Bird and Nature Tours
Bird-watching hikes and tours take you into the Rainforest and to offshore rookery islands. Hot spots include Maria Islands Nature Reserve (closed in nesting season) east of Vieux Fort, Fregate Islands off the east coast, Bois D'Orange Swamp and Grand Anse in the north, Edmund Forest Reserve in the west, Boriel's Pond in the south, and Mankote Mangrove in Vieux Fort. Besides its own parrot, St. Lucia claims its own peewee, oriole, and wren, and other rare finds. St. Lucia National Trust offers other nature experiences, including the leatherback turtle-watching campout at Grande Anse Beach, on Saturdays from mid-March through July. Tents are provided, but you must bring your own food and water. The campout lasts from 4 pm to 6:30am.

Castries
St. Lucia's capital offers sightseeing and shopping. For duty-free and other buys, check out Pointe Seraphine, at the cruise ship port. For ambience, walk around Derek Walcott Square, named for the Nobel prize winning writer who was born on St. Lucia, and observe the monument to St. Lucia's deceased war heroes. Sit in the cool shade of the park's 400-year-old samaan tree. The architecture along Bourbon Street on the square's west side exemplifies colonial Creole style. Stop in at nearby Immaculate Conception Church and notice the ceiling, painted by local artist Dunstan St. Omer. At the edge of town, lofty Morne Fortune overlooks a breathtaking scene and is the home of Eudovic Art Studio, where students create under the tutorship of master wood carver Vincent Joseph Eudovic. Here you'll find some of the finest examples of traditional mask sculpting, plus the free-form work of the master himself.

Castries Central Market
Recently expanded, Castries Market is one of the Caribbean's cleanest, best-organized, most pleasant market experiences. Saturdays are especially brisk. Food products are under one tin roof, while crafts are in separate areas. The island's quintessential souvenir is the coal pot, which traditional cooks still use for their hearty Creole stews. The crude clay pot sits on a coal-burning stand, or you can use it for cooking stovetop.

Chois eul
The scenic town of Choiseul in the south has a reputation for fishing and craftsmanship. At the Choiseul Arts and Crafts Centre, instructors teach pottery, furniture making, woodcarving, and bamboo weaving. The center sells beautiful straw hampers, traditional carved wooden masks, pottery, and other crafts. Roadside stands also sell locally made wares at inexpensive prices.

Gros Islet Street Party
To poignantly experience local life and passion, don't miss the Friday night Jump Up at Gros Islet. Jump Up describes both the kind of dancing and the festivities where one does such. This long-standing tradition costs you only the drinks and barbecued chicken you consume. The action concentrates around the Scottish Bar and lasts until the wee hours. A similar but smaller affair is gaining favor in Anse La Raye, which is close to Soufriere.

Hiking on St. Lucia
Hiking is a favorite St. Lucia activity in the Rainforest and elsewhere. East Coast trails and guided tours take you into the habitat of the St. Lucia parrot (jacquot), and provide spectacular Atlantic Ocean views. South of Choiseul, take the 10-minute hike to the ruins of Fort Citreon. Guides can take you up to the top of Mount Gimie (3,145 feet), Morne La Combe (1,446 feet), and the Pitons. For mountain climbing, you'll need stamina, experience, and an experienced guide.

Pigeon Island National Landmark
Once a pirate outpost and military complex, this spacious, green 40-acre island park now holds the impressive 18th-century ruins of politically important Fort Rodney, and a modern, interactive museum that tells the history of the fort and its rousing "Battle of the Saints" in 1782. The old barracks holds a pub named the Captain's Cellar Pub, serving food and drink. You can hike to the top of the island's two peaks, then relax with a picnic lunch on the beach. Snorkeling gear is available for rent.

Plantation Tours
To explore St. Lucia's agricultural present and past, visit one of the island's working plantations. Call ahead to arrange tours. At Morne Coubaril Estate in Soufriere, on the site of St. Lucia's first major sugar plantation, you can visit a recreation of an 18th-century slave village and sugar mill ruins. Demonstrations of how cocoa, copra, and manioc are processed and a visit to the museum come with the 90-minute tour. Nearby Soufriere Estate demonstrates copra and cocoa harvesting, and contains a mineral bath, waterfalls, and mini-zoo. In Anse La Raye, La Sikwe Sugar Museum tells the story of the island's plantation past. You can tour the museum, cultural theater, restored 40-foot water wheel, and botanical gardens. Near Dennery on the east coast, Errard Plantation allows a peek into a working agricultural estate. Marquis Plantation, near Castries, is a scenic working banana plantation planted also with mahogany, teak, coffee, and cocoa. The tour includes a boat trip down the Marquis River.

Soufriere
This historic town, whose name means sulfur, is St. Lucia's oldest city. It lies in the shadow of the majestic Pitons and was partially destroyed by a volcano 200 years ago. Walk around the picturesque fishing village for a sense of island past, enlivened with colorful art galleries. A new gingerbread-style marketplace sells local arts and crafts. Learn more about the volcano and see volcanic activity at Sulphur Springs, billed as the "drive-through" volcano. Tour the dormant, gurgling, lushly vegetated, seven-acre crater. You don't actually drive through, but take a short hike amid incredibly lush foliage. For more of St. Lucia's vital vegetation, visit nearby Diamond Botanical Gardens.

Waterfalls of the Canaries River
Accessible only through sanctioned tour guides, these wild and off-the-beaten-path falls near the west coast were long out of the reach of visitors. They provide a delightfully cool shower on a warm tropical day. At Canaries, the hike to the falls is easy, and rewards visitors with four cool bathing pools. At Anse La Raye, spectacular falls and a picnic area await 15 minutes off the road. Most well known are Diamond Falls, with mineral bathhouses. King Louis XVI originally built the facilities at Diamond Falls and Mineral Baths in 1785 for his French troops to enjoy. In 1936, two were restored for public use, and now you can simmer in a delightfully hot bath (average temperature 106 degrees). The sulfur-tinged waterfalls above spectacularly change colors as the water tumbles down to different levels.