When was the last time you went out for a drive and ended up inside a volcano?
Well we did! That’s correct, the world’s only drive in volcano is located on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Soufriere Volcano – Sulphur Springs Park in St. Lucia
The drive to Sulfur Spring Park is about an hour from Castries through a winding road with towering forest trees through the rainforest. From the parking lot, you’ll walk uphill. You will lay eyes on the Soufriere crater as it emits steam and sulphurous gases with boiling mud bubbling just a few feet from you (beware of the rotten eggs smell). The odor can be a little nauseating, even if you can find something to cover your nose ( I highly recommend it!!).
They have guided tours with park rangers that lead you to an observation platform at the crater, where you are surrounded by the volcano zone.
Be sure to bring your bathing suit and a towel (an old one) to take a dip in the mud baths afterwards. One of the great attractions of this volcano is the chance to smother yourself in sulfurous mud, let it dry, and then immerse yourself in the hot water to wash off. There’s also a shower to rinse any residual mud off with cold water. Your skin will feel very smooth and soft afterwards.
The highlight of our trip was slapping as much mud on each other as possible.
Soufriere volcano is considered to be dormant today, although it is still being monitored regularly. The last volcanic eruption was in the late 1700s.
Entrance to Soufriere and the Sulphur Spring Mud pools costs $8 per person, and includes the guided tours.
It’s open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
Note: Bring a bag to put all your wet bathing suits and towels. They will probably smell like sulfur.
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Mylene
October 25, 2013 at 2:36 pmThanks for the recommendation on St. Lucia. I have looked into it and we may be going for spring break. Your tips on hotspots to check out were most helpful in getting the kids excited. Can’t wait! Thanks for your help!
A Southern Gypsy
January 27, 2014 at 6:15 pmThat’s pretty awesome! I’ve always wanted to visit St. Lucia. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler 🙂
Mrs. Chasing the Donkey
January 27, 2014 at 7:54 pmWonderful to see you linking up with us again, thanks. This sounds like such a great thing to do, I’ve never been too a sulphur spring before – I must try that.
Jess
January 28, 2014 at 12:00 pmI would love to do this! I’ve always wanted to visit a volcano.
I got talked into putting the glacial silt on my face when I was in Alaska this summer – it actually felt pretty good. Only I’d forgotten to consider I wasn’t going to be anywhere with running water for the next 24 hours. This seems a better option!
Carmen
January 28, 2014 at 2:56 pmI’m sure your skin felt great afterwards. Although, I’m not sure I would of like having glacial silt on my face for 24 hours. 🙂 It was the highlight of the trip for the kids to slap mud on each other. Our oldest suffers from eczema and she said it helped her skin a little.
Conversant Traveller
January 28, 2014 at 9:17 pmThat’s so cool, I’d love to try a soak in a hot mud bath on a gorgeous island like that!
Carmen
January 31, 2014 at 5:16 pmWe loved St. Lucia. It’s one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean. You definitely need to try the hot mud baths.
Travis
January 29, 2014 at 9:57 pmWow..this is very cool! I love finding out cool things you can do that I didn’t know existed! We have wanted to visit more of the Caribbean and this seems like a great place to add to the list. Is the mud really hot? Great photos and safe travels!
Carmen
January 31, 2014 at 5:15 pmThanks Travis. No, the mud wasn’t very hot. It drys very quickly once on your skin. It leaves your skin feeling very soft afterward.
Jenne
April 27, 2020 at 10:16 pmHow was your skin after the sulfur bath? I know mine felt great after a sulfur filled hot spring dip! Super fun thanks for sharing!
Carmen Edelson
April 28, 2020 at 8:10 pmFelt amazing! Happy to share 🙂