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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Hiking La Soufriere Volcano

Hiking La Soufrière Volcano in Saint Vincent

This is THE hike of Saint Vincent. If you are an active person spending some time in SVG (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), this will be the highlight of your trip. If you are at one of the neighboring islands like Barbados, or Grenada, the volcano can be a good excuse to visit SVG. I did not mention St Lucia because there are the Pitons there, but feel free to visit from there as well. Lastly, if you are one of those cool people who sail in between Caribbean islands, La Soufrière volcano hike would be a great opportunity to spend a day on land.

The view from the top: La Soufrière volcano crater

First let me clarify some naming conventions, before I confuse you more.

SVG: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a country of several island in the Lesser Antilles of Caribbean, this is the name of the country.
SV: Saint Vincent, this is the name of the largest island in SVG, some people use this to refer to whole country as well. I know! Confusing.
Grenadines: a chain of small islands located south of Saint Vincent which belong to SVG.

During our stay in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we felt like there was a perfect balance between what Saint Vincent offers vs what the other islands in the country (Grenadines) offer to the travelers. Saint Vincent is this non-touristy island with black beaches and nice hiking trails and waterfalls. On the other hand Grenadines do not have much nature attractions but just beautiful white sand beaches.

So, let's get to the point. What is this La Soufrière volcano hike? What is special about it? How difficult it is? How do I go there?

1 hour into La Soufrière volcano hike

I keep typing La Soufriere, but the correct spelling is La Soufrière. It is an active volcano on Saint Vincent that you can actually hike to. To me it is special because it is a hidden gem. No tourists. You can have the entire trail to yourself. The views of the Saint Vincent island from the hike is absolutely stunning. Once you reach the top, you are awarded by the volcano view. It is like icing on the cake. When we did this hike, I thought to myself, "This is it. At this moment, I am completely full of peace, and satisfaction and it pours out of myself." I was literally high on joy. My partner had similar thoughts as well.

The view of Georgetown while hiking La Soufrière

How difficult is La Soufrière volcano hike? Believe me it is not too difficult. But do not look at the numbers and think it is going to be easy peesy. If you hike from the east as we did, round trip hiking distance is 6m with 2000 elevation change. It took us close to 5 hours including the long rests. Take into account one of us had a recent ACL surgery. So, if you are fit and active, it might take you even less. It is a steep terrain but nothing that cannot be accomplished.

Typical lush green scene from La Soufrière hike

Different ways to hike


Typical scenes from La Soufrière hike: bamboos

1. You can start the hike from the east (windward) of the island and hike towards the volcano, and trace your steps back to complete the hike.

2. Or, you can start the hike from the west (leeward) of the island and hike towards the volcano, and similarly trace your steps back to complete the hike.

3. The other option would be to start from one side of the island and end at the other side of the island. The disadvantage for this option is that you need to arrange transportation ahead so that somebody is waiting for you on the other side of island. From hiking perspective, this is also more risky, especially if you are hiking alone, as there is no option to trace your steps back in case you get lost at some point.







La Soufrière hike: Almost there!

We did the first option. We hiked from windward side of the island, near Georgetown, to the top of the volcano and traced back our steps.

How to get to the trailhead

Typical scenes from the hike: a cute green lizard
I am assuming you are hiking from east as we did. This is the exact location of the trailhead on Google maps.

Step 1. If you are in Kingstown, first go to Little Tokyo terminal and catch a minibus to Georgetown. They run frequently.
Step 2. Get off at Georgetown downtown, not at the end of the town. This is a mistake I did and documented here.
Step 3. From Georgetown downtown, catch a taxi to the trailhead.
Step 4. Arrange return transportation from trailhead to Georgetown downtown with your taxi driver.

Tips to hike La Soufrière volcano

  1. Wear the right shoes. Did I tell you it is steep and rocky at points? When it rains, it gets slippery as well.
  2. Bring a windbreaker. It gets windy at the top even when it is hot at the trailhead.
  3. Bring water and sunblock. It is a no brainer. 
  4. Arrange return transportation ahead. When we hiked, the park ranger arrived at the same time with us. When we finished our hike, there was no ranger on sight. Do not expect the ranger office to be open. 
  5. If you are taking a minibus between Kingstown and Georgetown. Be advised the minibus will be completely full with no space in between the seats. Any gap between the seats will be turned into an available seat with a pull-in seat. It will be cramped.
  6. If you are taking a minibus between Kingstown and Georgetown. Be advised if you get motion sickness easily. The fast drivers and windy roads are not your friend.
La Soufrière hike, the view from the top: volcano!

Highlights

Typical scenes from La Soufrière hike
  1. Of course it is the hike, but more specifically it was the views of the island during the hike.
  2. The view of the volcanic crater from the top. It was like magic.
  3. The fact that there was nobody else in the trail and the peace that comes with this fact.
  4. This is not really about the hike, but more about the minibus transportation between the towns. I am so glad I experienced this.
    • Riding in these minibuses felt like riding a rollercoaster with the fast drivers and windy roads.
    • We witnessed local people making space for kids returning from school on their laps or sharing their seats with them. It kinda reminded me of my childhood and gave me the small town feel. The driver did not take money from the kids, so there was really no reason for the driver to make the minibus for cramped for the kids. But seeing everybody doing their best accommodate the kids was heart warming.
I hope you hike La Soufrière volcano one day and my post and tips comes handy when you do.


[End notes: Traveled in 2019 and posted in 2020.]

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Location: La Soufrière, St Vincent and the Grenadines

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