Is St. Lucia Safe To Visit? St. Lucia Safety In 2024

Saint Lucia is on the prime of everybody’s dream record of Caribbean island getaways. The island is blessed with stunning seashores, fascinating volcanic geography, and spectacular mountaineering trails. It’s no marvel you’re debating a visit; Saint Lucia is considered one of our favourite locations, too.

Nonetheless, these planning levels do beg the query: Is Saint Lucia protected? What do you have to count on out of your journey by way of crime and pure catastrophe threat? As an entire, 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 also help make Saint Lucia one of many most secure locations you might presumably go to.

Is St Lucia Protected?

We all know that not everybody has the luxurious of limitless time to analysis Saint Lucia. In order for you fast solutions, don’t fear; we’ve obtained you.

Listed here are the principle issues you must know concerning the threat of journey in Saint Lucia:

• As an entire, Saint Lucia is without doubt 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 hundreds of thousands of holiday makers 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 enough 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 massive 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 sometimes occurring in distant areas or after darkish.
• There are some strict cultural variations, enforceable by regulation. The primary factor to notice may 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 aware of issues like public shows of affection. You also needs to notice that drug offenses carry extreme penalties, generally together with the loss of life penalty. It’s additionally unlawful for anybody to put on camouflage clothes, a rule not even youngsters are exempt from.
• Talking of issues which are enforceable by regulation, you want a short lived driving license to lease a automobile in Saint Lucia. Some rent corporations can get hold of this go for you, but it surely’s sensible to ask prematurely; in any other case, you’ll need to consider an in-person go to to the official Division of Tourism. Fast aspect notice: by no means cease for pedestrians flagging down your automobile, and at all times maintain your doorways locked whereas driving.

St Lucia Crime Charges

Sadly, there’s really been a spike in Saint Lucia’s crime charges previously three years, not too long ago scoring a murder rating of 77.6 p.c in 2022. There’s an general crime rating of 70.24 on Numbeo, which is deemed excessive threat, and the security rating falls by half once you stroll in the course of the day versus strolling at evening. that being mentioned, we felt extremely protected after we have been visiting the island.

As a normal 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 medicine and armed theft, in locations just like the (paradoxically 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 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 evening walks on seashores and drunken rides in taxis with out a pre-agreed fare are all recipes for catastrophe. Equally, take additional care within the daytime when main occasions just like the Saint Lucia Carnival are happening.

Maintain jewellery and costly gadgets at dwelling or well-concealed when in Saint Lucia. Regardless of precise occasions of focused vacationers being low on this stunning nation, rule when touring wherever is “convey it in the event you’re ready to lose it”. Within the case of a mugging, by no means attempt to struggle in your belongings.

Police Pressure Presence

As an entire, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Pressure 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 job of dealing with justice on the island. You possibly can contact the Royal Saint Lucia Police Pressure on 911 and know that they’re one of the best level of contact in a harmful scenario.

Nonetheless, we suggest reviewing the principles and cultural variations in Saint Lucia earlier than touring. These are the next legal guidelines you must know:

• You have to carry a short lived Saint Lucia license if renting and driving a automobile 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 presently not authorized, and displaying affection in public is doubtlessly harmful.

The police are efficient in Saint Lucia, so don’t get on the fallacious aspect of them both! That is significantly true in the event you’re driving reasonably than utilizing public transportation.

Pure Disasters in St Lucia

Saint Lucia isn’t proof against pure disasters, though there’s normally minimal disruption or extreme occasions. Usually talking, these are the three essential dangers:

• Volcanic exercise
• Earthquakes
• Hurricanes

Volcanic exercise and earthquakes are uncommon and fairly exhausting to foretell. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to subscribe to alerts when touring to Saint Lucia, which can promptly notify you of updates and emergency programs of motion. It’s one thing to be aware 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 an excellent world, you must keep away from this era, particularly from August till October, when hurricanes are at a peak.

If that isn’t doable, although, ensure that 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 you might want 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 menace.

Right here’s the rating system you’ll be able to count on:

Class 1: Winds of 74-95 mph are harmful and might trigger harm, akin to harm to powerlines that might trigger outages. 

Class 2: Winds of 96-110 mph which are 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 impression 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 proportion of homes shall be destroyed with collapsed roofs and partitions.

Staying Protected in St Lucia Hurricanes

So, how do you keep protected on this state of affairs? 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 size. However you need 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 surprising prices and to be versatile together with your itinerary. Cancellation insurance coverage is at all times a useful card to have up your sleeve!

Listed here are some additional recommendation for you.

1. Carry a Charged Powerbank

A charged energy financial institution is important for energy cuts. Your telephone is your lifeline; it’s a technique 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 maintaining an influence financial institution charged is an effective way to guard your self in case of an outage.

2. Know Your Resort or Lodging’s Emergency Insurance policies

Does your lodge or lodging have a particular procedures plan? In the event that they don’t inform you once you arrive or once you get your reserving affirmation, then ask. Just be sure you understand how individuals round you’ll act if there’s a hurricane and if there are any accommodation-specific methods to remain protected.

3. Think about Having No WiFi

This will likely 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 dwelling. Having a backup plan, like offline maps or the power to simply textual content your ISP to improve to a roaming bundle, is important. It’s best to by no means assume that you simply’ll have WiFi to remain protected.

Staying Protected on St Lucia Seashores

You possibly can by no means be too cautious relating 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, an important 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 severely uneven, particularly in hurricane season when winds choose up typically.

Not having restricted areas means you need to use your frequent sense when deciding the place to swim. And in the event you’re not sure, ask your lodge for recommendation or go to a extra protected seaside, like one of many non-public resort seashores with a 24/7 lifeguard.

Want some inspiration? Check out the best beaches here.

Climate in St Lucia

Understanding the climate of your vacation spot earlier than departure can actually be a lifesaver. When you go to St Lucia in July, you’ll know that it’s hurricane season with a excessive storm threat. Climate issues, as it could possibly vastly impression your journey. Understanding your vacation spot inside out is the actual approach ahead.

St Lucia has two essential seasons: the moist season from June till December and the dry season from December till late Might. Temperatures are additionally fixed at 78-83 levels Fahrenheit. However we’ll take a more in-depth take a look at the seasonal variation month by month.

Spring

That is the preferred 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 Might beginning to see just a bit extra rain. It’s best to go to throughout this time if you would like clear skies for sightseeing and loads of hikes and seaside days.

Summer season

St Lucia will not be all people’s cup of tea in summer time, 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 exhausting spells of downpours. That mentioned, costs are decrease, and sights are quieter.

When 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 enough analysis beforehand and cancellation insurance coverage. Simply be ready to take a couple of taxis on moist days.

Fall

The hurricane season grinds to a gradual halt round November, which implies fall solely falls into the class of “hurricane threat”. We wouldn’t actually suggest 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 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 howdy to the transition from moist to dry season. December is more likely to nonetheless expertise loads of moist days (an average of 16), however January drops (a median 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 purpose for that later window.

5 Ideas To Keep Protected 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 Be aware on Money

It’s price noting that credit score and debit playing cards are solely accepted at some retailers, in native taxis, and in some inns. To keep away from this, we’d recommend at all times carrying {dollars} as free money. This manner, you don’t have to attract out cash wherever harmful or get into altercations by accident.

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 includes carrying a pretend 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 – good, proper? You may as effectively 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’re situated issues. Be sure to’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 recreation 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, but it surely’s so necessary that we add it to this record anyway. Solely ever use registered taxis, that are marked by a lightweight blue quantity plate. Frankly talking, in the event 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 Climate

The numerous threat of this stunning 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. When you sense there’s “one thing within the air,” you’ll be taking the lead in maintaining your self protected.

5. Know the Native Legal guidelines

A lot of staying protected is simply being road savvy. However in the event you determine to go to St Lucia, you also needs to know the native legal guidelines, which require some analysis. You need to be aware of the restrictions round drug use, the principles for renting automobiles, and the conservative attitudes in direction of LGBTQ+ relationships. This manner, you’ll be able to maintain the police in your aspect.

Tips about St Lucia For Solo Vacationers

Saint Lucia is such an enchanting vacation spot. And in the event you don’t consider that straight off the bat, simply check out these fun facts. There are some things to notice as a solo traveler, although:

• You might be extra interesting to criminals finishing up muggings, particularly in the event you’re utilizing your telephone for instructions with no “second pair of eyes”.
• There’s no one to fall again on in the event you get spiked or drink an excessive amount of.
• There’s no one to observe your issues on the seaside or once you use bogs.

Principally, you need to be conscious which you could be seen as a little bit of a sitting duck. Don’t change into bait; be savvy and conscious of what’s round you.

A Be aware For Feminine Solo Vacationers

Any skilled solo feminine traveler is aware of how staying protected works. When touring to Saint Lucia, normal precautions are vital. You need to be aware 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 evening.

When touring to Saint Lucia, reserving group excursions and day journeys may be worthwhile, particularly in the event you don’t really feel assured managing public transportation solo. Strolling isn’t essentially the most environment friendly approach of getting round, leaving you weak to isolation. The information on sexual assault stats are a little bit regarding, so it pays to be a little bit cautious.

When you do your analysis on “unhealthy areas” and stick by the standard solo feminine handbook guidelines, you’ll love this tropical island.

Tips about St Lucia For Households

St Lucia might need a barely spiked crime fee, however as an entire, it’s nonetheless nice for a household vacation. It is because 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 evening anyway. Therefore, you’re in a superb place to discover Saint Lucia safely.

You probably 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 situated fastidiously, and keep away from remoted areas or famend city districts at evening.

It may be price sticking to the north side 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 necessary to consider 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 shall be.

When you’re an skilled traveler, you gained’t have any points navigating Saint Lucia. Listed here are some fast FAQs to solidify the entire security ideas we’ve run over.

Is St Lucia Protected? 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. All the time choose respected lodging, analysis hurricane season, and take normal journey precautions, and also you’ll have a unbelievable time. Saint Lucia actually is a wonderful nation once you go to together with your head firmly screwed on.

That’s all from us; Saint Lucia is considered 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. When you’d like additional inspiration on touring to Saint Lucia, take a look at our complete information to the best things to do in Saint Lucia – together with the one drive-in volcano on this planet.