring to Saint Lucia, which is able to promptly notify you of updates and emergency programs of motion. It’s one thing to be conscious of and subscribe to earlier than flying to the island.
Hurricanes are extra common, and Saint Lucia has a hurricane season between June and November. There are hardly ever actually harmful hurricanes in Saint Lucia. Still, flash flooding, journey disruption, and harm are an actual danger. In a really perfect world, it is best to keep away from this era, particularly from August till October, when hurricanes are at a peak.
If that isn’t potential, although, ensure that to take a look at our subsequent part.
Hurricanes in St Lucia
So, if you’re lifeless set on holidaying in Saint Lucia between June and November, right here’s what you must know. Hurricanes are measured on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. This ranks between 1 and 5 in severity and helps to categorise damages and decide whether or not hurricanes are a severe risk.
Here’s the rating system you’ll be able to anticipate:
Category 1: Winds of 74-95 mph are harmful and might trigger harm, comparable to harm to powerlines that might trigger outages.
Category 2: Winds of 96-110 mph which might be very harmful and can trigger harm, like all powerlines destroyed and energy out for weeks.
Category 3: Winds of 112-129 mph that trigger devastating influence with electrical energy and water entry broken for weeks.
Category 4: Winds of 130-156 mph that trigger catastrophic harm and a few areas to be uninhabitable for a lot of months. There could also be harm to some homes.
Category 5: Winds of 157 mph that can trigger catastrophic harm, with most areas uninhabitable for a lot of months. A excessive proportion of homes will probably be destroyed with collapsed roofs and partitions.
Staying Safe in St Lucia Hurricanes
So, how do you keep protected on this situation? Well, you’ll be able to take some easy steps to maximise your probabilities of security in Saint Lucia’s hurricane season. In this part, we’ll provide the high three.
Nearly all hurricanes impacting Saint Lucia are in class 1 or 2, so that you shouldn’t expertise probably the most extreme finish of the dimensions. But try to be ready for issues like energy outages and impacted flights. It’s a good suggestion to have insurance coverage to cowl you for any sudden prices and to be versatile along with your itinerary. Cancellation insurance coverage is at all times a useful card to have up your sleeve!
Here are some additional recommendation for you.
1. Carry a Charged Powerbank
A charged energy financial institution is crucial for energy cuts. Your cellphone is your lifeline; it’s a approach to contact the police or an ambulance and navigate to locations like hospitals (it is best to have already got realized the place they’re as a precautionary measure). Carrying or protecting an influence financial institution charged is an effective way to guard your self in case of an outage.
2. Know Your Hotel or Accommodation’s Emergency Policies
Does your lodge or lodging have a selected procedures plan? If they don’t let you know while you arrive or while you get your reserving affirmation, then ask. Make certain that you know the way folks round you’ll act if there’s a hurricane and if there are any accommodation-specific methods to remain protected.
3. Factor in Having No WiFi
This might sound apparent, however there’s no WiFi if there’s no energy. This means you’ll lose entry to issues like Google Maps, your banking app, and even simply contact with family and friends again residence. Having a backup plan, like offline maps or the flexibility to only textual content your ISP to improve to a roaming bundle, is important. You ought to by no means assume that you simply’ll have WiFi to remain protected.
Staying Safe on St Lucia Beaches
You can by no means be too cautious in relation to the ocean. There’s at all times a slight danger, and the ocean could be harmful. When staying protected on St Lucia’s seashores, an important factor to know is that the island doesn’t use warning flags. This means that you could be not be warned if there are areas unsuitable for swimming or with riptides.
Off the again of this, the island’s jap shoreline additionally opens out onto the Atlantic Ocean. This means waves can get critically uneven, particularly in hurricane season when winds choose up typically.
Not having restricted areas means you will need to use your frequent sense when deciding the place to swim. And when you’re not sure, ask your lodge for recommendation or go to a extra protected seashore, like one of many non-public resort seashores with a 24/7 lifeguard.
Need some inspiration? Check out one of the best seashores right here.
Weather in St Lucia
Knowing the climate of your vacation spot earlier than departure can actually be a lifesaver. If you go to St Lucia in July, you’ll know that it’s hurricane season with a excessive storm danger. Weather issues, as it might probably vastly influence your journey. Knowing your vacation spot inside out is the true means ahead.
St Lucia has two foremost seasons: the moist season from June till December and the dry season from December till late May. Temperatures are additionally fixed at 78-83 levels Fahrenheit. But we’ll take a more in-depth have a look at the seasonal variation month by month.
Spring
This is the most well-liked time to go to St Lucia and falls into the Spring Break dates. March is the driest month in St Lucia, with April additionally pretty dry and May beginning to see just a bit extra rain. You ought to go to throughout this time if you would like clear skies for sightseeing and loads of hikes and seashore days.
Summer
St Lucia will not be all people’s cup of tea in summer season, and it’s proper in the midst of the June to November hurricane season. July and August have the best ranges of humidity, with common arduous spells of downpours. That stated, costs are decrease, and sights are quieter.
If you are feeling like an low season vacation, it’s nonetheless worthwhile. You can restrict the chance of being impacted by a hurricane with enough analysis beforehand and cancellation insurance coverage. Just be ready to take a couple of taxis on moist days.
Fall
The hurricane season grinds to a sluggish halt round November, which suggests fall completely falls into the class of “hurricane risk”. We wouldn’t actually suggest this time of yr. Even if there are not any hurricanes, it falls clearly into the moist season (which runs from June to December), so that you’re a number of wet days.
Winter
December to February is when issues begin to change in St Lucia. You can wave goodbye to the hurricane danger and hi there to the transition from moist to dry season. December is prone to nonetheless expertise loads of moist days (a mean of 16), however January drops (a mean of 14 moist days), and February drops even additional (simply 9). You may positively have enjoyable reserving to go to St Lucia in winter; simply purpose for that later window.
5 Tips To Stay Safe in St Lucia
Staying protected in St Lucia is completely manageable. It’s only a case of doing analysis and taking fundamental precautions. It is a protected vacation spot; it simply requires a little bit of pre-departure prep and in-country savviness.
Here’s our recommendation on the highest 5 methods to remain protected when touring to St Lucia.
1. A Note on Cash
It’s value noting that credit score and debit playing cards are solely accepted at some retailers, in native taxis, and in some accommodations. To keep away from this, we’d counsel at all times carrying {dollars} as unfastened money. This means, you don’t have to attract out cash wherever harmful or get into altercations by chance.
Carrying a pockets of money can be useful when managing the chance of a harmful mugging assault. So many individuals hail the usage of a dummy pockets trick, which simply entails carrying a pretend pockets with fewer {dollars} or non-valuable playing cards in it. In the occasion of a mugging, you’ll be able to hand over that pockets as an alternative of your actual one – good, proper? You may as nicely use this money to double up as a dummy pockets when touring to St Lucia.
2. Smart Accommodation
It’s value reiterating that the place you might be positioned issues. Make certain you’re a protected distance from any tough areas, whether or not you’re in cities or extra rural cities. Doing that analysis earlier than committing to lodging is a sport changer relating to security. You’ll thank your self later when you’ll be able to stroll hassle-free to the principle sights and facilities.
3. Registered Taxis
We shouldn’t have to emphasise this, nevertheless it’s so vital that we add it to this listing anyway. Only ever use registered taxis, that are marked by a lightweight blue quantity plate. Frankly talking, when you get into an unregistered taxi, no one is aware of who you’re with or the place you’ll find yourself. It isn’t a protected touring follow, so don’t take the chance.
4. Know Your Weather
The vital danger of this stunning island is the climate. So do your analysis and know the climate danger of the month you’re visiting. This little bit of preparation could make all of the distinction. If you sense there’s “something in the air,” you’ll be taking the lead in protecting your self protected.
5. Know the Local Laws
Much of staying protected is simply being road savvy. But when you determine to go to St Lucia, you also needs to know the native legal guidelines, which require some analysis. You ought to be conscious of the restrictions round drug use, the principles for renting vehicles, and the conservative attitudes in direction of LGBTQ+ relationships. This means, you’ll be able to preserve the police in your facet.
Tips on St Lucia For Solo Travelers
Saint Lucia is such an interesting vacation spot. And when you don’t consider that straight off the bat, simply try these enjoyable details. There are some things to notice as a solo traveler, although:
You are extra interesting to criminals finishing up muggings, particularly when you’re utilizing your cellphone for instructions with no “second pair of eyes”.
There’s no one to fall again on when you get spiked or drink an excessive amount of.
There’s no one to observe your issues on the seashore or while you use bogs.
Basically, try to be conscious that you would be able to be considered as a little bit of a sitting duck. Don’t turn out to be bait; be savvy and conscious of what’s round you.
A Note For Female Solo Travelers
Any skilled solo feminine traveler is aware of how staying protected works. When touring to Saint Lucia, commonplace precautions are needed. You ought to be conscious of strolling alone in quiet areas or neighborhoods infamous for crime, stay vigilant of your environment always, and restrict your consumption of alcohol. You also needs to at all times keep away from strolling alone at night time.
When touring to Saint Lucia, reserving group excursions and day journeys may be worthwhile, particularly when you don’t really feel assured managing public transportation solo. Walking isn’t probably the most environment friendly means of getting round, leaving you susceptible to isolation. The information on sexual assault stats are somewhat regarding, so it pays to be somewhat cautious.
If you do your analysis on “bad areas” and stick by the same old solo feminine handbook guidelines, you’ll love this tropical island.
Tips on St Lucia For Families
St Lucia may need a barely spiked crime charge, however as a complete, it’s nonetheless nice for a household vacation. This is as a result of there’s a stable infrastructure of family-friendly resorts, and even problematic areas are protected within the daytime. A household with younger youngsters isn’t going to be out and about at night time anyway. Hence, you might be in a superb place to discover Saint Lucia safely.
If you will have accountable and skilled grownup vacationers, you’ll love visiting Saint Lucia as a household. Just be cautious of issues like riptides on the seashore (shallow water can nonetheless be deceptively sturdy), select the place your lodge is positioned fastidiously, and keep away from remoted areas or famend city districts at night time.
It may be value sticking to the north facet of Saint Lucia, the place loads of family-friendly resorts exist.
Visiting St Lucia: FAQs
When planning a safe journey to St Lucia, it’s vital to consider when you’re going, who you’re going with, and what you’re going to do there. All of those components play an enormous half in how protected your time in Saint Lucia will probably be.
If you’re an skilled traveler, you gained’t have any points navigating Saint Lucia. Here are some fast FAQs to solidify the entire security ideas we’ve run over.
Overall, very protected. Just be cautious of particular areas like Anse Le Raye (recognized for armed robberies) and take care at night time and in distant areas, the place there’s a heightened danger of assault and theft.
St Lucia is barely extra harmful than Jamaica, with a spiked murder charge of 77.6 % versus Jamaica’s 52.9 % in 2022.
The climate in Saint Lucia from August to October is fairly horrific. This is while you get probably the most rain, and it’s the height of hurricane season, that means there’s a danger of disruption and a severe danger of flash floods.
Absolutely. Saint Lucia is a superb place to go to. Its fascinating geographical structure provides a number of actions, like mountain climbing and driving into the world’s solely drive-in volcano.
Is St Lucia Safe? Final Thoughts
As you’ll be able to see, Saint Lucia is a rustic with some crime dangers and risks. While there’s a danger of hurricanes and volcanoes, extra extreme occasions are uncommon. Always choose respected lodging, analysis hurricane season, and take commonplace journey precautions, and also you’ll have a incredible time. Saint Lucia actually is a lovely nation while you go to along with your head firmly screwed on.
That’s all from us; Saint Lucia is considered one of our high suggestions for island holidays within the Caribbean. The rugged volcanic panorama with jutting peaks behind white sand seashores is iconic. And its luxurious lodging scene is equally spectacular. If you’d like additional inspiration on touring to Saint Lucia, try our complete information to the greatest issues to do in Saint Lucia – together with the one drive-in volcano on the planet.