History, Hiking & Hidden Gems: My St. Kitts & Nevis Top Ten
The St Kitts and Nevis Top 10 highlights the best places to explore across these two historically rich Caribbean islands. From protected anchorages and lush botanical gardens to UNESCO sites and local hot springs, this guide offers a mix of culture, cruising stops, and must-see attractions.
Key Questions
What are the best places to visit in St Kitts and Nevis?
Top highlights include Brimstone Hill Fortress, Nevis Botanical Garden, White House Bay, and Basseterre.
Why visit St Kitts and Nevis?
These islands offer a unique blend of history, natural beauty, and accessible cruising destinations in the Eastern Caribbean.
This month we are traveling around St Kitts and Nevis, which has a fascinating history. Christopher Columbus sailed by these islands and named Nevis “Nuestra Senora de las Nieves”, meaning “Our Lady of the Snows” because of the permanent cloud sitting over the island. On the other hand, St Kitts gets its name from Christopher Columbus himself. If you want more history, how about having Admiral Horatio Nelson stationed here as a young captain and meeting his wife on Nevis.
While the hiking around, and to the summits, of both islands is spectacular, I want to delve into more specific highlights, so here we go with my top ten of St Kitts & Nevis.
10. Basseterre
Most cities in the Eastern Caribbean are not super exciting, but there are some interesting things to see in this capital city. The Treasury Building was built in 1894 and now houses the National Museum. The Port Zante Marina provides protection while you anchor or dock near town. The old and beautiful St George’s Anglican Church is a treasure to visit and walking to the Circus Place, which is a traffic circle with the Berkeley Memorial clock tower in the middle, is interesting. The cruise ship docks can be entertaining as you check out the stores, restaurants, and people watch the cruise guests.
9. Nevis Botanical Garden
Nevis is already a laid-back island and to say I found a place that is laid back on a laid-back island makes it worth a visit in itself. This botanical garden is gorgeous and the plants are set around outdoor decorations inspired from India and Asia. I spent several hours walking around and just enjoying the beautiful nature of this garden. Nearby you will find the home of Frances Nisbet, Admiral Nelson’s future wife and there is a museum about him, but it is difficult to find it open.
8. White House Bay
This is one of the most protected anchorages in St Kitts & Nevis and there’s a wonderful restaurant called Salt Plage at Christophe Harbour where you can hang out on the water’s edge. The bay has good snorkeling. If a storm is approaching, the nearby Great Salt Pond offers protection and also contains a high-end marina.. Less than a mile south is an open bay that has a shipwreck and good snorkeling, but you should go here if nothing else than just for its name… Shitten Bay. Haha
7. Alexander Hamilton House
The main town on Nevis is Charlestown and this was the birthplace and childhood home of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States and the majority author of the Federalist Papers. His home now houses the Nevis Museum and the architecture throughout Charlestown is enjoyable to explore.
6. Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor
Situated on an old plantation, this factory uses wax and dyes to make a unique fabric that is used in clothing and other items. Touring the factory is very interesting and the fabrics are gorgeous. Nearby you can check out a 400-year-old tree, some pre-Columbian petroglyphs, and ride a zipline.
5. Green monkeys
These one-to-two-foot creatures live up in the highlands of both islands and were introduced during the slave trade years. I was told to walk up to the edge of town around 5pm in order to see them. I later found out you don’t have to go out of your way as they come down into the settlements in the late afternoon and evening and even though tourists love seeing them the locals consider them quite the nuisance because they get into everything.
4. Hermitage Inn
Built in the mid to late 1600s, this is considered the oldest wooden building in the Caribbean. It gets its longevity from the mortise and tenon construction method and by using the durable lignum vitae timber for framing. Sitting 800 feet above sea level, it is cool and beautiful on the side of the volcano in the rain forest. I had the chance to get a tour from the owner and his stories were fascinating.
3. Railway
In the early 1900s the various plantations around St Kitts combined in their efforts to build a modern sugar factory and built a train around the island to collect the sugarcane for processing. This allowed the island to profitably process sugar much longer than most of the rest of the Caribbean. Nowadays this narrow-gauge train track is used as a tourist attraction and it’s well worth it as you get to travel around half the island aboard this cute little train with the ocean on one side and the rain forest hills on the other.
2. Hot springs
This is more of a local place than a touristy place and every time I’ve been there, I’ve seen a local coming to the hot springs to actually bathe. The water is hot and quite relaxing. You have your choice of a man-made pool area or the creek runoff from that pool area. Right next door is the Bath Hotel 1778 and some people consider it one of the first tourist destinations in the Americas. Nowadays this building is used to house part of the government.
1. Brimstone Hill Fortress
Rarely do I have such an easy choice as the number one on my top ten lists each month, but this month is definitely one of those months. This 972-foot hill has been used militarily since the French set up cannons on it in 1689 to attack the English Fort Charles below. Since that time the English have continued to improve and fortify this monolith and by 1780 it was considered impregnable and has the nickname of the “Gibraltar of the Caribbean”. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and if you visit expect to spend three to six hours exploring this massive site.
Market Perspective
- St Kitts and Nevis offer a rare combination of historical depth and accessible cruising, making them standout stops in the Eastern Caribbean.
- Locations like White House Bay and Christophe Harbour provide strategic anchorages for yachts moving through the Leeward Islands.
- Attractions such as Brimstone Hill Fortress elevate the islands beyond beach destinations into cultural and historical experiences for cruisers.
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