All of St. Lucia's beaches are public but some are within the jurisdiction of specific resorts. They dont have to accommodate you for seating and transportation to and from the beach but they CANNOT deny you access to the beach.There are several beaches close to Soufriere.
*Hummingbird Beach--near Hummingbird resort is the least frills but many locals go there since it is right along the water's edge of the town.
*Anse Chastanet--This is a black beach offf of Anse Chastanet resort where you can snorkel and take boat trips. The sand doesn't look black to me, but it is dark compared to other sandy beaches since the sand is volcanic in origin. If you enjoy snorkeling, there is a small area at the end of the beach where you can swim along a small coral reef with lots of fish.
The seating area for resort patrons is segregated from the smaller section at the south end of the beach designated for folks who are not staying at the resort. If you are not staying on the resort, you will have to pay $30 per chair. If you get hungry there is a bar and restaurant right on the beach that serves decent food and another restaurant on top of a hill behind the beach (I didn't dine there so can't tell you much about it.) Further up on the hill is Jade Mountain, an ultra luxury resort that is so exclusive that they wont allow you up there to even dine in their restaurant unless you make a reservation. (We didnt go).
Just a short walking distance toward the northern section of the beach is a more rustic secluded beach called Anse Mamin. I didnt get to check this beach out but check it out if you go to the island!
*Sugar Beach- The other beach that we went to was Sugar Beach (formerly known as Jalousie Beach) off of the ultra uppity, Sugar Beach resort. Sugar Beach has imported white sand from Guyana but it is more beautiful in my opinion because of its dramatic backdrop between the 2 Pitons. There is also an area for snorkeling.
Now unlike Anse Chastanet, all beach goers are welcome to use the cushion-y chairs along the beach....for a steep fee of $50 per chair!.
If you are staying at Sugar Beach, you can use these life changing chairs for free, but did we pay for that? Hell no! We walked right over the northern section of the beach where there were some cheap plastic chairs available to beach goers for FREE!
If you need to eat and you didn't bring your own lunch (because who does that on vacation?), you can dine at the bar/restaurant right along the beach. Now it isn't cheap by far since taxis will run you on average $22, but if you need some refreshments and food, than I guess its worth not starving.
Tips:
*The road into Anse Chastanet is ROUGH and riddled with potholes. Be sure not to have too much in your stomach on your way there because it will be a bumpy ride!
*If you take a taxi or park at the top of the hill at Sugar Beach, they dont allow you or your driver to drive down to the beach. You can either walk (dont do this if you care about your legs! LOL) or you can request that they shuttle you down the hill. If you patronize the restaraunt on the beach, save your receipt because they are obligated to drive you back up the hill.
*At either beach you can take diving lessons or rent snorkel gear. If you wish, they do boat rides further out into the sea for snorkeling.
*From Sugar Beach, you can take a cruise at sunset or a Piton view/snorkeling trip.
