Wind down on tropical Windjammer beaches

St Lucia has fast become a top wedding destination but we sent Tracey Davies to find out if this Caribbean Island offers more than just a dream holiday spot for couples.

WE took the scenic route from Hewannora Airport through acres of rainforest to our resort on Labrelotte Bay on the north-west coast of this beautiful island.

Arriving at the five-star Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort & Spa, it is easy to see why this is such a draw as a wedding and honeymoon destination.

The place is splendid: dozens of white villas dapple an emerald hillside and, of course, there is nearly always a sea view.

Home for the week is a villa with three terraces, private plunge pool, fully-equipped kitchen, walk-in wardrobe, TV and video player, music system, the personal touch of fresh flowers and iced water in the fridge.

Windjammer's accommodation ranges from luxurious rooms to even more sumptuous 4,400 sq ft estate villas which wouldn't look out of place in the Hollywood hills.

January is St Lucia's mid-high season so Windjammer's 219 villas are almost filled to capacity; however, although lively, in no way is it overcrowded.

There are obvious newlyweds around but the resort has much to attract families, providing as it does children's clubs and nannies for hire.

Small though this mango-shaped isle is, there is plenty for the more adventurous to do, from biking through the rainforest to wreck-diving in the shadow of the Pitons.

This Unesco World Heritage Site, comprising of Gros Piton and Petit Piton, is neck-achingly beautiful.

The angular plugs of volcanic magma rise 786 metres and 738 metres, respectively, above sea level.

Petit Piton is the harder of the two to climb but Gros Piton is popular and takes around four and half hours for the round trip -- the reward being spectacular views. A slightly less daunting, but no less thrilling trip, is a day sail on the Brig Unicorn, the pirate ship used in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" which was filmed in the waters around St Lucia and The Grenadines. The crew, who were extras in the film, take us around the island from Rodney Bay in the north.

Gliding past slivers of white sandy coves at the foot of dense, verdant rainforest, we spot palm-laden beaches with discreet resorts curling around the hillside.

Sailing under the shadow of the famous Pitons, we arrive at Soufriere, a pretty French port with banana-colour-ed buildings and white picket fences.

We disembark and take the ten-minute drive to Sulphur Springs -- the world's only "drive-in volcano".

Our guide, Thomas, entertains us with the history while the steaming, boiling mud pops and spatters behind him and we are enveloped by the sulphurous smell of rotting eggs.

After a welcome shower under the Toraille Waterfall followed by lunch of fried plantain, fish, chicken, rice and salad washed down with rum punch we set off to sail the high seas once more.

A visit to Castries is a must with its vibrant market.

One real delight of the trip was the fantastic Caribbean cuisine.

At Windjammer we enjoyed amazing dishes created from traditional ingredients of coconut, coriander, yams and fresh seafood, merged with European and South American flavours. From Mediterranean-Italian at Papa Don's with its views of the island of Martinique just 25 miles away, to world fusion cuisine at the chef's signature restaurant, Dragonfly, one of the top restaurants on the island, Windjammer caters for all tastes and all occasions.

Tracey Davies is founder of www.PlanetReunited.com, a website which reunites travel friends from around the world. e mail: tracey@planetreunited.com