Many of the resorts in St. Lucia will offer a tour option that books you a taxi or mini van to take you around the island to see the sights. Booking through the hotel might cost $100 or more per person for a full day tour because the hotel adds a booking fee on top of the taxi fee. These tours book a mini-van taxi, so you could be a group of up to 8 people together sharing the tour.
For slightly less than the price of two people booking through the hotel, we booked a private taxi tour for the whole day with Anthony’s Taxi Service. Our driver, Anthony Joseph, toured us around all day in a comfortable air conditioned mini van. If you are with a larger group, then sharing this fee amongst a group of friends gets even more affordable.
Mr Anthony didn’t just drive us around the island, he explained the different areas we were seeing, introduced us to some local cuisine, talked about what it is like living in St. Lucia, gave us pointers on other activities to check out, helped us find a cheaper place to exchange our money (tip: the casino gave a better exchange than the bank did!), and shared lots interesting stories with us. It was a real pleasure spending the day with him as our guide.
His services really were those of a full tour guide; much more than just a taxi service.
The other advantage of booking your taxi tour yourself instead of joining one organized by your resort, is that you can set the pace you want. We took our time at the market, wandering and shopping to our hearts content, and Mr Anthony patiently waited for us. As we were driving along, when we passed something we thought was interesting, he stopped so we could explore or snap a photo.
In short, I would highly recommend looking up Anthony’s Taxi Service when you visit St. Lucia.
Two of us paid less than what we would have paid if we had booked through the hotel, and got the same (if not better!) tour.
