LucianStyle Off-Road Segway in St. Lucia
We are always on the lookout for new, interesting and unique experiences that we can bring to our followers. Over the years, we have covered many Segway tours throughout Europe, but never in the Caribbean. When we learned that we would be spending a full day in St. Lucia with Windstar Cruises, we contacted LucianStyle, a Segway tour operator there.
We arranged a Sunset Segway Tour with "dinner on the beach" directly through the LucianStyle website several weeks before the cruise. As it turns out, Windstar also offers a Segway tour conducted by LucianStyle so, if you are sailing with Windstar, you can book directly through the cruise line.
We took the ship's tender to Pigeon Island, which is really nothing more than a small pier in the middle of a national park. Chad, one of the LucianStyle guides, showed up right on time to pick us up for the transfer to the LucianStyle office in Rodney Bay.
Chad with LucianStyle greets us on Pigeon Island
After arriving at LucianStyle's offices in Rodney Bay, we met with Stephia, one of the managers at LucianStyle, and the person with whom I had arranged our tour via email.
Stephia and Chad in front of LucianStyle headquarters
After completing the necessary paperwork, signing waivers, etc., we were fitted with safety helmets and escorted to the practice/training track for Segway orientation. LucianStyle also offers knee and elbow pads for those who want a little more protection. Since we have ridden many times before, we declined the extra pads.
Rickee adjusts her helmet in preparation for the Segway tour
After a brief orientation on the safe operation of the Segway, the group of eight guests were zipping around the test track like seasoned pros. We have ridden Segways in cities all over the world, but this is the first time we have ridden them off-road. These X2 Segways are fitted with much larger, knobby tires designed for off-road use.
Rickee practices her Segway skill on the LucianStyle test track
The tour took us up and down dirt roads, some muddy from the recent rain, and up some pretty steep inclines.
The Segways perform admirably on rough terrain
We were pleasantly surprised at how well the off-road Segways handled the rough terrain. They go right through mud puddles, and even steep hills are no match for the torqued electric motors. Going down steep inclines can be challenging because you have to remember to lean back to slow down the Segways, but everyone caught on quickly and our guides were always there to provide assistance.
A light rain was beginning to fall as we came to our first photo stop. A small cabana gave us refuge from the rain, and there was a great photo opportunity in the background. Our LucianStyle guide, "Little Man," used our cameras to take photos of everyone in the group.
LucianStyle guides take photos of us
After having our photos taken, we were invited to hike up a hill to see a koi pond. We were expecting the big, orange Japanese-style koi, but what we saw was nothing like we expected.
A short hike up the hill to the koi pond
We were each given slices of bread to break up and use to feed the small, dark fish, who greedily fought over the floating bread in the water. We hiked back down the hill to find Shanga, another LucianStyle guide, had set up a table with fresh, local fruit and ice water.
Shanga offers fresh, local fruit and water refreshments
Next, we re-mounted our Segways for a ride down the mountain to another photo spot where we could see Windstar Star Pride in the bay.
A high-five on our Segways with Star Pride in the background
By the time we arrived at the beach for our dinner, it was getting dark. Our guide directed us to have a seat at Marie's, a local open-air beach restaurant where the owner was cooking the meal on an outdoor grill. Soon, we were each served a plate of true local Caribbean cuisine: fresh Blue Marlin, rice, beans, a fish cake and some lemon vinaigrette for the fish. The meal was rustic, to say the least, but everything was delicious.
Our fresh fish dinner at Marie's
After the meal, our guides led us back to the LucianStyle offices. It was the first time we have ever ridden Segways in the dark! But, we never felt as if it were unsafe. There was enough light coming from the streetlights to see where we were going. When we arrived back at the offices, we were each given our own official Glider's License, which means on our next LucianStyle Segway Tour, we can skip the training portion of the tour. This is the first time we have ever been granted a Segway license!
Chad drove us to the Rodney Bay Marina where Windstar was conducting tender operations until 10:30 pm. We said goodbye, promising to visit LucianStyle on a future trip to St. Lucia. We boarded the ship's tender for a night ride back to Star Pride. We can highly recommend LucianStyle Segway, whether you book through your cruise line, or directly through their website. The guides were fun, the terrain challenging and the views breathtaking.
For more information, visit their website
