The locals in St.Lucia are very friendly and mix well with the tourist. Gravity and Delerious are good bars for dancing. Reduit Beach is fine for swimming unless the northenr swells are running, but that's only about 10 - 20% of the time. The beach in front of spinnakers can get crowded when the cruie ships are in and that is the only place to rent chairs, but because of the schedule they come late and leave early. If you are comfortable driving on the left on winding mountain roads and want to travel around the island a lot you could rent a car, but generally you will not find it to be as conveinent or necessary as on SXM. If you have were to take a day trip to the Soufriere area it would be a little cheaper than a taxi and more convienent than the local bus, but I never rent a car on SLU or SXM so I'm not the best authority on that issue. To go to the market in Casteries or the Jump up in Gros Islet from Rodney Bay the local buses are the best option. To do a one day tour of the nature sites around Soufriere from the Rodney Bay area a taxi for the day may be the best option as the roads aren't signed very well and driving yourself you may find stressful trying to figure out which way to go. In Rodney Bay all the bars and restaurants are within easy walking distance of each other, you can go from one end of the strip to the other in about 15 minutes. Unless you planned to go cross island each day you wouldn't need a car for your entire stay.