St. Kitts

[Willie5566]

Going to St. Kitts in January. Anyone ever been there before? Looking for some good info on the hot spots and things to do there.

 

[Mark from Plano]

I was there in 1990 so my information is quite out of date.

My approach to all Caribbean islands though is that the first thing you do is to hire a taxi driver for an afternoon and have them give you a tour of the island. You can usually negotiate a good rate and get a pretty good feel for the place and the spots you may want to go back for visits later.

The capital (Basseterre) is on the south end of the island on the leeward side (hence the name). The Atlantic beaches tend to have rougher water, but better reefs for snorkeling. The Caribbean side beaches are calmer, sandier and not as good for snorkeling. The island is shaped like a cricket bat. The best beaches are (were) at the base of the handle (straight across the channel from Nevis). Some of the beaches on the north end of the island have black sand (lava from the volcano). Saw them, but didn't swim there or anything.

The north end of the island has an old English fort that's worth a look. From the fort you can see half a dozen other islands. Pretty cool. You can (or could) also tour a batik factory and visit some old sugar plantations. There's also an extinct volcano and you can go up into the crater if you want (we didn't). I believe that there's at least one casino on the island if that's your interest.

It might also be worth a ferry ride across to Nevis. Doesn't take long. Not a lot to see there (or there wasn't 20 years ago), but again, a cab ride around will give you a sense of the place.

20 years ago, the best restaurant on the island was The Golden Lemon which is in a hotel of the same name on the north end of the island (Dieppe Bay, IIRC). Was truly fantastic. Have no idea what the dining scene is there today. Back then, it was a pretty sleepy place and one of the least developed of all the major caribbean islands. I know they've built some more since then, but don't know the specifics. I still don't think it's on a lot of people's radar though, so I'd expect it to be pretty sleepy compared to other tourist hotspots like St. Thomas or Aruba. Some of the bigger hotels should have night clubs and what not.

Have fun.

 

[Willie5566]

Thanks for the advice. I was beginning to think I was discovering a new island. It has been hard to find someone that has actually been to St. Kitts.