St. Lucia Caribbean Vacation - Hiking the Pitons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ม.ค. 2014
- This year we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving in St Lucia, escaping Michigan's winter weather. The highlight of our trip to St. Lucia was hiking the Pitons (Gros Piton). Our local driver said we were crazy and while that might be true the view was worth it. Luckily we had a nice breeze during our climb, it's known to get uncomfortably hot. If anyone sees our guide Elvin, please tell him that we said hi!
We stayed at James Club Morgan Bay, Saint Lucia, though we've heard good things about the Sandals resorts as well. A piece of advice for those traveling to Saint Lucia, use the excursions offered by locals near your beach vs buying them through the resort. Ask around, it's likely other guests already gave them a try. Please feel free to share the details about your St. Lucia vacation in the comments.
Music: Fly Away (salama amani) by Slammin Tracks
Shot with a GoPro HERO 3 and a Canon T4i with a GlideCam 2000
Excellent vid!!! I climbed it last week, such a great climb!!
Just back from St. Lucia on April 4th. I have a ton of photos, but loved viewing your video. We made it to the top of Gros Piton in a downpour! The clouds parted when we hit the summot though! Verry true statement about hiring a guide from off the resort, I thought is was about half the cost. One of the most beautiful places I have visited. Great video~
Hi Neil, glad to hear that you had a great time in St. Lucia. Making it to the top of the Gros Piton in a downpour is quite an achievement! Thanks for the compliment on the video - cheers
This was an amazing video Brandon. wow Thank you so much for this. This is where I live. St Lucia
Hi Ezra, thanks for the compliments. I'm glad that you found this video. You picked a great place to live!
Nice work!
Awesome video. Well shot and edited. I spent a total of 5 and a half months out there and love it. You are right about using the excursions offered by locals near your beach other than buying them through the resort. I could tell that you were using a Go Pro for some of the shots. My partner uses the T2i Rebel and I use the Gh2 with Voigtlander 17.5mm lens and other prime lenses. My audio is the Zoom H6 and I also use a Rode Stereo Video Mic. Pro. I have climbed Gros piton and Mount Gimie.. There is so much to do in St Lucia, the drive in volcano and sulphur spring baths is amazing. I can't wait to go back again
Heading there tomorrow!
jtcellphone enjoy! I wish you great weather :)
nice video
Only 13 days and I, too, will be hiking the Pitons. Just joking. I might do the mud bath if I can be air-lifted to it! Notice they are moving quickly at the first part of the hike and not so much at the second picture of the hike. I would be "not so much" in the first picture. It's beautiful, however. Can't wait.
Have a blast in St. Lucia Kathleen DeWitt!
I was there for a day on a cruise and such a beautiful island. I want to go back to climb the mountains. although I got close to the volcano wouldn't walk in far because of the sulfur smell, it was too heavy for me.
+mirka narika haha, yeah there is definitely a smell but we got used to it.
Hey Brandon. Absolutely lovely video. Let me tell you that you haven't seen the end of the nice comments on this video. With great jobs like this you'll keep getting compliments. Everything about this video is awesome. I can tell from the video that you even have a pleasant personality. Are you Canadian by any chance? Just couldn't pass without taking a minute to say thanks for this video. I am Canadian and we just the all-inclusive Be Live Collections, Punta Cana from March 1st for March 8th this year and it was a blast. We rented a truck and toured for 24 hours. The beach at the resort wasn't that great but everything else was really good. I am currently looking at possible destinations for later this year and so far St Lucia is looking really good. I also have other spots like Aruba, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Curacao, St Marteen and others in mind though. Thanks for the upload Brandon :-)
Mitchell Sam Wow...this is easily the nicest comment that I have ever received on YT, thank you very much. To be honest, I kept waiting to find the greedy "go to my site" spam that we see too often, but was instead surprised to find your kindnesses as legitimate. Your positive words are much appreciated! If you decide on St Lucia, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. Cheers.
Great video! My wife and I are headed there in 3 weeks going to stay at sandals grand st. Lucian. Do you have any more info on the boat tour? Thanks.
This is a great video! I loved your music and time-lapse shots. Just this December I stayed at James Club Morgan Bay, Saint Lucia. It was the best vacation I ever been on.
I won a video contest and got to go for free for seven days! I just started editing all the video I took there. I must have gone on the same tour as you because some of your shot are just like mine. I shot it with the Go Pro Hero 3 black and a canon t5i. I will share it with you when I finish. Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Haha, unfortunately our trip to St Lucia was not free ;)
Great video, nice glidecam shots! We're headed there next month, any additional tips for the Piton climb?
Hi Brian, thanks for noticing the glidecam shots :) I'd pack lots of water (the guide will enforce that), food to snack on, and good footwear. We prefer keen hiking sandals. I've read that there's a second view point that requires an extra ten minute climb. If you're up for it, the view is supposed to be amazing.
*****
Water, GoPro cameras and good shoes, thanks! We'll be sure to ask about the possible second view point!
Nice video! My family and I are going there in March and we are not looking to just sit around and relax. What trail did you take while hiking the Pitons? I also am wondering where that rock arch is? I heard that is pretty fun to cliff jump off of.
Thanks Mark, you and the family will have a blast. The twin peaks consist of the Gros Piton and the Petit Piton. Hiking is only permitted on the Gros Piton and there's only one way up (Gros Piton Nature Trail). You'll want to go to the town of Fond Gens Libre where you'll pay around $10/person which includes the guide who will lead you to the summit (required). Our group took the cab there and the driver knew exactly where to go. The arch, known as the "Lady Slipper", was actually used for a scene in "Pirates of the Caribbean". It's located near the fishing village of Castries; most guided tours will take you by there. enjoy!
Great video Brandon! We are considering going to Saint Lucia and hike the Pitons. Thanks for posting your video, it gives us a lots of ideas! I noticed a few images of a pool and resort and the Pitons are in the background. Is this where you stayed? Could you tell me the name of that resort? Thanks!
Thanks +Marie Caron :) We actually only briefly stopped there for food/drinks after the Piton hike; it's called The Hummingbird Beach Resort
+Brandon Webb Thanks!
Do you do anything special when you upload the video onto TH-cam to make it look so HD?
What setting do you film in for the GoPro?
Make sure you upload your HD content to youtube using a decent bitrate. A lot of times when you export from your video editor the quality will be reduced to improve disk-space / upload times. 10,000 kbps is typically the default, but I use 20,000 kbps at minimum. This video was recorded using the GoPro 1080p setting. Thanks for watching!
Is it expensive to travel around st lucia?
GOOD EDITING
Hi Seth, thanks for the kind comment. Happy new year!
***** Happy New yr to you to, keep up the good work of promoting st.lucia, my parents are from there.
Brandon - can you tell me how long it took you all to hike Gros Piton? I'll be in St Lucia for a cruise stop this December and I REALLY want to do this hike, but I want to make sure I have the time to do it!
It took us about 1.5 hours to summit Gros Piton at a healthy pace. We enjoyed the amazing view for about 30 minutes before heading back. As one could expect, the descent is easier but your calves will definitely be burning due to the steepness. If you're looking to make this a quick trip I'd suggest going as early as possible; the afternoon heat will surely slow you down. Reserving somewhere between 3-4 hours should be adequate for an athletic-type who doesn't plan spending too much time at the peak. Although, I'd personally recommend setting aside 4-5 hours so that you can really appreciate the view.
***** Thanks so much!
im going there too in august and im kind of afraid of the fer de lance snake..
did you have any encouunters with snakes?
Hi Phil, we did not see any snakes during our time in St Lucia. From what I read, seeing a Fer de Lance would be pretty rare. Enjoy your trip!
Thank you for the quick reply!
Of course! :)