5 FUN FOODIE THINGS TO DO
1 Tree-to-bar Experience, Hotel Chocolat
After a tour of the Rabot Estate’s cocoa groves, learn how to crush nibs from its high-grade trinitario cocoa pods, grown, fermented and dried on site. Add sugar, butter and lots of elbow grease to produce a rich brown liquid that’s left to set in a mould to produce your very own chocolate bar. The hotel and spa offer more adult-friendly relaxation. From £50 per person.
2 Zip lines and Creole buffet at Morne Coubaril
Ride over the rainforest on zip lines, secured 20 feet up for cracking coastal and mountain views. Then have a Creole lunch of green banana, white fish, rice, peas and fried conch in the simple shack at this old sugar plantation (mornecoubarilestate.com). Up the road, Soufriere Sulphur Springs offers the gleeful chance to slather yourself in volcanic mud. soufrierefoundation.org
3 Castries Market
Open every day but at its bustling best on Saturdays, this 19th-century market offers such exotic fruits as cherimoya (custard apple) and soursop. Take in the aromas of local cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg, and sample just-caught seafood and dishes like roti stuffed with curried veg, meat and potato pancakes, or baked breadfruit stuffed with spiced meats. Buy souvenirs, too, from iridescent hot sauce, even brighter sarongs and bullet-strong herby rums.
4 Catamaran cruise, Carnival Sailing
Enjoy some supervised snorkelling among tropical fish, then it’s back on deck for local seafood grilled to order, canapés and a fine selection of international wines. A VIP treat, with half-day Explorer tours from £60 per adult, £30 for under-12s. Under-fives go free. carnivalsailing.com
5 Chocolate massage, Sugar Beach:
With its little rope bridges, the resort’s Ewok-like village of thatched wooden spa cabanas set in the cliff-side rainforest, offer adventure as well as organic chocolate massages for kids (where tasting is encouraged), body wraps and scrubs. From £30, for children five and up.