Chocolate Making and Bamboo Rafting in Castries

You craft the chocolate yourself before the river slows everything down.

Chocolate making and bamboo rafting in Castries combines a hands-on cocoa-to-chocolate session at a family farm with a guided drift down Roseau River on a traditional bamboo raft. The experience runs about four hours and includes both activities, entrance fees, and a local guide who speaks English. Small groups keep the pace personal, and the itinerary ends with a view of Castries from Morne Fortune.

Step-by-step itinerary

Chocolate making and bamboo rafting

• Enjoy chocolate making experience
• Drift on Roseau River bamboo raft
• View Castries capital overview

The experience

The morning starts at a family-owned cocoa farm where you spend an hour making chocolate from locally grown beans. You're not watching a demonstration. You're doing the work, learning the craft, and tasting what you've made. After that hands-on session, you head to Roseau River for the second half of the day: a private bamboo raft that carries you past mangroves and into the lush rainforest. Your local captain navigates the water and shares the river's history and ecology as you drift. The whole arc moves from active to restful, so by the time you're on the raft, the pace has already shifted.

The raft itself is traditional bamboo, built to handle the river's gentle current without engines or noise. You pass wildlife and dense vegetation on both banks, and the guide points out what lives there and why the ecosystem matters. The route ends with a stop at Morne Fortune, where you get a view back over Castries and the coast. Pickup is included, and the guide speaks English throughout. Small group sizes mean you're not packed in with strangers, so there's room to ask questions and move at your own pace on the raft.

What’s included

• Entrance fees.
• chocolate-making instruction and your finished chocolate to take with you.
• the guided bamboo raft ride down Roseau River.
• hotel or meeting-point pickup.
• a local English-speaking guide throughout.
• and a view of Castries from Morne Fortune. Snacks are encouraged on the route, and you can choose chocolate snacks or plantain chips.

Options for this experience

2 options

Just RaftsGuide in English · 08:00, 12:00 and 13:00Pickup and drop-off for the rafts. Duration: 3 hours. This applies only to bamboo rafting. Pickup is provided by mini van and included.

Saint Lucia tour that combines chocolate making with bamboo raftingGuide in English · 08:00Pickup is included

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00, 12:00 and 13:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 to 90 years) · Child (1 to 17 years)

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Jays758Tours

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English, so you'll follow the commentary and history without a language barrier. This works for solo travelers, couples, and families with children from age one, since both the farm and the raft accommodate different fitness levels and the pace is set by the group size and the river itself.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

3 verified traveler reviews

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (1 to 17 years).

What exactly do I make during the chocolate-making part?

You craft artisanal chocolate from locally grown cocoa beans at the family farm, learning the process from start to finish and tasting your own creations before you leave.

Is the bamboo raft ride rough or calm?

Roseau River is tranquil, so the raft drifts gently through the water. The experience is designed for relaxation, not whitewater or speed.

What kind of wildlife might I see from the raft?

The river passes through mangroves and rainforest where your guide points out the animals and plants that live there, though specific sightings depend on the time of day and season.

How long does the whole experience take?

The tour runs about four hours total, with roughly an hour on the chocolate-making and the rest split between the raft ride and the Morne Fortune viewpoint.