Cap Estate, St. Lucia: The Quiet Top of the Island
Villas and golf on the northern headland, with wild Atlantic beaches down rough tracks.
Why Go
Cap Estate occupies the northern tip of St. Lucia above Rodney Bay, and it is the island's quietest expensive corner: large houses on open hillsides, a golf course, and almost nothing commercial. The reason to know about it even if you are not staying there is the coastline. The Atlantic beaches on its eastern side — Cas en Bas, Donkey Beach, Anse la Voutte — are reached down unpaved tracks, have nothing built on them, and are where St. Lucians go at the weekend.
The Experience
The estate is spread across dry, open ground very unlike the rainforested middle of the island, with long views in most directions and a landscape of scrub and grass rather than palms. It is residential and very quiet; there is no village centre, no strip and no through traffic, and the golf course occupies a large share of the land. The interesting half is the east coast, where the ground drops to a series of small bays facing open Atlantic. Cas en Bas is the main one — shallow, steady wind, and the base for the island's kitesurfing and its beach horse-riding. The others are progressively harder to reach and progressively emptier. The tracks down to them are rough enough that a standard hire car is a real question. The contrast with the rest of the island is the point. Ten minutes south there are marinas, restaurants and a busy beach, and up here there is grass, wind and empty coast, with nothing at all in between to soften the transition.
What to Try
Get to Cas en Bas Beach, which is the reason to come: flat shallow water with reliable trade wind, a beach bar, kitesurf instruction and horse riding along the sand and into the sea. From there, walk north along the coast to Donkey Beach and Anse la Voutte if you want beaches with nobody on them at all — it is an hour of scrubby coastal walking and there is no shade. Five Dollar Beach and Plantation Beach are the others along this shore. Inland, the Llewellyn Xavier Studio belongs to one of the Caribbean's better-known painters and is worth arranging a visit to. Cap Estate Garden Weddings and the local videographers explain what a good share of the visitors here are doing. Otherwise Rodney Bay is ten minutes south for everything else. Bring your own food and water for a beach day out here, because apart from the bar at Cas en Bas there is nothing at all.
Insider Tip
Ask about the track before driving to the Atlantic beaches. The route to Cas en Bas is manageable in a normal car in dry weather and considerably less so after rain, and the ones beyond it are rougher again — plenty of visitors have discovered this the expensive way. Walking in from the top of the track is a genuine option and takes about twenty minutes. Go on a weekend if you want the beach at its liveliest, or a weekday morning if you want it empty.
The Practical Stuff
Cap Estate is about ten minutes north of Rodney Bay, fifteen from Gros Islet and thirty from Castries, at the island's northern tip. Hewanorra International at Vieux Fort is roughly two hours south, which is the longest transfer on the island. Driving is on the LEFT and a temporary local permit is required, and you need a car here — there is no public transport into the estate and nothing walkable. The Atlantic beaches are reached by unpaved tracks of varying quality and have few or no facilities. There is no supermarket in the estate; Rodney Bay is where you shop. St. Lucia is in the hurricane belt, roughly June to November, and this exposed northern coast takes weather first.
Common Questions
Where is Cap Estate?
At the northern tip of St. Lucia, above Rodney Bay. It is a quiet residential and golf estate with the island's wildest accessible beaches down tracks on its Atlantic side.
Can you drive to Cas en Bas?
Usually, in dry weather, in a normal car — but the track is rough and considerably worse after rain, and the beaches beyond it are rougher again. Walking in from the top takes about twenty minutes.
Can you kitesurf at Cas en Bas?
Yes. The bay is shallow and flat with steady trade wind, which makes it the main kitesurfing venue in the north of the island, with instruction available on the beach.
Can you ride horses on the beach in St. Lucia?
Yes, at Cas en Bas, where rides go along the sand and into the water. It is one of the two or three activities this corner of the island is known for.
Is Cap Estate a good place to stay?
For quiet, space and golf, yes — but it is entirely residential with nothing walkable, so you need a car. Rodney Bay ten minutes south has the restaurants and the shops.
How far is Cap Estate from the airport?
About two hours from Hewanorra International at Vieux Fort, which is the longest transfer on the island. George F. L. Charles at Castries is around thirty minutes.
Pair It With
- Cas en Bas Beach — The wind, the horses and the one beach with a bar.
- Donkey Beach — The empty coast north, on foot.
- LLEWELLYN XAVIER STUDIO — A major Caribbean painter, by arrangement.
