Maps of St. Lucia & The Caribbean

St. Lucia lies in the eastern Caribbean Sea about 21 miles south of Martinique and 26 miles north-east of St. Vincent. It is part of the West Indian archipelago which stretches for more than 2,000 miles from Cuba southwards to the northern coast of South America.

The island is the second largest of the Windward group, which themselves are part of the Lesser Antilles, and is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, covering an area of 238sq miles and with a population of around 150,000.

St. Lucia manages to house an incredibly diverse landscape into a small island. Just along the west coast you'll find breath-taking steep mountains, lush tropical forests, beautiful green hills, jagged cliffs and charming beaches. The Pitons (a United Nations World Heritage site) and Volcano are the most famous sights on the island. 

St. Lucia enjoys a marvellous climate and even when it does rain, it is warm rain and generally does not last. The island lies with the tropical zone in the path of the north-east trade winds and has a typical sub tropical maritime climate of year round sunny, warm weather.

Almost every St. Lucian speaks a patois, a Creole version of French. Many of the names of the island's cities and villages are French. And unlike that of most former British colonies, the population is still primarily Roman Catholic.

In 1979, the last colonial link between Great Britain and St. Lucia was severed when the island achieved full independence. In that same year it became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.