St Kitts and Nevis were one of the first islands in the Caribbean that the Europeans settled on. Once the wealthiest Island due to its sugarcane production, it now relies heavily on tourism, agriculture ane St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment programme. Nevis also boasts the largest amount of mangos trees for any Caribbean island. However, Is it said that the locals don’t need to buy mangos due to availability across the Island.
Getting there
Unless you are flying in from a major airport, jumping from Island to Island means a strong chance of being in a 20-seater plane, tightly packed seating area, great view of the pilot and the controls, noisy and hot, but luckily for us, only a 30 min journey from St Martin/Sint Maarten to St Kitts and Nevis. The smaller planes are routinely used for short distances when travelling from one Island to the next. That said, Robert L Bradshaw is an international airport; larger aeroplanes land here from various countries.
Where are the islands of St Kitts and Nevis?
St Kitts and Nevis are two small islands in the Caribbean that form one country, nestled below St Martin /Sint Maarten, across from Antigua and Barbuda, and above Montserrat in the leeward islands. With a steady temperature of around 29C all year round. It is also in the hurricane belt, so frequent storms pass through this area. On our visit, Tropical Storm Fiona passed by, Guadeloupe had a lot of flooding, and St Kitts and Nevis managed to stay safe. Still, as the storm passed, it intensified and significantly damaged Puerto Rico. So if visiting during the hurricane season from June – Nov, you have to be mindful of the weather.
Natural Beauty of St Kitts and Nevis
The sight from the plane windows as we got closer to land gave us an idea of the type of Island we were staying in for two weeks.
Two imposing mountains dominate the islands, one on St Kitts and the other on Nevis. St Kitts is the more extended Island, where Mount Liamuiga is a 3-792-foot volcano in the western part of the Island. The Nevis peak on the Island of Nevis climbs to 3,332-foot, where the oval isle is surrounded by either a mix of soft white sand or brown and black sand washed down from the volcano. Rainforests and hot springs are found higher up the volcanos, and more monkeys.
St Kitts and Nevis’s natural beauty, I believe, derives in part from its low population count, the government’s desire to retain its natural beauty and the untouched natural contours of the landscape. No menacing concrete hotels are to be found here, only well-maintained colloquial style buildings that are in keeping through the Island and little villages with brightly painted houses.
Settlements are dotted around the Island, primarily colourful Caribbean early-style hurricane-resistant buildings, in amongst the sugar cane mills and towers that can still be seen, albeit in better condition than others.
Basseterre is the capital, the largest built-up area, from downtown housing to industrial sites to shops and businesses surrounding Port Zante. This is the main tourist attraction where cruise ships visit and deposit many thousands of tourists ready to spend money on duty-free or souvenirs. The airport is also located on the outskirts of the city.
Famed for its Sugar Production
St Kitts and Nevis, famed for their sugar production and the wealthiest country at the time of peak production, still have many sugar mills that are now falling into ruin around islands where each plantation would have refined their sugar before they centralised the production as prices tumbled around the world trying to keep sugar cane export viable.
Private half-day guided tour.
Although we like to explore places alone, on our own time and without a group of people, sometimes we feel that we would like someone with a lot of knowledge to take us to places that we weren’t aware of, occasionally interesting places on private grounds. That and it’s always good to get local knowledge about what you are seeing.
Greg from Greg’s Safaris, link he,re provides a modified 4×4 land rover defender that can take you from an adventure off the beaten track through mountain rainforests to the beach while safely perched on an elevated seat to take in the scenery.
Greg tells us that he is a fifth-generation St Kittitian, and his knowledge and passion for St Kitts come out in spades. No question is unanswered, and he takes your lead when designing a tour. He also puts on a great picnic of local fruits and baked goods, with drinks.
It’s easy to drive past exciting places and instantly know what it is. Greg provides instant answers, from getting close and personal to the old sugar mills and explaining what life was like all those years ago to showing you the different flora and fauna from the mountains to the beaches. I enjoyed our time with Greg. Not only was he easy to get along with, but he was considerate and full of answers. As we passed villages, many people said hello to him, and he took time to say hello or talk back a few words. St Martin is dubbed the friendly Island, but it has nothing on St Kitts, and its people. Read about our adventure in St Martin / Sint Maarten here.
Where did we stay?
We stayed in the Southern peninsula of St Kitts, firstly at Cockleshell Bay and then Turtle Beach. We stayed at two properties, both mere steps away from the beach and only a 20 mins drive back into Basseterre (The capital of St Kitts) for shopping, fuel or the airport. A further 20 minutes again, you can reach the top part of the Island to explore beaches where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean.
Accommodation
Our first property was on Coconut Farm in Cockleshell Bay, a working farm with two luxurious properties on site that can be booked, boasting two large colloquial style buildings set amongst coconut trees that look out to Nevis in one direction and the hills of the south peninsular just behind. The farm also hosts an open farm shop/cafe on Sundays, offering smoothies and breakfast treats other are even yoga classes, but we are on holiday, so nope.
You can see them here on Facebook or here on Instagram.
The place oozed tranquillity as soon as we arrived. A slight breeze welcomed us, with only the sound of birds tweeting away. Downstairs has an open dining area with a hammock and a kitchen and toilet on one side.
Upstairs is a verandah leading to two bedrooms with outside showers that look out to Nevis or the mountains behind. This was novel for us, but I quickly enjoyed this new experience.
You can view the one we stayed in here.
Beaches
Unfortunately, especially this time of year, the beaches were covered in Sargassum, a seaweed (type of algae) produced in the Atlantic. It then floats on the surface until it reaches land and decomposes. A natural habitat for wildlife, too much of it can be a problem. As it decays, it can give off a high level of hydrogen sulfide, which becomes a health hazard to people.
This problem is not just in St Kitts and Nevis. Record levels have been recorded in the eastern Caribbean this year. The French Island of Guadeloupe has issued a health warning as high levels can cause respiratory problems.
Some beaches especially attached to hotels will try to clean the area either by raking and removing it (Which is costly and has the problem of where to put it), or we have seen others push it back out into the water to let the tide take it back out to sea.
Cockleshell Bay beach, however, was somewhat protected from the direction of the sea and less affected. As a result, the beach were only lightly sprinkled with sargassum. This beach offers beach bars and restaurants on the beachfront, and the water taxi to Nevis picks you up from the dock.
Wild Monkeys
The occasional bark from the farm dog breaks the sounds of the birds, which we assume were chasing monkeys away as monkeys outnumber people on St Kitts and Nevis, and ever since, the cane fields that kept them up in the mountains diminished, they have moved down from the hills looking for food and causing frustration to the farmers that loose crops.
Even with the number of monkeys on the islands, they don’t interact with people that often. They usually run off when they hear vehicles and people getting near and hide in the undergrowth or trees until the ‘danger’ passes. So you won’t find them lurking around tourist places waiting to take handouts like in other countries.
You can go days without seeing any, and then suddenly, you can spot one in a tree or walking across the road with maybe a mother with its baby clinging on for a brief second until they disappear into the vegetation. If you are in a quiet location and don’t make too much noise, you may see them lying around, wondering what to do for the day.
Some locals have discovered that there is money to be made by charging tourists around $5 US to have a picture taken with a baby monkey attached to a chain or rope. Plenty of Instagram photos online can be found with smiling tourists with a monkey on their shoulders.
Due to the number of monkeys on the Island and the damage they can cause to crops, there are legal culls, and some locals have even turned to use the meat to turn into a stew, and they call it ‘tree mutton’.
Getting around
As usual, a hire car gives us the freedom to explore, shop and visit locations of our choosing, while there are plenty of options for public transport we always go for a hire car.
The one we chose, Bullseye Car Rental, was recommended by one of our hosts, and it turned out to be a straightforward transaction. We confirmed the details before we arrived, agreed on a price, sent a copy of our driving licence for a driving permit and then were met at the airport by someone who picked us up, drove us to the office to finalise the details, paid and sent us on our way with a map and a few pointers like supermarkets and good places to eat.
St Kitts and Nevis is quite a small island. So driving around is easy. The low population means there is not that much traffic, and it’s easy to visit anywhere on the Island.
Driving around and taking in the views is a joy. However, like other Caribbean islands, most St Kitts and Nevis country roads are not lit at night and are pitch black, so you should take extra care.
Conclusion
We enjoyed St Kitts and Nevis. Easy to navigate around the Island, felt safe no matter where we were on the Island. The landscape and obvious climate in the Caribbean make it an idyllic destination to relax and enjoy the surroundings. If you wanted a beach holiday, St Kitts and Nevis have it in spades, yes, we experienced a lot of Sargassum on our visit, and it did spoil our beach visits a little. However, we saw plenty of people enjoying the waters without worry, but being able to hike around different landscapes, from salt ponds to beaches to mountains, was something we had missed for a while, and we enjoyed the opportunity to do as much as we could. As our adventures continue, we look to build on this theme a little more.
Where next?
Our next adventure will leave St Kitts and Nevis and then travel to Antigua, yet another tiny plane to enjoy and another chance to practice our packing techniques.