Hewanorra Intl Airport

Arriving into St Lucia Hewanorra airport was no problem except they make you deplane on a lot of steps down to the tarmac. Leaving this airport to come home is awful. Extremely hot with tons of people crammed into a small space. The food is outrageous! We had 2 burgers, 2 fries, and 2 diet sodas, and it was $28 or 38.00 U.S. money. It's not even that good. We will not go back to St. Lucia because of the bad experiences we had leaving to come back to the States.

This review relates to Hewanorra, the main international airport of St Lucia (not the smaller George F. L. Charles Airport in Castries, which serves regional caribbean routes). Hewanorra is a relatively small airport with no air bridges. Arrivals Hall looked old and tired, but was at least air conditioned. All immigration desks were operational and the queue moved quickly. Bags were already waiting by the time I cleared immigration. Customs were very attentive, regularly challenging passengers and opening quite a lot of bags. Porters moved like lightning to pick up and carry bags once through customs, for which they will expect to be tipped whether you asked for their help or not. Coming back, check in area was relatively uncrowded and well organised. Once through security, the departures hall is small, crowded and outdated. Several rather tacky duty free and gift shops are available. There is a First Class lounge which while basic by the standards of major airports is quiet and comfortable in comparison to the departures hall if you have access. Not a great airport, but it's the only choice.