St Lucia / Airport

There are two airports in St Lucia and it may be important which one you fly into. 

In the north of the island is George FL Charles Airport (SLU) or ‘Vigie’, which is situated conveniently close to the capital Castries and to the hotels in the north of the island. It is the ‘local’ airport, which handles Caribbean flights (no bigger than 50 seats) from no further afield than San Juan in Puerto Rico. Many of the hotels are in the north of the island and so if you have the choice (ie you are coming from another Caribbean island), it will probably be most convenient to fly into here. 

There are check-in desks for LIAT, American Eagle and smaller charter airlines such as SVG Air and Carib Aviation. There is a small restaurant/bar – La Vigie - a branch of the First National Bank, washrooms, telephones, a book shop, and Tambou, the duty free shop. Vigie Beach is across the road so you can enjoy a drink or snack at one of the beach shacks before departure. For arriving passengers there are several car hire booths. 

Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) is the ‘long haul’ airport. Located right at the southern end of the island, close to the town of Vieux Fort, it is about an hour south of Castries. Only Hewanorra can take wide-bodied aircraft, so if you are on a transatlantic flight or arriving from the eastern seaboard of North America, you will fly into here. It is not that convenient for the hotels in the north of the island, but if you are staying near Soufrière then it is probably better to fly into this airport if you can. 

In the Arrivals area you will find a number of booths and personnel for car hire companies, tour companies such as St Lucia Helicopters, a branch of the St Lucia Tourist Board and a branch of the Bank of St Lucia, which has an ATM machine. Upstairs there is a restaurant and bar with a viewing window. Beyond Immigration and Customs on departure you will find a small selection of duty free shops for locally made goods as well as the usual cigarettes and spirits and a couple of snack bars.