St Kitts & Nevis

A small two-island nation in the eastern Caribbean, with the World Heritage-listed Brimstone Hill Fortress, a narrow-gauge sugar-cane scenic railway, the beaches of the Southeast Peninsula and ferry-accessible Nevis.

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a small two-island nation in the Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean, made up of St Kitts (home to the capital, Basseterre) and Nevis, about 3 km to the southeast. Both are rainforest-clad volcanic islands, together covering about 260 km². St Kitts is shaped like a tennis racket: in the north, Mount Liamuiga and the island ring road link villages, the old sugar-cane railway and the World Heritage-listed Brimstone Hill Fortress; the long, narrow Southeast Peninsula in the south holds the best beaches, including Frigate Bay, South Friars Bay and Cockleshell Bay. Nevis is much quieter, centred on its capital Charlestown, Alexander Hamilton's birthplace, Pinney's Beach and the Bath hot springs; it is about 45 minutes by ferry from Basseterre, or a few minutes by water taxi from near Cockleshell Bay. The best time to visit is the dry season from December to April, with temperatures of about 24–30°C and pleasant sea breezes; May–Nov is hotter and wetter, with hurricane risk peaking Aug–Oct. Getting there: Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport has flights to Miami, New York, London and neighbouring islands, and the island is also a frequent cruise port of call. Getting around is mainly by taxi (government-set fares; agree the price before you get in) or rental car (a local temporary driving permit is required; drive on the left). Plan on 3–5 days, including a day on Nevis. Note that the local currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar, though US dollars are widely accepted.

Top sights

• Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park – A World Heritage Site dubbed the “Gibraltar of the West Indies.” A British fortress of volcanic rock on the summit looks out over several n…
• St. Kitts Scenic Railway – A sightseeing train converted from a century-old narrow-gauge sugar cane line. Ride a double-decker carriage around the peninsula past coas…
• Pinney's Beach – A golden beach about 6 km long on Nevis's west coast, lined with rows of coconut palms and facing St. Kitts. The Killer Bee rum cocktail at…
• Independence Square – The center of Basseterre's historic old town, a Georgian-style square that was once a slave market, now surrounded by green trees and a fou…
• The Circus – A roundabout designed after London's Piccadilly Circus, with the green Victorian Berkeley Memorial Clock Tower at its center, a landmark of…
• Port Zante – The cruise terminal and marina of Basseterre, with duty-free shops and restaurants, and the first stop for most visitors arriving in St. Ki…
• National Museum of St. Kitts – A small museum in an old financial building from 1894, telling the history of the island's Indigenous peoples, colonization, sugar and inde…
• St. George's Anglican Church – A stone church rebuilt on the site of Basseterre's oldest church, which was rebuilt several times after French, British, fires and earthqua…
• Co-Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception – A twin-towered Catholic church on the east side of Independence Square, completed in 1927, with a Romanesque facade and stained glass that…
• Romney Manor & Caribelle Batik – A 17th-century plantation estate at the foot of a rainforest, with a 350-year-old rain tree in the tropical garden, where visitors can watc…
• Timothy Hill Lookout – A lookout on the Southeast Peninsula road, with the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other. It offers the classic postcard vie…
• Frigate Bay – A resort area south of the capital, where the North Bay faces the rough Atlantic and the South Bay has a row of beach bars known as 'The St…
• South Friar's Bay – A peaceful Caribbean bay on the Southeast Peninsula, with beach bars and snorkeling spots. Green vervet monkeys often roam the nearby bushe…
• Cockleshell Bay – The southernmost beach of St. Kitts, separated from Nevis by a narrow strait. Its relaxed beach bars make it the island's best spot for vie…
• Mount Liamuiga – The highest peak on St. Kitts (about 1,156 meters), a dormant volcano. Climbing to the crater rim requires a guide through the rainforest.
• Black Rocks – Black rock formations on the northeast coast, created when volcanic lava flowed into the sea and cooled. Atlantic waves crash against them…
• St. Thomas Anglican Church, Middle Island – One of the earliest churches in the English colonies of the Caribbean, where Sir Thomas Warner, who founded the colony of St. Kitts in 1624…
• Charlestown, Nevis – The capital of Nevis, with a small, quiet old colonial town of stone buildings. It is about 45 minutes by ferry from Basseterre.
• Museum of Nevis History (Alexander Hamilton Birthplace) – Birthplace of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, where a rebuilt stone house displays the history of Nevis and the story of Hamilton's lif…
• Bath Hotel & Hot Springs – Ruins of the Caribbean's first resort hotel, completed in 1778, with a natural hot spring pool beside it that is still free for bathing.
• Nevis Peak – A dormant volcano about 985 meters high at the center of Nevis Island. Its cloud-wrapped cone is the most recognizable landscape of the twi…
• Botanical Garden of Nevis – A tropical botanical garden at the foot of Nevis Peak, with rainforest greenhouses, orchids and Asian-style gardens. The garden's tea house…
• Oualie Beach – A small bay on the north coast of Nevis with a cluster of water sports centers offering diving, windsurfing and kayaking. It is also a stop…

Where to eat

• El Fredo's – A family-run eatery on Bay Road in Basseterre that serves only lunch and changes its menu daily, making it a top choice…
• Sunshine's Beach Bar & Grill – One of the most famous beach bars on Pinney's Beach in Nevis, renowned for its charcoal-grilled lobster, ribs, and Kill…
• Mrs. Moore's Eat to Live Snackette – A food stall next to the National Museum, where Mrs. Moore's daily early-morning johnny cakes are considered by many lo…
• Spice Mill Restaurant – An open-air restaurant on Cockleshell Beach facing Nevis, specializing in modern Caribbean cuisine and seafood.
• The Rocks at Golden Rock Inn – A restaurant set on a former sugar plantation on the slopes of Nevis Peak, where the lobster sandwich and Moroccan chic…

Itineraries

• St. Kitts & Nevis Dual-Island Itinerary – Explore the fortress and scenic railway on St. Kitts, then cross to Nevis to enjoy Pinney's Beach and Charlestown.