Safety Tips in Saint Lucia

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Mosquitos seem to have enjoyed several other guests and my wife as a meal during our trip. My wife who never gets a mosquito bite got at least a dozen large, angry bites on her legs and torso. I had never seen such large bites in my life and some other guest looked like they had chicken pox; they were so covered. We always travel with some bug repellent spray and towelettes which have kept us from being bitten up before but obviously it diddn't work on these insects.

For the most part during our vacation a simple "No Thank you" sufficed with most vendors on the beach and in the towns. The only problems we had were at the major attractions such as the volcano and sulphur springs. We were swarmed by at leat twenty vendors before we even got fully off the van. We tried to be polite with our No Thank You, Not Interested but they just kept coming. My wife got frustrated enough to use a few choice words and they backed off. I really hate that we have to resort to that but it gets quite intimidating.

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The one thing that turned me off during our stay was the amount of people asking us if we wanted to buy drugs. No matter what beach it was; someone always approached us to see if we wanted to buy some "smoke". Just say no and walk on as we did. I know we are tourists and the stereotype is that people come to "have a good time" but we are not that type in the least.

Anywhere in most places you will be continually approached and asked if you want to buy something.
St Lucia is now different, albeit they all seem alot more friendly than the beggars/touters/ sellers in other places of the world but
on the beach - you will be asked if you want drugs, fruit, a hand made handbag/ hat from leaves.
you will also be approached by people saying they are trying to get oem money to host a cricket match for homeless children.

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My top Six Saint Lucia Dangers
1. The most common danger in St. Lucia, or any tropical destination for that matter, is sunburn. As you travel nearer to the earth’s equator the sun is filtering through less of earth’s atmosphere and will burn you much faster than you are used to. Even wearing sun-block (spf-30) you can be severely burned in 3 – 4 hours. Think of spf-30 as if it will keep you from burning for (3x30) about an hour and a half. Spf-50 will keep you from burning for (3x50) almost 3 hours... Actually sun-block it’s self is possibly linked to skin cancer and you should simply avoid being in the direct sun as much as possible when in the tropics. If you are in the direct sun wear a wide brim hat, long sleeves, and stay in the shade as much as you can. If you must stay in the direct sun then be sure to have someone check you for burning every 30 minutes or less, when it is visibly turning red it is already worse than you think! Get out of the sun NOW!
2. NEVER wander off alone. Crime can be a real problem, and “tourists” are targeted. They don’t know if you’re loaded or broke, they just can tell that you’re a visitor. It is doubly obvious if you are white and a visitor, but all visitors need to take common sense precautions. Some places you simply should never go. This is NOT the USA and unfortunately the police in St. Lucia do little to protect you from robbery or assault. Imagine that the criminal is the little brother of the policeman that you are reporting the crime to.... well it sort of works out as if that is what’s real even if it isn’t literally true. Its not like crime is rampant here, but thefts are higher wherever the poorer classes are, and police recovery is highly unlikely.
3. Drowning in the ocean should be considered a very real danger. Rip-tides are not exclusive to tropical islands, but ocean currents can be stronger and much closer to shore than they are near a continent such as the USA! Use caution snorkling and use first rate professionals if going scuba diving.
4. There are a lot of snakes in St. Lucia; fortunately none of them are poisonous, except one. The one snake to avoid is the “Fer-de-Lance”. This snake is brown and/or black with pale yellow or cream-colored bands that crisscross the back and sides of the body, making dark triangular and diamond patterns. The triangles usually connect slightly on the back which some describe as a “butterfly” or an “hourglass” pattern. The head is large, triangularly shaped, and considerably wider than the neck. (Typical for all poisonous snakes, when the head is clearly wider than the neck, and/or triangular, it’s almost always poisonous.) The good news is that this snake if agitated will “rattle” its tail much like a rattlesnake; it doesn’t have rattles like a rattlesnake, but it usually makes a significant noise which should warn you off. The snake can survive most tropical climates, even tropical deserts, but it is most commonly found in lowlands and wetlands, also common-place in plantations because they feed on the rats which thrive there.
5. Mosquitoes will often be a big problem, especially if you have no bug repellent. At the least they will pester you with their bites and little welts; but they can also carry diseases. Because of this it is important to try to avoid getting a large rash of bites. A couple hundred bites is obviously 100 times the risk of a couple bites. Most of them do not carry anything that will really hurt you. Plan on buying repellent in St. Lucia if you can’t bring it with you. If you do bring it, it probably can’t go in your carry-on.
6. Peddlers are EVERYWHERE and in St. Lucia they do NOT like to take no for an answer. You may need to plan ahead on being rude if you want them to understand that you actually mean “NO”. They will lie, cheat, and steel. They do not deserve your sympathy! They will pester you and try to sell you handmade items that will NOT pass customs. It is illegal to take plant based items such as coconut husks and palm-frowns through customs, regardless of how artsy they have been made to look. The items you buy from these peddlers were probably even confiscated and re-sold a few times.... Volcanic rock items and even some necklaces can be confiscated when leaving the country. Especially the street peddlers selling their wears will LIE, LIE, LIE, about this policy just to get your money! These vendors are the exact same crowd that will break into your car, dig through your beach towel, and rob you again at knife-point later that night if you go off the beaten path. Help STOP the criminal element and buy only from legitimate businesses! But even then be ready to haggle on price. The retail shops have prices that are sometimes 2 or 3 times higher than the going rates, and no price is concrete. Haggling 101: If they are asking 10, offer 1. If they counter with 5, offer 2. You may just get it for 3....
7. There are only six, not seven. Missing is my input on local taxi service. I did not use a taxi there. And that is enough said on that....

I only came up with one warning. I underestimated the strength of the sun on our honeymoon to St. Lucia. Look at the picture to see what 4 hours in the sun with spf 30 sunblock can do. The other parts of my body, like my ankles, which weren't covered in sunblock got burnt much worse.

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The sun is strong and skin cancer is always on the rise so avoid getting sunburn. I am very white and burn very easily so I always wear sunblock and take hats when we travel especially to beach locales. On this trip I took several hats for the beach to avoid getting a burn on my head, face and neck while relaxing on the beach. We also avoid peek sun exposure times but heading out of the sun at 11am for an early lunch and coming back after 1pm when the rays are less damaging. Reapplying sunblock after swimming is also important to avoid burning.

The police in St Lucia will not help you if you are robbed or assaulted. Sometimes they yell at the tourist who has been robbed. Rumor has it that many of the criminals are close relatives of the police.

Be extremely careful anywhere you go on the Island. At the very best the police are unhelpful.