Hike Gros Piton + mineral bath

[faroozi]

I really want to hike the Gros Piton with my husband on our cruise, but I am not sure what is the best option for our time and money. I am trying to do this on our own, so not with a tour and wonder if it will be cheaper, or not worth the headache.

So first set of questions is about taxis. How much will it cost to get a taxi from the port and how long does it take to get to the trailhead? Will they wait for us to be done hiking, and if so do you pay for their day and so the price might include doing an additional stop such as a mineral bath on the way back to the ship? And if they do not wait, how easy is it to get a taxi back to the port?

Second set of questions - I know that it is $30 pp for entrance and guide. But do you have to wait for a minimum sized group to go up, or will they take you up with just two people in your party? And from what I can tell we need to budget about four hours of time to hike up and down the mountain. Is this correct?

Third set of questions. I am hoping with nine hours in the port with six being taken up with getting to/from the trailhead plus the hike itself we will have some time to go to a mineral bath. I am leaning towards the Jerusalem Falls because it seems more secluded and less busy. Is this true? Also I cannot tell where exactly it is or how much it costs. Does anyone know? And will we be to sore to do the 15 minute hike? Also what is your recommendations for a mineral bath? I'm thinking that this will be relaxing and feel good after hiking. Is this doable in our time limits and will doing this by ourselves cost less than doing with a tour?

[reedprincess]

I really want to hike the Gros Piton with my husband on our cruise, but I am not sure what is the best option for our time and money. I am trying to do this on our own, so not with a tour and wonder if it will be cheaper, or not worth the headache.

So first set of questions is about taxis. How much will it cost to get a taxi from the port and how long does it take to get to the trailhead? Will they wait for us to be done hiking, and if so do you pay for their day and so the price might include doing an additional stop such as a mineral bath on the way back to the ship? And if they do not wait, how easy is it to get a taxi back to the port?

Second set of questions - I know that it is $30 pp for entrance and guide. But do you have to wait for a minimum sized group to go up, or will they take you up with just two people in your party? And from what I can tell we need to budget about four hours of time to hike up and down the mountain. Is this correct?

Third set of questions. I am hoping with nine hours in the port with six being taken up with getting to/from the trailhead plus the hike itself we will have some time to go to a mineral bath. I am leaning towards the Jerusalem Falls because it seems more secluded and less busy. Is this true? Also I cannot tell where exactly it is or how much it costs. Does anyone know? And will we be to sore to do the 15 minute hike? Also what is your recommendations for a mineral bath? I'm thinking that this will be relaxing and feel good after hiking. Is this doable in our time limits and will doing this by ourselves cost less than doing with a tour?

A taxi from Castries to the trailhead in Choisel (Fond Genre Libre) will cost you about $250US r/t. It is approximately 1.15-1.5 hours from the port to the trailhead barring traffic of any kind. Budget about 3 hours r/t for the ride. The hike is about 4-5 hours r/t. You will not have time for anything else afterwards, just heading back up to the ship. The taxi will wait for you at the trailhead area. If you truly want to risk squeezing something else in, the mud baths at the volcano would be best to help ease the muscles, and are easiest to access. They will be quite hot, but will soothe your muscles. You will not have time to linger much though.

Jerusalem Falls is in Soufriere, about a 15 minute hike off the road out to Fond St. Jacques. cost is about $5USpp or so. You really would not have time to do this though - and the hike is down/up a relatively steep hillside. Not too tough, just steep. And your time is really too tight to add this in, you would have zero time to soak- and would be stressed about getting back tot he ship....There will be traffic on the return.

Guides are at the trailhead and will take you up if it's just the 2 of you, no problem. It is $30US pp.

Going with a "tour group" is usually much more budget friendly as you are sharing the cost of transportation. Note, if you go with Spencer, one of the only operators offering a regular tour, you will be hiking from the trailhead - an extra 600ft or so of elevation. He takes you by boat, which cuts the travel time in about half (45 minutes). Serenity TVL can do land or sea transfers, etc.

Be sure to wear sturdy, comfy closed toe shoes (sneakers, hiking boots, etc), layers (T-shirt, tank top, etc) and bring lots of water and snacks (sealed only, nothing fresh off the ship).

hope that helps - enjoy your visit!

[faroozi]

Thank you for the information. Looks like it will end up being more expensive if we do it on our own. I have seen posts about the Spencer Ambrose tours that have enjoyed it and some that say they didn't get to do the beach time. If you run out of time for the beach, do you still get fed? I would hate to plan on a lunch and then don't get to eat because of time. At the same time, we are planning on bringing snacks, but would hate to bring and pack a lunch for no reason if you are always fed and it is just the swimming you miss out on. And I know the boat ride is shorter, but then you hike longer, right? But if we avoid the traffic, that's worth it. I guess the hot tub will have to relax our muscles that night.

[reedprincess]

Thank you for the information. Looks like it will end up being more expensive if we do it on our own. I have seen posts about the Spencer Ambrose tours that have enjoyed it and some that say they didn't get to do the beach time. If you run out of time for the beach, do you still get fed? I would hate to plan on a lunch and then don't get to eat because of time. At the same time, we are planning on bringing snacks, but would hate to bring and pack a lunch for no reason if you are always fed and it is just the swimming you miss out on. And I know the boat ride is shorter, but then you hike longer, right? But if we avoid the traffic, that's worth it. I guess the hot tub will have to relax our muscles that night.

Beach time/swimming time would depend on how long your hike takes. Average is 4 hours, some take longer, some shorter. As far as lunch, you should get it whether you make it to the beach or not - you could eat in the boat on the return. You can ask spencer about that one - it's his tour.

The hike is longer going with Spencer or any other operator that starts from the beach as this adds about 600ft in elevation you need to hike. If you start from the main trailhead, it's slightly shorter.

Here is a very comprehensive recent review from a lady who hiked the Piton in March, scroll down to post 392 to start the review and pics, should give you a good idea of what you are facing (she went with Spencer also): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1801810&page=20

hope that helps, enjoy your visit!

[isabelle315]

This is exactly what my fiance and I want to do when we are there in March - hike Gros Piton and then hit the sulpher springs/mud baths volcano before heading back to the ship. It seems like it would be difficult though. Getting a taxi both ways would take too long (and would be expensive not going with a group), but none of the tour guides that take a boat to Gros Piton from the pier seem to do this combo of activities. I've emailed two of the major tour guides (Spencer and another) asking if they could do this kind of tour, and received no response!!

 

Too bad. I'll keep looking, though.

[reedprincess]

This is exactly what my fiance and I want to do when we are there in March - hike Gros Piton and then hit the sulpher springs/mud baths volcano before heading back to the ship. It seems like it would be difficult though. Getting a taxi both ways would take too long (and would be expensive not going with a group), but none of the tour guides that take a boat to Gros Piton from the pier seem to do this combo of activities. I've emailed two of the major tour guides (Spencer and another) asking if they could do this kind of tour, and received no response!!

 

Too bad. I'll keep looking, though.

It simply will be too tight. A boat to the base of the Piton is one hour, so two hours r/t. With the added hiking from the base as opposed to the trailhead in the village, you are adding about 1 hour to the hike, minimum, so you're now at 5 hours for the hike. That is a 7 hour trip - assuming everything goes perfectly, the hike takes about the average, etc. That really does leave you no time for the mud baths/volcano, as it would add another hour to your day, at a minimum. If hiking Gros Piton is a priority, that's basically all you have time for during your stop in St. Lucia. If your ship was here longer, then yeah, you could add in other stops - there would be time. Unfortunately, it simply does take time to get from place to place around the island, and cruise ships are not here for very long overall.

Sorry. Good luck. If you do find someone who can organize it for you - I wish you the best of luck in fitting it all in and making it back on time. Enjoy your stop.

[gapearl]

Thanks for posting my link Reed Princess! :)

 

Isabelle, as Reed Princess stated, you will have absolutely NO time to do anything other than the climb. When I confirmed with Spencer, he actually had us meet 30 minutes earlier than our original scheduled time. Even starting early, we still completely missed our beach time. It's 45 minutes to an hour each way by boat, and from I understand that's the quickest way. Don't underestimate this climb. It's grueling. Even if you had time, you will not want to do anything else when you're done because you'll be too tired. Try emailing Spencer again. If you're on the Valor, get a beach massage in St. Kitts the next day. That's what I did! :D

[faroozi]

I might regret this that night, but we are signed up for the hike through Spencer. We are hiking each week in preparation and are looking forward to the adventure. Thank you all for the information and GAPearl for your great review on it. What time did you end up meeting Spencer?

Edited January 14, 2014 by faroozi

[Shanwow88]

I might regret this that night, but we are signed up for the hike through Spencer. We are hiking each week in preparation and are looking forward to the adventure. Thank you all for the information and GAPearl for your great review on it. What time did you end up meeting Spencer?

 

My husband and I did this hike through Spencer in July and met him at the port at 8:30 am (I believe we docked at 8 am and he said to meet 30 minutes after docking). It was a 45 minute boat ride to the base of the piton and the climb took about 4 hours and 30 minutes. It was difficult, but it was truly an awesome experience, and you'll be glad you did it. After the hike, you get to hang out on the beach and enjoy a well deserved lunch. I don't know if the food was really good or I was just starving at that point, but I really enjoyed it.

 

I would classify this as a very steep hike. I definitely think that preparation is important, so it's good that you are hiking every week. I did incline running on the treadmill in preparation for the hike and I think that helped.

 

Let us know how your hike turns out. I am going back to St. Lucia this July and plan on doing the hike again (this is, if I can convince my husband to do it again);)

Edited February 1, 2014 by Shanwow88

[faroozi]

Two questions. Did the trailhead area have a restroom? And was there a place to change into a swimsuit for the beach time? Thanks.