Suggested arrival time at UVF / St Lucia Hewanorra
 

Hi everyone,

We will be travelling from UVF to MIA next week, departure time is 7 am. Class of service J. What time do you suggest we arrive at the airport? Also are there shorter (premium) lines for security, immigration, and baggage drop for passengers travelling in J?

Thank you all!

It has been about 8 years since I flew out of St. Lucia.

UVF is a pretty small airport, there is a separate business class check in line and it is easy to go through. I can't remember immigration being an issue at all at UVF.

That said, it is an international flight, and you are supposed to be checked in 90 minutes prior to departure, with any bags 60 minutes before departure.

Also, don't underestimate how far UVF is from most of the resorts on St. Lucia. It can easily take close to an hour from the major resorts.

I hope you have a good trip, St. Lucia is a beautiful island with friendly people

Thank you very much for your reply. I am staying at Marigot Bay. Flight leaves at 7 am from UVF to MIA. I am picturing a 75-minute drive, so I was thinking of leaving at 4:15 am and be there by 5:30 am. Would that be reasonable? Also, is it safe to drive at that hour? Alternatively, I can get the hotel to arrange transportation.

Thanks again!

Arriving at 5:30am for a 7am flight out of UVF will be plenty of time. As mentioned above, there will of course be a business class check-in line, so in all probability at that hour you'll be able to check-in, drop your bags, and be through security/immigration and at the gate by 5:45am.

I think this is a good plan..It is safe to drive at that hour. It will just be a dark and the roads are far from straight.

Thanks very much for your reply, I appreciate it. I've driven in more challenging places before (such as Mexico City) but I don't want to minimize the challenge of driving in St. Lucia.

One (minor) problem with arriving that early at UVF is that no lounge is open at that time. Do you have any suggestions on where to go (air-side) while waiting for a 7 am flight?

Thanks!

It has been a few years since I was there. UVF is a very small airport, with parking for only 4 or 5 planes. I remember the waiting area near the gates being nice, a couple of small food stands inside security, and a pretty good restaurant that I believe was outside security, but there is not much else.

Most flights arrive and depart in the afternoon, so it will not be busy at all at 6:00 am

As I remember, the road to the airport is very winding and twisting. I wouldn't want to drive it in the dark myself. I'd have your hotel arrange an experienced driver to take you.

Last time I stayed at Castries and was able to take a helicopter to UVF; for an extra $10 the pilots make it a scenic tour of the island. I believe total cost for the trip was under $200 for two people. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Thank you. You convinced me to play it safe. I will return the car at Marigot Bay the night before and will make arrangements with the hotel for the transportation. I have extensive driving experience in several countries in all sorts of conditions (day and night) but in this case there were too many risk factors. I would have done it daylight, but given the early hour, it's better to play it safe. I appreciate your advice.

Do you know if the helicopter can land at Marigot Bay to pick us up there? Otherwise, it's probably not worth driving from Marigot Bay to SLU and then transfer to the helicopter to UVF. It probably won't save much time...

Thank you!

[QUOTE=txp;30857068]Do you know if the helicopter can land at Marigot Bay to pick us up there? [ n/QUOTE]

I would think so, the helicopter capacity is 4 pax plus one pilot, and on the way from SLU to UVF we landed in the grass in the middle of a valley between the two mountains to pick up two additional passengers who were camping there. Really impressive operation, you can contact them at https://www.stluciahelicopters.com/ and ask; I'm sure they would be able to arrange that.

Good. The idea of navigating that road in the predawn hours doesn't appeal to me. Leave it to a local who knows the lay of the land.