Info on St Kitts above and below the waves...

[uncfnp]

It’s probable that I will be traveling to St Kitts for a conference March 2019 so looking for input on topside activities and possible diving. My free time will be very limited so hoping to make the most of it. I know it’s sacrilegious to even consider but given the time constraints and the fact the trip is sandwiched between to high dive trips, Cozumel in February and Bonaire April, i am even considering not diving! Even so, Eric with more free time may do a few days if it is recommended here.

So, with that said

1) Any info on must do sightseeing/activities

2) If I should dive and if so with whom and what dives sites to look for

3) Best place to stay if I don’t stay at the conference site, St Kitts Marriot Resort

4) Do I need a car rental and if so any rental recommendations

Thanks guys.

 

[KathyV]

I can't give you recent information about St. Kitts because we dived the area years ago on the Caribbean Explorer liveaboard and our time on the island was limited - several hours. So you need to get more current information but I can share a few memories that stand out from our trip.

I thought that there was pretty good diving including some wrecks, and I remember that the reefs were close to shore so that should make it easy for a land based trip. I preferred the seamount diving around Saba to St. Kitts but we had better weather and vis when we were at Saba so that may be the reason.

We enjoyed touring the island but we were not there long enough to rent a car. I remember visiting a big, imposing fortress on a hilltop but my favorite memory is the visit to Romney Manor. It is an old sugar cane plantation and it is now the home of a Batik factory where you can watch the artists create beautiful cloth patterns using waxes and dyes and they have a gift shop that sells some lovely clothing products. Not cheap but unusual and beautiful.

One other memory comes under the category of "Duh, what were we thinking?!" The US dollar was widely accepted throughout the island and near the end of the day we stopped at a bank ATM and stuck our card in to get some cash. To our dismay we got a big pile of Eastern Caribbean Dollars and we had to figure out how to use them up before getting back onboard. I am sure that credit cards are widely accepted so don't make the same mistake.

We never saw evidence of crime or felt in danger while on St. Kitts but you may see some inflammatory headlines calling it "the murder capital of the world!" Apparently, several years ago they had some drug-related gang war murders that statistically gave the island a very high murder rate. That must have been successfully quelled because the US State Department now rates it as a "Level 1 - Use Normal Precautions" destination. Of course no place in the world is totally safe but it sounds like St. Kitts is a pretty safe destination.

Is your husband a history buff? If he is then this may be of interest. The tiny sister island of Nevis is very near to St. Kitts, only a couple of miles apart and serviced by regular public ferries. We never visited Nevis but now I wish that I had the chance to do so, although there was plenty more we could have seen and done on St. Kitts.

I have become interested in in the life of Alexander Hamilton after seeing the fantastic stage production of "Hamilton". He is the American Founding Father featured on the $10 USD. He was born on Nevis and you can visit his birthplace and childhood home before he moved to St. Croix and then to New York. He was a staunch abolitionist and it is believed that his observations of the slave trade in Nevis as a boy helped to form his anti-slavery philosophy. We saw Nevis from the boat but didn't stop there.

I know that this is just business trip sandwiched between 2 big dive trips, but it is a shame that you have a chance to visit but may not have time to explore or dive. Would it be possible to add a couple of days to the trip to give you a little time to check it out? My understanding is that the island wasn't seriously impacted by the 2017 hurricane season so you may get some nice diving, although probably not on the same level as Cozumel and Bonaire.

You've got a big year coming, have fun!

 

[Damselfish]

We stayed at the Marriott for a couple nights before our week on the CE2 in 2016. Usually we would rent a car or otherwise explore, but we didn't bother in that short time. The Marriott was a nice place to hang out and relax, pretty typical Caribbean resort Marriott. It was a good spot for long walks on the beach. There were watersports ops on the beach to the north that had all sorts of stuff (not diving, this is on the friskier Atlantic side.) We didn't do any diving since we figured we'd get plenty on the CE2 and were in more of an 'umbrella drinks on the beach' kind of mood. As it turned out we weren't all that impressed with the dives we did around St Kitts/Nevis from the CE2 anyway - I don't know how the 2 would compare as far as sites visited.

I actually skipped a mornings dives to do the land tour on St Kitts arranged by the CE2 before we left the area. We visited the fort, the batik place, and some other stuff, probably same thing @KathyV did. I thought it was a very good tour. Might be worth looking into what you could fit in for land tours and activities.

 

[KathyV]

We stayed at the Marriott for a couple nights before our week on the CE2 in 2016. Usually we would rent a car or otherwise explore, but we didn't bother in that short time. The Marriott was a nice place to hang out and relax, pretty typical Caribbean resort Marriott. It was a good spot for long walks on the beach. There were watersports ops on the beach to the north that had all sorts of stuff (not diving, this is on the friskier Atlantic side.) We didn't do any diving since we figured we'd get plenty on the CE2 and were in more of an 'umbrella drinks on the beach' kind of mood. As it turned out we weren't all that impressed with the dives we did around St Kitts/Nevis from the CE2 anyway - I don't know how the 2 would compare as far as sites visited.

I actually skipped a mornings dives to do the land tour on St Kitts arranged by the CE2 before we left the area. We visited the fort, the batik place, and some other stuff, probably same thing @KathyV did. I thought it was a very good tour. Might be worth looking into what you could fit in for land tours and activities.

@Damselfish, how did you like Saba diving? We enjoyed Saba more than St. Kitts but we had weather issues around St. Kitts so I wasn't sure if it was a fair assessment.

When we did the Caribbean Explorer trip, we flew to St. Martin and spent a few days enjoying the topside activity there and then got on the boat and cruised over to St. Kitts and later moved on to dive Saba. I was very seasick during the crossing from St. Martin. Saba wasn't the best Caribbean diving that we've done but we enjoyed it but we haven't dived it recently. My husband and I got off the boat at Saba and spent a few days on that island before flying back to St. Martin and heading home. It was a memorable trip as we had the chance to enjoy 3 different islands.

 

[Damselfish]

We had the bad conditions on Saba instead, prevented us from doing the best sites. One dive I liked we didn't get to repeat because the mooring was about to break as we ended the first dive. A lot of the dives we did much was covered in sediment apparently because of some harbor dredging that had been done. So, no joy there.

We did a couple days of land based diving from St Maarten at the end, and as fate would have it that was the best diving of the trip, was not expecting that. They had great conditions that allowed us to dive Atlantic exposed sites they didn't get to do often.

We did enjoy the trip, getting to see a few islands that we wouldn't normally go to that turned out to be pretty interesting.

 

[abnfrog]

check out keneths dive center good guy

 

[uncfnp]

Thanks KathyV, et al. Great info.

I have booked the conference and a condo down the beach from the Marriott. It is suppose to be a 5 minute walk so I will plan 10. I hate hotel rooms and for half the price we get a full kitchen, w/d and more privacy.

@KathyV always a wealth of information! So only cash or credit cards!

I am an avid quilter and work a lot in batiks so now Romney Manor is number one on my list. Do you know if you can buy the fabric itself on the island?

Have pencilled in Nevis as number two. And at least one or two days of diving.

Eric and I both enjoy outdoor activities and hiking, scenic sightseeing. Any specific parks or trails recommended?

And I have since read that driving is on the left so Eric will not drive (nightmares from round-a-bouts in GC) but I am willing to rent and drive for a day or two if it will help us see the island. Anyone know about public transportation or tours?

 

[KathyV]

Thanks KathyV, et al. Great info.

I have booked the conference and a condo down the beach from the Marriott. It is suppose to be a 5 minute walk so I will plan 10. I hate hotel rooms and for half the price we get a full kitchen, w/d and more privacy.

@KathyV always a wealth of information! So only cash or credit cards!

I am an avid quilter and work a lot in batiks so now Romney Manor is number one on my list. Do you know if you can buy the fabric itself on the island?

Have pencilled in Nevis as number two. And at least one or two days of diving.

Eric and I both enjoy outdoor activities and hiking, scenic sightseeing. Any specific parks or trails recommended?

And I have since read that driving is on the left so Eric will not drive (nightmares from round-a-bouts in GC) but I am willing to rent and drive for a day or two if it will help us see the island. Anyone know about public transportation or tours?

Happy to help, but remember that my information is older and I was only there topside for part of a day.

I was only interested in buying finished garments from the Batik factory at Romney manor so I don't know about bulk cloth, but I am sure that you can find out in advance.

Never been to Nevis but kind of wish that I had the chance, just to expand my knowledge and experience of Caribbean islands and American History - but there's a lot of stuff to do on St. Kitts so figure out the best way to spend time that will work for you and your husband.

I know that there is a rain forest and hiking trails on St. Kitts but we didn't have a chance to check it out. I also remember that there were areas with petroglyphs left behind by Carib Indian Tribes, but I don't know much about them.

That big fortress that I mentioned is on top of a tall hill and you get some amazing panoramic views of the island, the sea, and neighboring islands - I am pretty sure that we could see St. Eustacious (aka Statia) from St. Kitts - but I may be getting my memories mixed up. The island of Saba is almost vertical and topped by a rainforest so I might be thinking of Saba.

Never tried driving on St. Kitts so can't advise you.

I would try to avoid accumulating much in Eastern Caribbean dollars, although when you pay with US cash you might get change in EC currency - try to bring smaller US denominations with you to get smaller amounts of change, and use credit cards when it makes sense to do so.

 

[Damselfish]

I really wanted to buy fabric there, but didn't. The focus was on finished items, but I think they had some yardage - IIRC I didn't like any of it enough for the price. Their designs tended to be much larger (and louder) than what I prefer, I imagine because they're less work to produce. At the time, there was a woman working on a piece with a much more elaborate design, and that was interesting to watch. Probably you could find something that would be interesting in a quilt though. I did manage to find a top that I might actually wear.

I would assume their products are sold elsewhere on the island, but I'd guess you'd be less likely to find fabric. Might find something like a pareo, which would be close enough.

(It doesn't help that I've accumulated a fair stash of Dutch Java batiks in Curacao over the years. Also nice local stuff from Saba and Bequia. Yes I'm a fabriholic. )

 

[uncfnp]

A bit of an update.

I contacted two dive ops and decided on Pro Divers for a number of reasons. First, they allow divers a reasonable degree of freedom to dive their own profiles/tank/NDL although they do limit dives to 60 minutes. The other dive op limits divers to 45-50 minute dives. Second, @TerryC with Pro Divers has been very forthcoming with info and help making my choice.

But unfortunately I have learned there is no nitrox on the island and because of my recurrent skin bends I don’t dive air. So while no dives for me, Eric will be diving my conference days.

Hopefully Eric will give a dive report and possibly post some video after his dives.