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Fun To See Island Ferry Service Offers The Fun Alternative
Story & Photos by Stan Bishop Fun To See Island FERRY SERVICE OFFERS The Fun Alternative
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Whether you’re visiting or leaving Saint Lucia, a new ferry service promises to treat you to the captivating sights of the island’s western coastline. Beginning last October, FunToSee Island Ferry Service has been offering passengers a more relaxed journey away from the winding roads.
The new company began after co-founder Michael Steinberg vacationed in Saint Lucia in 2019 and had to endure the 90-minute drive from Hewanorra International Airport. Steinberg, who admits that he’s not one for cars, met Saint Lucian, Dwayne Raymond, and asked why there was no ferry service on island.
“He told me, ‘Sir, I promise you two things: If you want to do a water ferry service, I will introduce you to every person we need to make this thing happen, and we will fill that boat virtually every day,’” Steinberg told SLYOU Business Magazine just one day before the company’s first official trip in October. For a year and a half, Steinberg and Raymond – the company’s President -- worked together on offering the service they felt was much in demand on the island. Their idea took sail when they both found out that many people prefer a ferry service to the long car drive between the island’s northern and southern points.
The ferry service operates from Rodney Bay Marina all the way down to Port Vieux Fort, which is about six minutes from the Hewanorra International Airport. From there, the Southern Taxi Association picks up the passengers and takes them directly to the airport. Visitors arriving in Saint Lucia via Hewanorra International Airport are also transported to Rodney Bay Marina from where they are shuttled to their respective hotels or guest houses in the north.
“In the future, we anticipate stopping at Pointe Seraphine to accommodate people staying at hotels closer to Castries,” Stenberg said. Steinberg said the path to smooth sailing included many ebb and flow moments. Nevertheless, he admitted that it’s also been a labour of love that took perseverance and no shortcuts.
For now, FunToSee Island Ferry Service has one vessel – named “After You” – with a capacity for 46 passengers. However, due to the COVID-19 protocols, only 35 passengers can be accommodated. Rates for the 82-minute journey start from US$135 per person each way, and go as high as US$175. Group rates are also available. Light music and refreshments are offered to passengers
“We’re not a tour or excursion – we’re a transport company,” Stenberg said. “We’re giving tourists a taste of the island. Once the island opens up, we’ll be encouraging people to visit other businesses which the can explore. We’re actually enhancing local businesses, not competing with them.”
With one vessel plying the route so far, FunToSee Island Ferry Service has employed a dozen Saint Lucians, with hopes of hiring more people as the company expands its fleet. Steinberg admitted that it was risky business starting a company that depends on a market that is still in limbo. However, he seems optimistic that tourism arrivals will pick up soon.
“When we started putting things together for the business, there was no COVID-19 pandemic,” he explained. “We just had the confidence because we know the need exists for a better route between Port Vieux Fort and the hotels and resorts in the north. The question is why hasn’t this been done before.” A road trip between Rodney Bay and Vieux Fort can take anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes depending on traffic conditions. While passing through the east or west coast on the way to the north can be a sight to behold via that method, Steinberg believes that taking the ferry is more adventurous, relaxing and appealing.
“It’s really about the experience moreso than the time (with our service). Instead of enduring the ride, you’re enjoying it. Your vacation starts seven minutes outside the airport. That’s a big deal because people don’t want their vacation starting an hour and a half to two hours after they get here,” Steinberg said.
Meanwhile, Raymond, who started working in the hospitality industry as a chef at a hotel and later became a bartender, is no stranger to the sea. After leaving the hotel circuit, he worked on Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line. But he longed for a job where he can have the liberty of choosing the hours he worked. He ventured into the tour market, which was how he was able to meet Steinberg during the latter’s visit to Saint Lucia in 2019. They soon decided to run with their idea.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Raymond said about FunToSee Island Ferry Service finally setting sail. “It had gotten to a point where licenses and other things were needed and we experienced delays in getting them. That kind of took the joy out of the celebration for a bit. But it’s a great feeling seeing something good finally coming from an idea whereby people can enjoy the service while others gain employment.”
Raymond thanked the Government of Saint Lucia, especially Minister for Tourism Dominic Fedee, whom he said was very encouraging and supportive of the new ferry service.
To book your trip on FunToSee Island Ferry Service, call Captain Steinberg at 1 (758) 729 9589. You can also email the company at office@funtoseeisland.com.
Story & Photos by Stan Bishop
Multiple-award-winning Fond Doux Plantation and Resort in Soufriere started in 1999 as a heritage site by proprietors, Lyton Lamontagne and wife Eroline, who moved there to run the property as an estate during the green gold days. When they acquired the property, it was already in debt. So when Lyton’s father passed, they decided to convert the property into a tourist resort.
The plantation, which dates back nearly two centuries, was part of the lands granted to King Louis XIV in the 17th century, and was later sold. Its 130 acres of land features historic buildings, including the original copra house and cocoa fermentery which produces the branded Fond Doux Chocolate.
The couple started out offering lunches to cruise ship passengers. Over time, some guests wanted to spend a few nights at the property, so the Lamontagnes started renting their first cottage, Angelina’s Cottage, a twobedroom colonial house, which is nearly 250 years old.
The story behind Angelina’s Cottage
Some friends of Lyton told him there was a very historic house on Riverside Road in Castries that was slated for demolition. Lyton fell in love with the house, paid $2000 for it, dismantled it, put in onto a truck, and rebuilt it at the Fond Doux estate within five months. Aside from Angelina’s Cottage, two other cottages were sourced from Monchy. Today, Fond Doux Plantation & Resort boasts 16 cottages comprising 18 rooms in total, including Angelina’s Cottage. There are four standard onebedroom cottages, three twobedroom cottages, and eight deluxe honeymoon suites with a small plunge pool. There’s also a triple swimming pool, one of the highlights of the property.
Fond Doux Plantation & Resort, located a few minutes from the
beach and three minutes from the Sulphur Springs, has an a la carte restaurant made from bamboo called the Bamboo Restaurant where the favourite meal is the signature sous kaye, which guests can get in fish, chicken or lambi. There’s also the Creole Pot Restaurant designed for breakfast and buffet lunches, serving a nice Saint Lucian plantation to plate cuisine from organically-grown produce from the estate.
Tour guides take you on a tour of the plantation where you’ll see the vast array of plants and trees, including the popular cocoa trees from which the chocolate bars are made. The chocolates come in five flavours and are sold at Fond Doux Plantation & Resort and Eroline’s Supermarket in downtown Soufriere. The fermentery is a big hit with guests who get to witness the production of chocolate on the spot, including staffer Clinton’s popular cocoa dance. millionaire Lord Colin Tennant -- who resided in Soufriere for many decades before his death -- for 14 years before opening Eroline’s Supermarket in Soufriere in 1988. The beginnings of the famed Fond Doux Plantation & Resort came a decade later when the Lamontagnes took a loan from Bank of Saint Lucia and developed the property in a major way. The rest is history.
“When we first started, I spoke to some of the taxi drivers in Soufriere town to bring guests up to us as part of their trips,” Lyton tells me as we sat downstairs Angelina’s Cottage last October. “Most of them declined, saying that their guests might not want to come to Fond Doux Plantation & Resort because we don’t have a beach here. After we approached the tour guides and travel agents, that all changed.”
Translated, Fond Doux means “Sweet Valley”. Lyton’s father bought the property in 1980 and died in 1986, leaving a huge debt on the estate. While many people suggested that the property be sold, Lyton advised his mother against it, eventually offering to develop it into a tourist attraction. After moving there with his wife, Eroline, they got down to installing electricity, fixing the roads, planting fruit trees, among other things. They even sold fruits from the estate and invested that money into the property.
Lyton, who admitted to having no prior experience in tourism, construction and agriculture before developing the estate, said he had to learn these new skills quickly, much of it from people who gave him free advice. Glancing at the litany of trees that filled our view, he marveled at the transformation.
“If anyone had told me back then I’d end up with 16 cottages, I would have doubted them,” he said, shaking his head. “Many times, my wife would tell me we had a major booking and I’d have only weeks to build another cottage. In some
cases, I literally finished building a new cottage the day before the guests arrived! That taught me that anything is possible once you have the determination to succeed.” What makes Fond Doux Plantation & Resort so special?
Lyton believes that the homegrown and authentic hospitality that Fond Doux Plantation & Resort offers are qualities that keep guests returning. The property’s primary target market is the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada and the Caribbean.
“There’s no place like Fond Doux Plantation & Resort anywhere else in the Caribbean,” he stated. “Our secret is our simplicity. Our cottages have no televisions, but they’re beautiful nonetheless because you’re comfortable and at peace here. Our staff are also very friendly.”
He also believes that keeping staff happy in a nurturing environment is crucial for a successful business: “Your staff must be comfortable enough to give you advice on how to improve your business. Which is why we always have conversations with our staff to get ideas.”
Lyton admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the global economic ball game, especially the tourism sector. Just before the pandemic hit, he was about to build additional cottages, but had to defer that effort. However, he does have some creative plans for the place despite the pandemic affecting the business economically.
Having run a successful supermarket and resort for years, Lyton seems to be gaining more vigour, wisdom and creative ideas. He’s faced down many challenges and won. But this businessman does not see success only in dollars and cents. My best investment is my wife,” he said emphatically. “Had it not been for her, I’m not sure I would have been able to be where I am today. The two of us work very well together because we’re always on the same page.”
Eroline, who has a background in accounting and the family supermarket named after her, believes that Fond Doux Plantation & Resort is the perfect place to experience the unadulterated scenery, culture, traditions, food and incredible hospitality of Saint Lucia. Among the celebrities who have visited Fond Doux Plantation & Resort for samples of those are Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Martha Stewart and Mick Jagger. “There’s a sincere and genuine friendliness here,” she tells me. “We truly have a passion for what we do: it’s about having a discipline and consistency that surpasses winning awards and having a product that’s at a world-class standard.”
Having a business in the shadows of the famous Pitons, she told me, is a huge plus because the Pitons inspire people the world over. Even the late Sir Derek Walcott, who wrote about the Pitons in many of his poems, often visited Fond Doux Plantation & Resort. But the mere fact that the Lamontagnes were born in the shadow of these peaks and get to see them daily serves as inspiration points, she noted.
The COVID-19 pandemic, Eroline said, caught everyone by surprise. A week before COVID-19 fears began to grow internationally, she was interviewed by a British magazine. The interviewer asked her what she felt would happen.
“I remember telling him that I was very optimistic and that whatever COVID-19 brought, people will still want to travel,” she recalled. “It turns out that people are now travelling for longer periods. Back in the day, traveling seemed to be for the affluent; these days, everyone wants to travel. While COVID-19 has affected everyone globally, it allowed me to be more focused and find time to relax.”
Like the many challenges she and her husband have faced all these decades, Eroline believes that COVID-19 is another hurdle that tests the mental and entrepreneurial fortitude of a couple that never seems to give up. Despite the many odds that came with COVID-19, she remains adamant that the best is yet to come. “One of the lessons we’ve learned in this business is that you must always remain optimistic. Every day is a new discovery: a flowering tree, positive stories. These are just some of the simple things that inspire me to never give up,” Eroline explained.
These are simple words that have a profound effect when read slowly and repeatedly. But for an entrepreneur who, along with her husband, planted a seed with sprinkles of hope and determination many moons ago, remembering the journey is what matters most to the true story of Sweet Valley.
“When we started off, we had about three employees,” she said. “I remember having to cook the meals, plant the flowers and do other things. To come this far didn’t happen overnight; it took some baby steps before the awards and other accolades started coming in. You don’t have to start with a huge bang. Life is a progression of turning small steps into big steps.”
