St Lucia lives up to the ideal of a Caribbean paradise, not least for its glorious array of palm-shaded, honey-coloured and black volcanic sand beaches, translucent turquoise waters and sheltering reefs swarming with tropical fish. Despite some top-end developments in recent years, much of the island retains the laidback Caribbean flavour you’d expect and has little of the jaded hustle that can mar other islands. It all makes for a relaxed, friendly and incredibly beautiful place to visit.

Rough Guide DIRECTIONS St Lucia has everything you need to make the most of your time on the island – write-ups of all the best places to stay and eat for different budgets, the best beaches, and all the activities, day and night. . . in short the best St Lucia has to offer.

Browse the guide’s full-colour ideas section and get a host of suggestions for things to do, theme by theme.

Then flip to the places section to explore the island district by district, with every beach, resort, restaurant, sight and attraction marked on our easy-to-use maps.

It’s like having a local friend help plan your trip.