Why Choose St Lucia Over Barbados and Dominica?

If you're trying to decide between St Lucia, Barbados and Dominica for your next Caribbean holiday, we can offer a slightly different perspective.

We've been fortunate enough not just to visit all three islands, but to experience life in them.

Pierina and I met in Barbados during Covid, later lived together in Dominica and eventually chose St Lucia as the place we wanted to make our home.

We subsequently got married here, brought our three dogs into our St Lucian life and found our dream home in Cap Estate - the property that eventually became Champagne Du Cap.

So we'll start by saying something important: Barbados and Dominica are both wonderful islands. We have incredibly fond memories of both.

But when it came to choosing somewhere to actually build a life, St Lucia won.

Here's why.

Barbados, Dominica or St Lucia?

The three islands aren't really interchangeable.

Barbados is fantastic if beautiful beaches, restaurants, nightlife and a well-developed tourism scene are high on your list. Its coastline and water sports are rightly famous.

Dominica is extraordinary for nature. It isn't called the Nature Island for nothing. Rainforest, rivers, waterfalls, hiking and diving are fundamental parts of the experience.

But for us, St Lucia sits somewhere wonderfully between the two.

It has the dramatic mountains, rainforest and sense of adventure that we loved about Dominica, but combines them with beautiful beaches, great restaurants, watersports, golf and a lifestyle that makes it easy to simply enjoy being here. Not forgetting of course the most increadible, hospitable and welcoming St Lucians.

That's ultimately what won us over.

Our Caribbean Story Started in Barbados

Barbados will always be special to us because it's where Pierina and I met, on our most favoured beach, Carlise Bay.

We met there during Covid, at a very unusual time in the world, so the island is inevitably part of our story.

And there is plenty we still love about Barbados. The west coast has beautiful Caribbean beaches, the east coast has a completely different character and there is a huge choice of restaurants, bars and things to do.

If someone told us they'd chosen Barbados for their Caribbean holiday, we certainly wouldn't try to talk them out of it.

But we eventually wanted something different for everyday life.

Something a little greener. A little more dramatic. A little more relaxed.

Then We Lived in Dominica

Our next chapter was Dominica. And Dominica is spectacular.

If your idea of the perfect Caribbean escape is getting deep into nature, hiking through rainforest and discovering rivers, waterfalls and hot springs, it's difficult to beat.

Living there also gave us an appreciation for a quieter Caribbean lifestyle and one which removed the stressful comodities that a developed 1st world country gives - a precious appreciation that has stayed with us.

But again, when we started thinking about where we wanted to settle permanently, we were looking for a particular balance.

We wanted nature and tranquillity, but we also wanted great restaurants, beaches, sport, boating and plenty to do.

We wanted somewhere peaceful without feeling isolated.

And that's where St Lucia came into its own.

St Lucia Gave Us the Best of Both Worlds

What we love most about St Lucia is the people and the balance.

You can have an incredibly active day here or do virtually nothing.

Both feel equally appropriate.

The island is famous for the Pitons, but there's so much more beyond them: rainforest trails, waterfalls, beaches, fishing villages, diving, snorkelling, kayaking, sailing, fishing, boat trips and sunset cruises.

For us, though, it's everyday life that really makes the difference.

We can play tennis or pickleball, go for a round of golf, get out on the water, meet friends at the beach or simply stay home and host friends around the pool with a decedent BBQ grill and games.

Some weekends might involve a boat.

Others might involve nothing more elaborate than meeting friends, putting a grill on the beach and spending the afternoon there.

That's a pretty good way to live.

We Love Being Outside

One of the things we appreciate most about living in St Lucia is just how much of life happens outdoors.

We're active people and St Lucia makes that easy.

Golf has become a particularly exciting part of life in the north of the island, with the spectacular Cabot Saint Lucia and Sandals Golf Course just minutes from our home.

There is also tennis, pickleball, hiking and countless opportunities to get onto the water.

You can snorkel, dive, kayak, paddleboard, fish or charter a boat and explore the coastline. St Lucia's official tourism authority highlights everything from kayaking and diving to deep-sea fishing, whale watching and sunset sailing.

But you don't need an organised activity.

Sometimes we'll simply go down to the beach, swim, light a grill and spend time with friends.

Those are often the best days.

Life Here Feels Chilled

This is harder to communicate in a conventional travel guide. There is a rhythm to life in St Lucia that suits us.

Things aren't perfect, nowhere is - but we've found a lifestyle here that feels remarkably relaxed and largely stress-free.

You spend more time outside. You notice the weather. You make spontaneous plans. You see friends. You go to the beach because it's a nice afternoon rather than because you're officially "on holiday".

Our three dogs are part of that life too. They're probably as accustomed to the Caribbean lifestyle as we are now.

It feels like home.

And Then We Found Our Dream Home

Eventually we found a property in Cap Estate that we could see ourselves staying in for a very long time. It needed plenty of work, but we saw what it could become.

After a major 3-year-long renovation, that home became Champagne Du Cap.

It wasn't designed as a conventional holiday rental or purpose-built villa complex.

It's our home.

We've filled it with things we genuinely enjoy: a large pool, tropical gardens, an outdoor kitchen, games room, fitness studio, yoga studio, outdoor cinema and plenty of spaces for friends and family to spend time together.

And that's an important distinction for us.

A Home We're Happy to Share

We don't want Champagne Du Cap to become somewhere with guests arriving and leaving every few days.

It's first and foremost our home.

But we're very happy to share it with the right guests and for the right occasions.

We've discovered that it's particularly suited to the kinds of trips we would enjoy ourselves - groups of friends getting together, family holidays, golf trips, milestone birthdays and other special occasions.

The house comes alive when people use it properly.

Long breakfasts outside. Music around the pool. A competitive game of pool or shuffleboard. An afternoon playing golf. Dinner cooked outside. Everyone sitting together late into the evening.

For us, that's what a great villa holiday should be. Not simply luxurious accommodation, but a place that becomes yours for a little while.

So, Should You Choose St Lucia, Barbados or Dominica?

It depends entirely on what you're looking for.

If your priority is a highly developed tourism scene, extensive beaches, restaurants and nightlife, Barbados is difficult to fault.

If you want to immerse yourself in wild Caribbean nature and hiking, Dominica is exceptional.

But if you want a little bit of everything, we'd choose St Lucia.

Of course, we're biased. But we've also had the opportunity to live in all three. St Lucia gives us mountains and rainforest when we want adventure, Caribbean beaches and warm water when we want to relax, and enough restaurants, sport and activities that there's always something to do.

Most importantly, though, we like the life we've created here. It's relaxed. It's outdoors. It's social without being hectic.

And after living elsewhere in the Caribbean, St Lucia was the island where we decided to get married, settle down with our three dogs and build our dream home.

That probably says more than any travel guide could.

Experience Our St Lucia

If you're planning a holiday to St Lucia, we'd encourage you not to treat the island as somewhere you simply stay in a resort for a week.

Explore it. Get onto the water. Drive down the coast. See the Pitons. Eat somewhere local. Play golf. Visit the beaches. Have a grill by the sea. And make sure you leave some days with absolutely nothing planned.

That's the St Lucia we've fallen in love with.

And for the right guests and the right occasions, we're delighted to share a little part of that life at Champagne Du Cap. Feel free to check availability and enquire today.