Churned up by the Caribbean trade winds, the pounding waters of the Atlantic have carved out a rough and jagged east coast on St Lucia, one that's mainly ignored by visitors - to their loss. Characterized by lively surf smashing against rocky and cliff-lined shores and a verdant blanket of banana plants, the area provides a visual as well as an atmospheric contrast to the north and west. Less suited to farming and fishing, the region is also sparsely inhabited in comparison to other island regions.

 

St Lucia's coastal highway parallels the eastern shoreline from Vieux Fort to Dennery, where it cuts inland, heading northwest across the island to Castries. It's by far the fastest way to travel the 58km between Vieux Fort and the capital; it's also the preferred route for buses and taxis between the two towns. Along the way, east-coast bus stops include Micoud, Desruisseaux (in the hills south of Micoud), Mon Repose, Praslin and Dennery, but due to erratic scheduling, exploring the coastline by bus is not particularly efficient.