Hello Callum,As mentioned, these are your views, and no one should ever be attacked for their opinions, even if others may not agree. However, there are a few points I would like to address. Yes, you are correct that the roads in some parts of the island are extremely poor. That's why I have voiced my opinion to the government about investing in infrastructure. But to pretend that St. Lucia is the only place in the world with poor roads is unfair. I assume you might be from America. Even there, you have bad roads, though perhaps not on the same level. However, compared to other countries, the situation is similar. You mention that my island is poor, and when you Google it, it says it's poor. St. Lucia has never claimed to be an island of wealth, but like most places, we have wealth gaps - some people are rich, and some are poor. America is a large country, so it's difficult to compare, but if you look at individual states, many of which are larger than St. Lucia, you'll find greater wealth inequalities in some of them than in St. Lucia. I've been to places in the U.S. where I've seen more poverty than I ever have in St. Lucia. Look at how America treats some of its people, for example, in places like Cancer Alley and many of the states who suffer with lead in their water. Yes, there are many people on the island who are not as financially stable as the average American, but let’s not forget that in St. Lucia, very rarely will you see anyone starving, as most of us know how to grow our own food. St. Lucia faces the same issues as anywhere else in the world - unemployment, a shortage of jobs, and global economic crises. We are not immune to these problems, but we are a resilient people and continue to work through them as best we can. You commented on the quality of the food, saying it’s not great unless you pay thousands. Every individual has their own taste preferences, and what you dislike, someone else might enjoy. It’s wrong to generalize. There are foods in the U.S. that many find unappealing, yet the U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the world. That speaks to food quality and choices as well. Lastly, you mentioned that you may never return, which is fine, but it shows a narrow mindset to assume that all islands are the same. Traveling is an experience, and like you and me, we are among the lucky few who get to see what the world has to offer. But there are still some people who believe America is the world. My final point: Many people say Africa is poor or backward, yet billions are stolen from Africa by more developed countries. We in St. Lucia may be from a small island, but we are incredibly proud of it. Have a great day. P.S. I will continue to voice my opinion to those in power about improving our infrastructure, and in that, I certainly agree with you.
Thank you for the well thought out comment! I was purely uploading this video to show road conditions for travelers who are coming to St Lucia and are wondering if they should rent a car or not. My conclusion is that they should rent a car if they are a good driver. I never said that these are the worst roads in the world. St Lucia is a very beautiful island. I will return to the Caribbean and I will continue to travel. Cheers
Thanks for your reply to my comment, appreciate that. But you have to admit alot of your comments was base on a lack of facts. What has slavery got to with the fact that you think it's a poor island. America was built on the back of slavery, today many of the African countries are being robbed about 500 billion by France but many concentrate on the few corrupt leaders who are robbing the countries under the table but yet we concentrate on that while France robs them on the table. Let's not forget many of the Caucasian in America came from the British territories who happen themselves to be outcast. But lets not digress, the road conditions could and should be better but not very long ago the island was ravished by hurricane, and so we need our tourism industry.
I’ve been to Saint Lucia three times and to several Caribbean islands and I think you’ve erred in portraying St Lucia as a “very poor country”. The first time I went to St. Lucia I stayed at a resort in Rodney Bay, but we rented a car and drove the entire island. The second and third time we visited we stayed at guest houses and the third time we stayed at AirBnb‘s and rented cars both those times. If you were driving around the island for a week or eight days, yes most of the lower income housing is closest and most visible to the busiest roads. That is the same in many places if not most. Correct? Who wants to live on a busy road with traffic if they can afford not to? The fact is that if you actually saw 70-90% of all the housing in St. Lucia you would not describe it’s population as “very poor”. What Caribbean island or country in the world does not have a sad history of slavery? I think your comments on the food being bad is typical of most American’s bias. That or your budget prevented you from eating better while you were on the island. I do think you generally described the driving and the roads on the island. But let’s face it most people from the United States should not be driving on the left anywhere. Peace.
Very excited to travel to St Lucia on my birthday next month, looking forward to interacting with all the Lucian locals and learning about the culture. I will be renting a car as I am originally from The Bahamas so there shouldn't be much surprises with that. Keep in mind that research and open-mindedness is crucial when traveling to the smaller countries. Looks like you wanted the resort experience without the resort.
Was there in January and the roads were a mess. There were potholes everywhere, people, chickens and dogs. There are no lights and it was raining by the time we got to the northern part of the island after arriving. Yes it was very very stressful. In fact we met some people who didn't even want to take a taxi back to the airport and hired a helicopter. Seriously. That said the people of St Lucia are so wonderful and it's just such a beautiful place and we had such a great time. There is so much to do there. I'm glad we had the car but we did several tours and they came to pick us up. I just wish the roads would at least be as good as Aruba but I get it, the country is poor but the people and the beauty more than make up for it. I was surprised about the comment on food. We didnt stay at an expensive resort. We ate at a great little place in downtown Soufriere as well as Dasheen-one of the most romantic restaurants I have ever been to and Ive been to 35 countries, a wonderful steak place in Rodney Bay as well as street food and strong rum drinks on a Friday night street party in Gros Islet. It was a blast. I definitely plan to go back. One last point. We live in South Carolina and never once while we were in St. Lucia did we worry about someone pulling out a gun and shooting us and if you want to see some poverty and run down? Drive through rural South Carolina.
I agree that rideshare fares can add up in most Caribbean islands. Saint Lucia is a developing country, but I've seen worse roads and infrastructure elsewhere, including in certain parts of the United States. All Saint Lucia has is narrow twist-and-turn roads. You wanna see worse driving conditions? Go to Lebanon or Thailand. I'd deal with tighter roads than actual drivers who don't care about anyone's safety at all and their local authorities that doesn't enforce traffic laws lol.
St Looch is a great place. I will agree taxi's/ personal drivers add up quick and the roads are scary to drive on. Without discrediting your experience, it sounds like you and your girlfriend may not have had all the details you needed beforehand, which led to some unexpected challenges. Perhaps the planning could have used a bit more research, especially as the area turned out to be quite different from what you’d experienced in South America. The unfamiliar back and country roads were likely more demanding than anticipated, which understandably impacted the overall experience.
It seems like its your first Caribbean island that you have been. You should try martinique a French island north of st Lucia 🇱🇨, it just feels like Europe in the middle of the sea. But it's an island
Hi, I am from St Lucia left when I was a child. I’ve always had this romantic idea about being able to travel in an open top car. It’s true what you say you were poor 30 years ago and we still poor now and thank you for your honest opinion about the road, good luck for the future. I mean on your future travels.
I wont say the roads are bad at all...im originally from st Vincent and when i travelled to st Lucia 🇱🇨 i took a trip down south and tbh it wasnt that bad. Just stay on main road ❤
I disagree. I have been here four times and stayed at Airbnbs and rented a car. St. Lucia is beautiful and not poor. When you drive you have to keep left and understand that the steering wheel is on the other side. Also, you should use Google Maps.
Im from st.lucia and live in Virginia usa. There are many places I've been to in the United States that look way poorer and third world than st.lucia with way more terrible food.all the crappy fast food around here is no better than what you get in st.lucia. just saying.
Hello, I am curious. How long did yall book your hotels before traveling to St. Lucia? I just got back last week; I stayed Friday to Friday at all-inclusive resort and only paid $1241.63 for the entire stay. (Booked around 70 days out). Like most islands in the Carribean islands if you wait to close to your travel dates prices increase a lot, especially in summer season.
I rented a car and drove all over Belize. It was a good experience. Despite their British heritage, they drive on the right. (I would never try driving left, because my instinctive reactions would be wrong in an emergency!) Belizean roads are good enough. Just watch for wildlife and livestock. The only real limitation is signage. The prevailing wisdom seems to be "Anybody with any business going already knows the way."
Dude, have you been to any of the islands, or many other countries? Many are extremely poor compared to the US. If you're expecting rich communities scattered across the island, you did terrible research before your trip. I've been to 14 Caribbean islands (62 countries total), you need to know what you're getting into. Driving there is easy compared to places like Rio, Santiago, Bangkok and such. LOL, this makes me laugh.
Hi Calum! Thanks for your video, I’ve been to Saint Lucia and I would say we did not feel safe at all. We were actually followed by a car, when we noticed we started going very slowly (they were ahead of us) and they would keep waiting for us up until we arrived in a more busy area where they did a U turn on the road. We also had a moment where people were trying to stop our car and the police ran out of a building to tell them to go off, they all started to run away. Furthermore, the island was very expensive and we found safety informations were not available. I find it really hard to find proper informations, they have extremely high murder rate per capita, carjacking and else but none would reply to our question « is it safe? »
Hello Callum,As mentioned, these are your views, and no one should ever be attacked for their opinions, even if others may not agree. However, there are a few points I would like to address.
Yes, you are correct that the roads in some parts of the island are extremely poor. That's why I have voiced my opinion to the government about investing in infrastructure. But to pretend that St. Lucia is the only place in the world with poor roads is unfair. I assume you might be from America. Even there, you have bad roads, though perhaps not on the same level. However, compared to other countries, the situation is similar.
You mention that my island is poor, and when you Google it, it says it's poor. St. Lucia has never claimed to be an island of wealth, but like most places, we have wealth gaps - some people are rich, and some are poor. America is a large country, so it's difficult to compare, but if you look at individual states, many of which are larger than St. Lucia, you'll find greater wealth inequalities in some of them than in St. Lucia. I've been to places in the U.S. where I've seen more poverty than I ever have in St. Lucia. Look at how America treats some of its people, for example, in places like Cancer Alley and many of the states who suffer with lead in their water. Yes, there are many people on the island who are not as financially stable as the average American, but let’s not forget that in St. Lucia, very rarely will you see anyone starving, as most of us know how to grow our own food.
St. Lucia faces the same issues as anywhere else in the world - unemployment, a shortage of jobs, and global economic crises. We are not immune to these problems, but we are a resilient people and continue to work through them as best we can.
You commented on the quality of the food, saying it’s not great unless you pay thousands. Every individual has their own taste preferences, and what you dislike, someone else might enjoy. It’s wrong to generalize. There are foods in the U.S. that many find unappealing, yet the U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the world. That speaks to food quality and choices as well.
Lastly, you mentioned that you may never return, which is fine, but it shows a narrow mindset to assume that all islands are the same. Traveling is an experience, and like you and me, we are among the lucky few who get to see what the world has to offer. But there are still some people who believe America is the world.
My final point: Many people say Africa is poor or backward, yet billions are stolen from Africa by more developed countries.
We in St. Lucia may be from a small island, but we are incredibly proud of it.
Have a great day.
P.S. I will continue to voice my opinion to those in power about improving our infrastructure, and in that, I certainly agree with you.
Thank you for the well thought out comment! I was purely uploading this video to show road conditions for travelers who are coming to St Lucia and are wondering if they should rent a car or not. My conclusion is that they should rent a car if they are a good driver. I never said that these are the worst roads in the world. St Lucia is a very beautiful island. I will return to the Caribbean and I will continue to travel. Cheers
Thanks for your reply to my comment, appreciate that. But you have to admit alot of your comments was base on a lack of facts. What has slavery got to with the fact that you think it's a poor island. America was built on the back of slavery, today many of the African countries are being robbed about 500 billion by France but many concentrate on the few corrupt leaders who are robbing the countries under the table but yet we concentrate on that while France robs them on the table. Let's not forget many of the Caucasian in America came from the British territories who happen themselves to be outcast. But lets not digress, the road conditions could and should be better but not very long ago the island was ravished by hurricane, and so we need our tourism industry.
I’ve been to Saint Lucia three times and to several Caribbean islands and I think you’ve erred in portraying St Lucia as a “very poor country”. The first time I went to St. Lucia I stayed at a resort in Rodney Bay, but we rented a car and drove the entire island. The second and third time we visited we stayed at guest houses and the third time we stayed at AirBnb‘s and rented cars both those times.
If you were driving around the island for a week or eight days, yes most of the lower income housing is closest and most visible to the busiest roads. That is the same in many places if not most. Correct? Who wants to live on a busy road with traffic if they can afford not to?
The fact is that if you actually saw 70-90% of all the housing in St. Lucia you would not describe it’s population as “very poor”.
What Caribbean island or country in the world does not have a sad history of slavery?
I think your comments on the food being bad is typical of most American’s bias. That or your budget prevented you from eating better while you were on the island.
I do think you generally described the driving and the roads on the island. But let’s face it most people from the United States should not be driving on the left anywhere.
Peace.
Dude where in St Lucia did you live? because you seem to be in the wild. you chose people's backyard roads to highlight.
Very excited to travel to St Lucia on my birthday next month, looking forward to interacting with all the Lucian locals and learning about the culture. I will be renting a car as I am originally from The Bahamas so there shouldn't be much surprises with that. Keep in mind that research and open-mindedness is crucial when traveling to the smaller countries. Looks like you wanted the resort experience without the resort.
No sir. I have travelled to many small countries and am not a resort person. Enjoy the trip!
The first honest video I have seen about St Lucia and driving there,
Thank you, that was the goal. Seemed to upset a lot of people haha
Was there in January and the roads were a mess. There were potholes everywhere, people, chickens and dogs. There are no lights and it was raining by the time we got to the northern part of the island after arriving. Yes it was very very stressful. In fact we met some people who didn't even want to take a taxi back to the airport and hired a helicopter. Seriously. That said the people of St Lucia are so wonderful and it's just such a beautiful place and we had such a great time. There is so much to do there. I'm glad we had the car but we did several tours and they came to pick us up. I just wish the roads would at least be as good as Aruba but I get it, the country is poor but the people and the beauty more than make up for it. I was surprised about the comment on food. We didnt stay at an expensive resort. We ate at a great little place in downtown Soufriere as well as Dasheen-one of the most romantic restaurants I have ever been to and Ive been to 35 countries, a wonderful steak place in Rodney Bay as well as street food and strong rum drinks on a Friday night street party in Gros Islet. It was a blast. I definitely plan to go back. One last point. We live in South Carolina and never once while we were in St. Lucia did we worry about someone pulling out a gun and shooting us and if you want to see some poverty and run down? Drive through rural South Carolina.
I agree that rideshare fares can add up in most Caribbean islands. Saint Lucia is a developing country, but I've seen worse roads and infrastructure elsewhere, including in certain parts of the United States. All Saint Lucia has is narrow twist-and-turn roads. You wanna see worse driving conditions? Go to Lebanon or Thailand. I'd deal with tighter roads than actual drivers who don't care about anyone's safety at all and their local authorities that doesn't enforce traffic laws lol.
Do they have buses running for transport ? Is there public transport ?
St Looch is a great place. I will agree taxi's/ personal drivers add up quick and the roads are scary to drive on. Without discrediting your experience, it sounds like you and your girlfriend may not have had all the details you needed beforehand, which led to some unexpected challenges. Perhaps the planning could have used a bit more research, especially as the area turned out to be quite different from what you’d experienced in South America. The unfamiliar back and country roads were likely more demanding than anticipated, which understandably impacted the overall experience.
It seems like its your first Caribbean island that you have been. You should try martinique a French island north of st Lucia 🇱🇨, it just feels like Europe in the middle of the sea. But it's an island
just a whole bunch of nonsense
Hi, I am from St Lucia left when I was a child. I’ve always had this romantic idea about being able to travel in an open top car. It’s true what you say you were poor 30 years ago and we still poor now and thank you for your honest opinion about the road, good luck for the future. I mean on your future travels.
I wont say the roads are bad at all...im originally from st Vincent and when i travelled to st Lucia 🇱🇨 i took a trip down south and tbh it wasnt that bad. Just stay on main road ❤
St. Kitts & Nevis would be perfect for you. Beautiful, affordable and great people
@@shakem4283 ah nice. I actually wanted to go there and had the trip planned but flight cancelled so went to St Lucia instead
I disagree. I have been here four times and stayed at Airbnbs and rented a car. St. Lucia is beautiful and not poor. When you drive you have to keep left and understand that the steering wheel is on the other side. Also, you should use Google Maps.
Better than it used to be, around the time of the millennium highway when i lived there mate
Im from st.lucia and live in Virginia usa. There are many places I've been to in the United States that look way poorer and third world than st.lucia with way more terrible food.all the crappy fast food around here is no better than what you get in st.lucia. just saying.
Hello, I am curious. How long did yall book your hotels before traveling to St. Lucia? I just got back last week; I stayed Friday to Friday at all-inclusive resort and only paid $1241.63 for the entire stay. (Booked around 70 days out). Like most islands in the Carribean islands if you wait to close to your travel dates prices increase a lot, especially in summer season.
@@mrsolotraveler8808 Oh that’s amazing! We did everything super last minute. Having never been there I wanted to see what it was like first.
What hotel?
I rented a car and drove all over Belize. It was a good experience. Despite their British heritage, they drive on the right. (I would never try driving left, because my instinctive reactions would be wrong in an emergency!) Belizean roads are good enough. Just watch for wildlife and livestock. The only real limitation is signage. The prevailing wisdom seems to be "Anybody with any business going already knows the way."
Dude, have you been to any of the islands, or many other countries? Many are extremely poor compared to the US. If you're expecting rich communities scattered across the island, you did terrible research before your trip. I've been to 14 Caribbean islands (62 countries total), you need to know what you're getting into. Driving there is easy compared to places like Rio, Santiago, Bangkok and such. LOL, this makes me laugh.
St Lucia isn't extremely poor smh
Interesting but its harder for u guys because u drive on the wrong side 😄
For sure took adjusting to.
Really appreciate the honest opinions and heads up advice in this video🙏
Are you serious come on , every where there's poor road. And you mention the food is bad, am guessing youre an American says alot🤔👍
You don’t know nothing about traveling
Hi Calum! Thanks for your video, I’ve been to Saint Lucia and I would say we did not feel safe at all. We were actually followed by a car, when we noticed we started going very slowly (they were ahead of us) and they would keep waiting for us up until we arrived in a more busy area where they did a U turn on the road. We also had a moment where people were trying to stop our car and the police ran out of a building to tell them to go off, they all started to run away. Furthermore, the island was very expensive and we found safety informations were not available. I find it really hard to find proper informations, they have extremely high murder rate per capita, carjacking and else but none would reply to our question « is it safe? »
Thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed the video! Got a lot of negative comments on this one haha