St. Lucia Travel Guide

Country Facts

Location

Eastern Caribbean, Windward Islands.

Language

English and local French patois.

Area

616.3 sq km (238 sq miles).

Time Zone

GMT - 4.

Electricity

220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Population

165,000 (UN estimate 2007).

Population Density

267.7 per sq km.

Capital City

Castries. Population: 67,000 (official estimate 2004).

Government

Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from the UK in 1979.

Head of Government

Stephenson King has been Prime Minister since September 2007.

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth II, represented locally by Governor General Calliopa Pearlette Louisy since 1997.

Religion

Majority Roman Catholic (78%) with some Anglican, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist and Baptist.

Recent History

Sir John Compton’s United Worker Party ousted Kenny Anthony’s St Lucia Labor Party in the December 2006 elections. The main campaign issues were high unemployment and rising levels of crime. John Compton previously led St Lucia from 1964-1979 and again from 1982-1996. He came out of retirement in 2005 and was 81 at the time of his most recent victory. In May 2007, Compton became ill and appointed Minister for Health Stephenson King as acting Prime Minister. After Compton passed away on September 7, 2007, King was sworn in as the island’s new Prime Minister.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +1 758.

Mobile Telephone

Coverage is good. Mobile phones are available to hire. Operators on St Lucia have not yet declared roaming agreements with international mobile phone companies.

Internet

Public access is available at the Internet kiosk at Pointe Seraphine. Other Internet cafés are also available across the island.

Media

St Lucia's newspapers and broadcasters are mainly privately owned. There are no daily newspapers. The government operates a radio network.

Post

Airmail to Western Europe takes up to one week.Mon-Fri 0800-1630, Sat 0900-1330.

Press

• The main newspapers are The Crusader, The Mirror, The Star and The Voice of St Lucia.
• Visions Magazine is published by the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association.

Radio

•Radio Saint Lucia (RSL) is a state-owned network.
•Other stations are Radio Caribbean International, Radio 100 and Hot FM.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2010-December 2011 period.
2010
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day

2011
1 Jan - 2 Jan New Year
22 Feb Independence Day
22 Apr Good Friday
25 Apr Easter Monday
2 May Labor Day
13 Jun Whit Monday
23 Jun Corpus Christi
1 Aug Emancipation Day
13 Dec National Day
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day

2012
1 Jan - 2 Jan New Year
22 Feb Independence Day
6 Apr Good Friday
9 Apr Easter Monday
1 May Labor Day
28 May Whit Monday
7 Jun Corpus Christi
1 Aug Emancipation Day
13 Dec National Day
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day

Contact Information

St Lucia High Commission in the UK

1 Collingham Gardens, London SW5 0HW, UK
Tel: (020) 7370 7123.
Website: www.stlucia.gov.lc
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 0930-1730, Fri 0930-1700.

St Lucia Tourist Board in the UK

1 Collingham Gardens, London SW5 0HW, UK
Tel: (020) 7341 7000.
Website: www.stlucia.org

Caribbean Tourism Organization in the UK

22 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, UK
Tel: (020) 8948 0057.
Website: www.caribbean.co.uk

Embassy of St Lucia in the USA

3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Tel: (202) 364 6792.
Website: www.sluonestop.com

St Lucia Tourist Board in the USA

9th Floor, 800 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 867 2950 or 1 800 456 3984.
Website: www.stlucia.org