Back on Ciao! Check out my new review on Carthage, Tunisia. :)
Back on Ciao! Check out my new review on Carthage, Tunisia. :)
Member since:08.07.2004
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It’s twenty one years since St Kitts & Nevis became an independent nation (1981) but it remains one of the more British Caribbean islands. They are mad about cricket, have a KFC, a Courts furniture superstore, a Barclays bank and the roundabout in the middle of the capital of St Kitts, Basseterre, is called Piccadilly Circus.
I visited for a two week holiday in 2002 on a special last-minute deal with Kuoni (www.kuoni.co.uk) costing £490 per person – 3 Star Room Only including flights and transfers.
Visitors from commonwealth countries, including the UK, do not need a visa so its easy to book last minute as we did. To be honest I wanted to go somewhere “a bit different” in the Caribbean, and frankly, we booked St Kitts because, at the time, it was cheap.
I checked out the prices for a holiday departing next year – and its still cheap for long haul. A week departing 15th June 2005 with Kuoni using BWIA airlines via Antigua
is just under £700 per person, staying at the same resort we did, Frigate Bay:
http://www.frigatebay.com/
~ Our Resort – 3 star but air con, fridge, pool, great restaurant & 2 mins from beach ~
In fact I was very impressed with Frigate Bay. It’s small by resort standards – only 40 or so rooms, so there is one swimming pool but its large and has a swim up bar. We were on a Room Only deal but we found the restaurant in the resort very good and reasonably priced. Breakfasts were a great buffet with tons on tropic fruit and favourites such as banana bread. Lunch, and we usually went for chicken and chips which cost around a fiver.
Once a week the resort had a party with a barbecue grill and steel band which was complimentary and we got to meet the resort owner who lives on site with his family. There were several other British guests staying at the resort, all of whom we met and enjoyed at least drinks at the bar with, and two other couples we got together with an organised a driver to take us on an Island tour, as well as going out to dinner a couple of times with. We went in June so its not peak time for families with school age children. The families who were at our resort had pre-schoolers and babies.
The Frigate Bay resort is well positioned next to Frigate Bay. There is a beach two minutes walk away – Caribbean side and so good for swimming, and another beach ten minutes walk away – Atlantic side and so good for watersports such as windsailing. There are a number of bars, restaurants and other hotels in the Frigate Bay area, plus the golf club, so there is plenty to do with the need to hire a car or taxi.
The capital, Basseterre, was about five minutes by taxi, and we did go a few times for shopping and site seeing. We also hired a car for three days of our holiday and drove around the entire island. There are many beaches safe to swim in. the only thing is how eerie it is to swim from a deserted small beach. I got a bit scared and so didn’t venture very far out for swimming and snorkelling when there was no one else around. Overall, the standard of Frigate Bay was very satisfactory. There was maid service every day and the place was spotlessly clean. Out room was large with its own seating area and shady patio. Upper story rooms all have their own balcony. On the lawn in front of our patio was a hammock… great for relaxing in the shade with a good book in the heat of the middle of the day.
~ St Kitts in general ~
St Kitts is a small island but bigger than you think. It’s 69 square miles with a population of around 31 thousand people. It’s also one of the last places that sugar cane is still grown and harvested, albeit in a small sale way. The St Kitts economy relies on tourism, so why should you go there?
Apparently Christopher Columbus sailed past St Kitts in 1493 but did not land but it is believed he named the island after St Christopher. Settlement did not begin until the early 17th century and then it became one of the wealthiest of the British Caribbean islands – the wealth based on sugar. In the middle of the island is a dormant volcano and sugar grew well on this rich volcanic soil. In 1775, there were 68 sugar plantations producing this valuable crop and making the landlords rich.
A number of plantations still survive and are interesting to look around. A couple are now hotels. Even if you are not staying there, you can have a look around, perhaps by going to the bar for a drink or having a meal there. We had a very nice meal one evening sat at a table nestled in the ruins of part of the old sugar mill, at Ottley’s plantation.
I only spent a day on Nevis so I’ll leave someone else to write up about the island. We went across on the local ferry – which took around a dozen tourists and a ton of bananas across the sea on the short trip as Nevis is only a mile or so away. Nevis is smaller than St Kitts and has a number of old plantations to visit and some very nice luxury hotels.
~ Useful things to know ~
This is a very useful website which should cover all the tourist things you want to know from bank opening hours to accommodation lists:
http://www.stkitts-tourism.com/
I’ve found some websites of some of the other hotels:
And Ballahoo restaurant which is situated in Basseterre. We visited here as its one of the best restaurants on the island for local cuisine and had a very enjoyable evening with good food before wandering off to one of the local bars where we got chatting to some other British holidaymakers: http://www.ballahoo.com/
Information on the historical sites on St Kitts is contained in the general tourist website (above) but of particular note, with its own website, is Brimstone Hill fort which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is certainly worth an afternoon exploring and there are some great views and photo opportunities from the fortress: http://www.brimstonehillfortress.org/
~ Conclusions ~
St Kitts is not large but there is enough to do to keep you amused on holiday if you are into sports or like exploring. We were told that St Kitts is one of the safest islands in the Caribbean with a very low crime rate, and it is certainly safe for tourists to wander around the capital at night without any fear for personal safety.
We hired a car for three days of our holiday so we could explore every corner of the island but taxis are cheap and plentiful and so it’s not really necessary.
Overall, I would recommend St Kitts for a Caribbean holiday, unless you want a lot of nightlife. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in St Kitts but no nightclubbing culture.
~ Pictures ~
Sorry, I don't have any photos as we went to St Kitts before we had a digital camera, but there are some excellent photos here:
My husband would love to go there some time - he had an uncle who worked there many years ago, but never had the opportunity (or money!) to visit him. Sue
purplelynne 20.08.2004 12:45
It sounds amazing, I'd love to go. Lynne x
Scarlet_Ribbons 20.08.2004 12:04
I am just packing my suitcase and booking myself a flight even as I type this...........I wish. Beautifully reviewed. Helen xx
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Aug 12th, 2004
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