Saint Kitts and Nevis is a two islands country in Eastern Caribbean. With about 50,000 people it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere both in terms of territory and population. The volcanic islands are beautiful and have plenty of nature and history to explore. Diving was very good and we saw sharks, rays, and lots of reef fish. The video has the highlights
We dove with Pro Divers. An excellent dive shop with a spacious catamaran, excellent gear and a great crew. After two dives we would drive around to explore the island.
St.Kitts went through a bit of a construction boom and there are quite a few developments with vacation homes. St.Kitts also has a very popular citizenship by investment program (one can buy a passport). One wonders if there would be enough space in St.Kitts if all the people with passports actually decided to move there. That does not seem to be a risk right now though. The island still has plenty of green space and beautiful views.
St.Kitts main public beach is at Frigate Bay facing west where the sea is calmer and with excellent sunset views. There are several little restaurants along the small beach. The set up is pretty basic and laid back, no formal fine dining here, but a great place to watch sunset.
Cruise industry is a big business for St.Kitts and Nevis. Seeing 3 ships on a day in high season is not unusual. A special tourist village was built on reclaimed land next to the pier to land the tourists and get them shopping for souvenirs and duty free items.
The main attractions on the island are also on the cruise excursions circuit and can get busy. From the capital Basseterre, about half way towards north west end of the island, Romney Manor is a former sugar plantation and a rum distillery. Actually, the first owner of the property was Sam Jefferson II, the great, great, great, grandfather of U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. It is amazing coming across all these reminders of common history of US and the Caribbean, and the days when North America was the poor neighbor to booming rich Caribbean. In the present day, the estate has a batik enterprise where tourists get a tour of how it is made and get to shop for it. The grounds, gardens and views from the estate are beautiful.
Further along the western coast, Brimstone Hill Fortress is a Unesco world heritage site and a very impressive, nicely restored fort with sensational views.
We then continued further north along the coast and had a lunch at Kititian Hill hotel. It has stunning views of Sint Estatius, Saba and even St.Bart far in the distance.
Coming around to Atlantic side the sea is rougher. At times St.Kitts gets a lot of sargassum on its shores. It eventually washes away, but big hotels try to keep their beaches clean – clearing sargassum every day with an excavator.
One day we took a ferry, known as Sea Bridge, over to explore Nevis. We went with our car on the big slow ferry, but there are also speed boats that can take one across the 3km channel.
Nevis is the smaller island with a population of about 12,000. Famous for being the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton (more links to US history). It has a separate legislature and tried twice to secede from the federation with St.Kitts, though has not succeeded in that yet. The island is dominated by Nevis Peak, a dormant volcano.
On the day we arrived, three cruise ships were in the harbor of Nevis. While big cruise ships go to St.Kitts it seems Nevis is visited by the smaller ones. The day we were there two sailing cruise ships were in the harbor. Cannons at the pier aimed at the tall ships (sailing cruise ships) helped one imagine of what the place looked like back in its heyday.
Downtown Charlestown, Nevis’s capital, has a few restored historical buildings. One can walk around it in 10 minutes or so. We were there on Sunday and the Museum of Nevis history, located in the building where Alexander Hamilton was born, was closed.
Next to downtown is the Fort Charles, admittedly less impressive than the fort on the neighboring island.
We then drove around the island counter clockwise stopping for views and sites. The first one was Montpelier, a 17th century plantation turned hotel.
We continued around the island and had lunch at Golden Rock Inn. It has beautiful grounds and good food.
To finish off our Nevis adventure we went to Pinneys beach for a swim and a sundowner.
And then back onto the Sea Bridge ferry for a sunset crossing back to St.Kitts.
