Saint Lucia is on the prime of everybody’s dream checklist of Caribbean island getaways. The island is blessed with lovely seashores, fascinating volcanic geography, and spectacular climbing trails. It’s no surprise you’re debating a visit; Saint Lucia is certainly one of our favourite locations, too.
Nonetheless, these planning phases do beg the query: Is Saint Lucia protected? What must you anticipate out of your journey when it comes to crime and pure catastrophe threat? As a complete, we’d inform you to train regular precautions, however that’s straightforward sufficient to say. What precisely are “regular” precautions anyway?
On this information, we’ll look at security in Saint Lucia. Get able to dive deeply into particular crime charges, pure catastrophe threat, and extra. We may help make Saint Lucia one of many most secure locations you can presumably go to.
Is St Lucia Secure?
We all know that not everybody has the luxurious of limitless time to analysis Saint Lucia. If you’d like fast solutions, don’t fear; we’ve received you.
Listed below are the principle issues you must know concerning the threat of journey in Saint Lucia:
- As a complete, Saint Lucia is likely one of the most secure island nations 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 annually.
- There are some pure risks in Saint Lucia, together with a hurricane threat from June till November. The island additionally has the chance of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The prospect 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 sufficient insurance coverage, and keep away from high-risk instances, like August till October for hurricane threat.
- There are crime incidents in Saint Lucia, particularly at giant occasions just like the Saint Lucia Carnival. Be cautious of petty crimes like bag snatching and pickpocketing in heavy crowds. Nonetheless, additionally remember that there’s a critical crime threat, 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 primary factor to notice could be very conservative attitudes to LGBTQ+ relations throughout the nation. Whereas 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 loss of life penalty. It’s additionally unlawful for anybody to put on camouflage clothes, a rule not even kids are exempt from.
- Talking of issues which might be enforceable by legislation, you want a brief driving license to hire a automotive in Saint Lucia. Some rent corporations can get hold of this cross for you, nevertheless it’s sensible to ask upfront; in any other case, you’ll should think about an in-person go to to the official Division of Tourism. Fast facet be aware: by no means cease for pedestrians flagging down your automobile, and at all times preserve your doorways locked whereas driving.
St Lucia Crime Charges
Sadly, there’s truly been a spike in Saint Lucia’s crime charges previously three years, just lately scoring a murder rating of 77.6 p.c in 2022. There’s an total crime rating of 70.24 on Numbeo, which is deemed excessive threat, and the protection rating falls by half whenever you stroll through the day versus strolling at night time. that being mentioned, we felt extremely protected once we had been visiting the island.
As a basic rule, its remoted areas appeal to opportunistic assaults and theft. Within the capital of Castries, there’s a extra clockwork sample of standard crime, like medication and armed theft, in locations just like the (sarcastically named) Serenity Park and Vieux Fort. That is typical amongst huge 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 specific locations in Saint Lucia that you just’re visiting.
As at all times, take further 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. Equally, take further care within the daytime when main occasions just like the Saint Lucia Carnival are going down.
Hold jewellery and costly objects at house or well-concealed when in Saint Lucia. Regardless of precise occasions of focused vacationers being low on this lovely nation, a great rule when touring wherever is “deliver it should you’re ready to lose it”. Within the case of a mugging, by no means attempt to battle to your belongings.
Police Drive Presence
As a complete, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Drive is an efficient system on the island. It’s a little short-staffed and underfunded, with occasional accusations of corruption within the type of bribes. Nonetheless, the police power receives help from the US in its operations and does a great job of dealing with justice on the island. You possibly can contact the Royal Saint Lucia Police Drive on 911 and know that they’re one of the best level of contact in a harmful state of affairs.
Nonetheless, we advocate reviewing the principles and cultural variations in Saint Lucia earlier than touring. These are the next legal guidelines you must know:
- You could carry a brief Saint Lucia license if renting and driving a automotive on the island.
- Medication, together with marijuana, aren’t authorized in Saint Lucia and carry extreme authorized repercussions, together with the loss of life penalty.
- It’s unlawful for anybody to put on camouflaged garments.
- LGBTQ+ exercise is at present not authorized, and exhibiting affection in public is doubtlessly harmful.
The police are efficient in Saint Lucia, so don’t get on the incorrect facet of them both! That is significantly true should you’re driving relatively than utilizing public transportation.
Pure Disasters in St Lucia
Saint Lucia isn’t resistant to pure disasters, though there’s often minimal disruption or extreme occasions. Typically talking, these are the three primary dangers:
- Volcanic exercise
- Earthquakes
- Hurricanes
Volcanic exercise and earthquakes are uncommon and fairly onerous to foretell. Nonetheless, 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 not often actually harmful hurricanes in Saint Lucia. Nonetheless, flash flooding, journey disruption, and harm are an actual threat. In a perfect world, you must keep away from this era, particularly from August till October, when hurricanes are at a peak.
If that isn’t potential, although, make certain to take a look at our subsequent part.
Hurricanes in St Lucia
So, in case you are useless set on holidaying in Saint Lucia between June and November, right here’s what it’s worthwhile to 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 critical risk.
Right here’s the rating system you’ll be able to anticipate:
Class 1: Winds of 74-95 mph are harmful and might trigger harm, similar to harm to powerlines that would trigger outages.
Class 2: Winds of 96-110 mph which might be very harmful and can trigger harm, like all powerlines destroyed and energy out for weeks.
Class 3: Winds of 112-129 mph that trigger devastating affect with electrical energy and water entry broken for weeks.
Class 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.
Class 5: Winds of 157 mph that may trigger catastrophic harm, with most areas uninhabitable for a lot of months. A excessive share of homes will likely be destroyed with collapsed roofs and partitions.
Staying Secure in St Lucia Hurricanes
So, how do you keep protected on this situation? Properly, you’ll be able to take some easy steps to maximise your probabilities of security in Saint Lucia’s hurricane season. On this part, we’ll provide the prime three.
Almost all hurricanes impacting Saint Lucia are in class 1 or 2, so that you shouldn’t expertise essentially the most extreme finish of the dimensions. However you have 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!
Listed below are some further 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 method to contact the police or an ambulance and navigate to locations like hospitals (you must have already got discovered the place they’re as a precautionary measure). Carrying or holding an influence financial institution charged is an effective way to guard your self in case of an outage.
2. Know Your Lodge or Lodging’s Emergency Insurance policies
Does your lodge or lodging have a selected procedures plan? In the event that they don’t inform you whenever you arrive or whenever you get your reserving affirmation, then ask. Just remember to understand how individuals round you’ll act if there’s a hurricane and if there are any accommodation-specific methods to remain protected.
3. Consider Having No WiFi
This may increasingly sound apparent, however there’s no WiFi if there’s no energy. This implies you’ll lose entry to issues like Google Maps, your banking app, and even simply contact with family and friends again house. Having a backup plan, like offline maps or the flexibility to only textual content your ISP to improve to a roaming bundle, is significant. You need to by no means assume that you just’ll have WiFi to remain protected.
Staying Secure on St Lucia Seashores
You possibly can by no means be too cautious with regards to the ocean. There’s at all times a slight threat, and the ocean could be harmful. When staying protected on St Lucia’s seashores, a very powerful factor to know is that the island doesn’t use warning flags. This implies 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 japanese shoreline additionally opens out onto the Atlantic Ocean. This implies waves can get significantly uneven, particularly in hurricane season when winds decide up typically.
Not having restricted areas means you will need to use your widespread sense when deciding the place to swim. And should you’re not sure, ask your lodge for recommendation or go to a extra protected seaside, like one of many personal resort seashores with a 24/7 lifeguard.
Want some inspiration? Take a look at one of the best seashores right here.
Climate in St Lucia
Realizing the climate of your vacation spot earlier than departure can actually be a lifesaver. In case you go to St Lucia in July, you’ll know that it’s hurricane season with a excessive storm threat. Climate issues, as it might probably vastly affect your journey. Realizing your vacation spot inside out is the true method ahead.
St Lucia has two primary seasons: the moist season from June till December and the dry season from December till late Could. Temperatures are additionally fixed at 78-83 levels Fahrenheit. However we’ll take a better take a look at the seasonal variation month by month.
Spring
That 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 Could beginning to see just a bit extra rain. You need to go to throughout this time if you’d like clear skies for sightseeing and loads of hikes and seaside days.
Summer time
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 very best ranges of humidity, with common onerous spells of downpours. That mentioned, costs are decrease, and points of interest are quieter.
In case you really feel like an low season vacation, it’s nonetheless worthwhile. You possibly can restrict the chance of being impacted by a hurricane with sufficient analysis beforehand and cancellation insurance coverage. Simply be ready to take a number of taxis on moist days.
Fall
The hurricane season grinds to a gradual halt round November, which implies fall fully falls into the class of “hurricane threat”. We wouldn’t actually advocate this time of yr. Even when there aren’t any hurricanes, it falls clearly into the moist season (which runs from June to December), so that you’re taking a look at plenty of wet days.
Winter
December to February is when issues begin to change in St Lucia. You possibly can wave goodbye to the hurricane threat and hey to the transition from moist to dry season. December is more likely 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 possibly can undoubtedly have enjoyable reserving to go to St Lucia in winter; simply intention for that later window.
5 Suggestions To Keep Secure in St Lucia
Staying protected in St Lucia is completely manageable. It’s only a case of doing analysis and taking fundamental precautions. It’s a protected vacation spot; it simply requires a little bit of pre-departure prep and in-country savviness.
Right here’s our recommendation on the highest 5 methods to remain protected when touring to St Lucia.
1. A Notice on Money
It’s price noting that credit score and debit playing cards are solely accepted at some outlets, in native taxis, and in some resorts. To keep away from this, we’d recommend at all times carrying {dollars} as unfastened money. This fashion, you don’t have to attract out cash wherever harmful or get into altercations by chance.
Carrying a pockets of money can also be useful when managing the chance of a harmful mugging assault. So many individuals hail using a dummy pockets trick, which simply entails carrying a faux pockets with fewer {dollars} or non-valuable playing cards in it. Within the occasion of a mugging, you’ll be able to hand over that pockets as an alternative of your actual one – sensible, proper? You would possibly as properly use this money to double up as a dummy pockets when touring to St Lucia.
2. Sensible Lodging
It’s price reiterating that the place you might be positioned issues. Be sure 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 concerning security. You’ll thank your self later when you’ll be able to stroll hassle-free to the principle points of interest and facilities.
3. Registered Taxis
We shouldn’t have to emphasise this, nevertheless it’s so essential that we add it to this checklist anyway. Solely ever use registered taxis, that are marked by a light-weight blue quantity plate. Frankly talking, should you get into an unregistered taxi, no person 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 Climate
The numerous threat of this lovely island is the climate. So do your analysis and know the climate threat of the month you’re visiting. This little bit of preparation could make all of the distinction. In case you sense there’s “one thing within the air,” you’ll be taking the lead in holding your self protected.
5. Know the Native Legal guidelines
A lot of staying protected is simply being avenue savvy. However should you resolve 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 automobiles, and the conservative attitudes in the direction of LGBTQ+ relationships. This fashion, you’ll be able to preserve the police in your facet.
Recommendations on St Lucia For Solo Vacationers
Saint Lucia is such an enchanting vacation spot. And should you don’t imagine that straight off the bat, simply try these enjoyable information. There are some things to notice as a solo traveler, although:
- You’re extra interesting to criminals finishing up muggings, particularly should you’re utilizing your cellphone for instructions with no “second pair of eyes”.
- There’s no person to fall again on should you get spiked or drink an excessive amount of.
- There’s no person to observe your issues on the seaside or whenever you use loos.
Principally, you have to be conscious that you could be seen as a little bit of a sitting duck. Don’t grow to be bait; be savvy and conscious of what’s round you.
A Notice For Feminine Solo Vacationers
Any skilled solo feminine traveler is aware of how staying protected works. When touring to Saint Lucia, commonplace precautions are essential. 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 should you don’t really feel assured managing public transportation solo. Strolling isn’t essentially the most environment friendly method of getting round, leaving you susceptible to isolation. The information on sexual assault stats are somewhat regarding, so it pays to be somewhat cautious.
In case you do your analysis on “dangerous areas” and stick by the same old solo feminine handbook guidelines, you’ll love this tropical island.
Recommendations on St Lucia For Households
St Lucia may need a barely spiked crime charge, however as a complete, it’s nonetheless nice for a household vacation. It is because there’s a strong infrastructure of family-friendly resorts, and even problematic areas are protected within the daytime. A household with younger kids isn’t going to be out and about at night time anyway. Therefore, you might be in a wonderful place to discover Saint Lucia safely.
If in case you have accountable and skilled grownup vacationers, you’ll love visiting Saint Lucia as a household. Simply be cautious of issues like riptides on the seaside (shallow water can nonetheless be deceptively robust), select the place your lodge is positioned fastidiously, and keep away from remoted areas or famend city districts at night time.
It may be price 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 essential to think about when you’re going, who you’re going with, and what you’re going to do there. All of those elements play an enormous half in how protected your time in Saint Lucia will likely be.
In case you’re an skilled traveler, you received’t have any points navigating Saint Lucia. Listed below are some fast FAQs to solidify all the security ideas we’ve run over.
General, very protected. Simply 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 threat of assault and theft.
St Lucia is barely extra harmful than Jamaica, with a spiked murder charge of 77.6 p.c versus Jamaica’s 52.9 p.c in 2022.
The climate in Saint Lucia from August to October is fairly horrific. That is whenever you get essentially the most rain, and it’s the height of hurricane season, which means there’s a threat of disruption and a critical threat of flash floods.
Completely. Saint Lucia is an excellent place to go to. Its fascinating geographical format presents plenty of actions, like climbing and driving into the world’s solely drive-in volcano.
Is St Lucia Secure? Last Ideas
As you’ll be able to see, Saint Lucia is a rustic with some crime dangers and risks. Whereas there’s a threat of hurricanes and volcanoes, extra extreme occasions are uncommon. At all times decide respected lodging, analysis hurricane season, and take commonplace journey precautions, and also you’ll have a unbelievable time. Saint Lucia actually is a fantastic nation whenever you go to along with your head firmly screwed on.
That’s all from us; Saint Lucia is certainly one of our prime 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. In case 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 earth.
