Both St Lucia and St Vincent are stunning Caribbean islands with beaches, natural scenery and friendly people.
If you are contemplating whether to vacation in St Lucia or St Vincent, this article will provide you with valuable information to help you choose the destination that is right for you.
As a general rule, St Vincent is a better choice for a traveler who is on a budget and looking for an island that is unspoiled with amazing beaches. On the other hand, St Lucia is the ideal choice for a traveler seeking a more developed island with sulphur springs and drive in volcano experience.
Read on for further details and explanations on how these two beautiful Caribbean islands compare. This article is written by a Caribbean national, knowledgeable of both destinations.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Island Is Better To Visit
St Lucia vs St Vincent: Which Island Is Bigger
St Lucia is 88 square miles bigger than St Vincent and the Grenadines. St Vincent, which lies 20 miles south west of St Lucia is 150 square miles.
St Vincent has a chain of 32 smaller islands which are called The Grenadines. Some of the Grenadines are inhabited such as Bequia, Union Island and Canouan.
Alternatively, islands such as Petit Nevis and Tobago Cays are uninhabited.
St Lucia is a single island state meaning that it has no dependencies. The head of state of both islands is His Majesty King Charles III.
See Also: What Are The Pros & Cons Of Living In St Vincent
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Has Better Infrastructure
Both countries are hilly and mountainous in topography but St Lucia is less mountainous that St Vincent.
The road network in St Lucia is superior with more alternative roads as well as the ability to drive around the entire island.
In St Vincent there isn’t a road network that connects as a ring around the island.
There is reliable transportation with private buses plying many of the routes around both islands.
However, the bus drivers in St Vincent tends to drive more aggressively than St Lucia coupled with the hills which made the experience slightly worrying for me as a fellow driver.
St Lucia is more developed and greater commercialized than St Vincent with bigger malls and shopping facilities on the island especially in the Rodney Bay area.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: What Is The Distance Apart
The flight time between St Vincent and St Lucia is about 35 – 40 minutes on small aircrafts.
This time may reduce if you are travelling on a slightly larger aircraft. Currently, there is no ferry service between the islands.
Nevertheless, visitors to the St Lucia will find that it is easy to travel to the neighboring islands of Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe from St Lucia by ferry.
There are day trips available and persons usually travel across for shopping trips, recreational purposes and also medical reasons. St Vincent has ferry service to its Grenadines islands daily.
If your budget permits, it is easy to travel to the other destination during your stay as there are flights between the islands several times each week by regional carriers.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Has Better Access To International Cities
St Lucia has better access to international cities than St Vincent and the Grenadines. St Lucia is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in the Southern Caribbean.
As a result, there are several options available for international travelers to connect to the island.
The island is now currently served by several major international carriers from various cities thus making access to the island seamless. Examples of these airlines include
- American Airlines
- Delta Airlines
- Jet Blue
- British Airways
- US Airways
- Sunwing
- West Jet
- TUI Airlines
Alternatively, St Vincent and the Grenadines commenced operations in 2017 of its first international airport in St Vincent in Argyle. Currently, St Vincent is served by the following international carriers.
- American Airlines
- Air Canada
- Sunwing
- Virgin Atlantic
- British Airways
Though similar airlines provide service to both islands, the frequency of flights to St Lucia is greater than St Vincent and thus it is a more convenient island to travel to and from.
The international airport in St Lucia, Hewanorra International Airport is located in Vieux Fort. It takes about 90 minutes to travel from this airport to the capital city Castries.
On the other hand, it takes about 20 minutes from Argyle International Airport in St Vincent to Kingstown.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Has Better Beaches
Hands down St Vincent will be the destination with better beaches and specifically the Grenadine islands.
Mainland St Vincent has two popular white sand beaches on the mainland being villa beach and Indian Bay.
The majority of the other beaches on the island are mainly black sand due to St Vincent’s volcanic composition.
Some of the well-loved beaches in the Grenadines are Friendship beach Bequia, Macaroni beach, Mustique, Palm Island beach, Palm Island, Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia and Salt Whistle Bay Beach, Mayreau.
Popular beaches on the island of St Lucia are pigeon beach, sugar beach and reduit beach.
See Also: What Are The Pros & Cons of Living In St Lucia
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Island Is Safer
According to the US Department State, Overseas Advisory Council based on a 2018 crime report per 100,000 citizens, St Vincent recorded the second highest number of murders being 31 while St Lucia had 21 during the same period.
However, vehicle theft was significantly higher in St Lucia than St Vincent with St Lucia having 120 being the highest among 8 Caribbean islands as opposed to 28 in St Vincent during the same period.
In both countries however visitors can walk and take public transportation safely during the day.
Nevertheless, due care must be taken as in any other country. Visitors should avoid walking in secluded areas at nights and take only taxis authorized by the relevant taxi associations.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: Which Island Is More Expensive
As a general rule, St Vincent is a cheaper place to visit than St Lucia as prices of goods and services are lower.
The official currency of both St Vincent and The Grenadines and St Lucia is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar which has been pegged to the US (United States) dollar since July 7th, 1976 at a rate of USD $1 to XCD $2.70.
This currency is also shared by seven other Eastern Caribbean islands and is managed through a regional central bank which is based in St Kitts.
Several persons from each of the Caribbean island work at the central bank. The US dollar is generally accepted at most business places on the island.
As with other countries, businesses at times may be skeptical accepting higher denominations. US notes that are torn and worn are usually rejected by businesses.
St Lucia Vs St Vincent: What Are The Unique Things To Do
Unique Things To Do In St Lucia
Climb The Piton Mountains- the piton is an incredible twin peaks that are designated as UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004 located at the south of the island.
The Gros Piton is 2462 feet while the Petit Piton is 2619 feet. The Gros Piton is the designated hiking trail while the Petit Piton is rarely climbed.
Visit The Drive In Volcano- The sulphur springs is one of the most visited attractions on the island located in Soufriere which is the world’s only drive in volcano.
Visitors are able to enter at certain points and give themselves a mud bath. It is widely believed that these mud baths have medical benefits.
Unique Things To Do In St Vincent & The Grenadines
Visit The Botanical Gardens– the gardens in St Vincent is located in New Montrose which is about 10 minutes drive from the city of Kingstown.
It is the oldest of its kind in the Western hemisphere and was first established in 1765. It is extremely easy to get there by taking a bus in the city centre.
This beautiful located is a popular venue for weddings and other events.
In addition to being the home of parrots, peacocks and a large variety of flowers, this garden has a breadfruit tree from the sucker of the original breadfruit tree that arrived in 1793 from Captain Bligh.
Visit Wallilabou Bay– this is located along the north western coast of the island and is home to where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
To date, there are several souvenirs and trinkets there from the movie and in addition vendors selling trinkets at this beautiful location. It is a nice casual must visit while on the island.
Final Thoughts
On a whole, St Vincent and the Grenadines is an ideal choice for a traveler who is looking for budget friendly vacation and spending time on the beach. On the other hand, St Lucia is suited to a traveler who wants to visit a drive in volcano, see the Pitons with easy access to major cities.
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