St Kitts

Introducing St Kitts

St Kitts definitely has a beat, and it’s not just the one blasting from the many minibuses hauling folks hither and yon. Basseterre is a fascinating place to wander and it is still very much the commercial heart of the island. Locals bustle shop to shop making their purchases and there’s only a bit of compromise offered for tourists and that’s at the cruise-ship dock.

To the south on the arid peninsula, the island’s best beaches have attracted both crowds of visitors and developers. The area around Frigate Bay is thick with condos and resorts. It’s also thick with a lively band of beach joints on the west side, many of which rock on until well after midnight.

Around the main part of the island, abandoned sugar-cane fields climb hills dotted with plantation inns and sleepy villages. In the northwest, the country’s one Unesco World Heritage site, Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, preserves a vast 18th-century fort on a stunning hilltop setting.

That everything is slightly shambolic just keeps the island feeling more authentic.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009