In the northern Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, wedged between St. Eustatius to the north and Monserrat to the south, the sister islands of St Kitts and much smaller Nevis offer divers tourism products.
On St Kitts, activities range from hiking the tropical rain forest trails to riding the St Kitts Scenic Railway, a revitalized narrow-gauge train that connects the island’s former sugar plantations.
Add to that a variety of places to stay – intimate plantations inns, beachfront cottages and a Marriott hotel, with more development to come – as well as golf, shopping, gourmet dining, casinos and opportunities to contemplate life from a beach chair.
Unlike some other Caribbean destinations, St Kitts benefits from good airlift. American Airlines will add weekend service starting Nov. 3 from Miami in addition to its daily nonstop, weekday flight from Miami and its twice-weekly nonstop service from New York Kennedy.
Delta offers nonstop, Saturday flights from Atlanta; US Airways has Saturday service from Charlotte, N.C.; and American Eagle has daily connections from San Juan.
Windward Island Airways (Win Air) and LIAT serve St Kitts with connections in St Maarten, Antigua and San Juan.
The UK market, an important source of traffic for St Kitts, will benefit from the launch of British Airways’ new Saturday service from London Gatwick, beginning Jan. 10.
“Such a significant increase in service during a time of widespread route cuts is a testament to the quality of St Kitts’ tourism product,” said Ricky Skerritt, minister of tourism, sports and culture.
“This sustained growth in airlift is directly related to the economic development taking place on St Kitts and the increasing demand for our tourism product,” Skerritt said.
Delta’s Atlanta flight “has exceeded expectations, and Delta is talking about increasing service next year,” he added.
Once on St Kitts, visitors have a range of accommodation choices. The 573-room St Kitts Marriott Resort & the Royal Beach Casino is the largest property on the island and also the only local outlet of a U.S.-based chain.
With eight restaurant, nine bars (one devoted to cigars and run), three pools, a spa and the Royal Beach Casino, the property is popular with both the business and the leisure crowds.
A different product is Ottley’s Plantation Inn, an 18th century, 24-rom sugar plantation with three villas, surrounded by stately Norfolk pines, majestic palms and manicured lawns.
Guests gravitate to the inn’s Mango Orchard Spa, set close to the forest’s edge, according to co-owner Kathy Keusch.
Ottley’s is offering fourth- and seventh-night-free promotions prior to high season to help fill the flights, Keusch said.
“This is the first time we’ve done this, but as hoteliers, we have to do everything we can to attract visitors to the island,” she said.
Another former sugar plantation is the 11-room, antique-filled Rawlins Inn, complete with the honeymoon suite built into the old windmill.
The 18-room Golden Lemon Inn, which reopened this month after several enhancements, fronts the black-sand beach of Dieppe Bay.
Island fare is served in the candlelit garden, the main dining room or on the terrace.
Close to the capital of Basseterre, the 71-room Ocean Terrace Inn features a scuba facility and a triple-lagoon pool with waterfalls and a Jacuzzi.
The inn’s Fisherman’s Wharf and Waterfalls restaurant offer West Indian buffets on Friday nights.
The former Jack Tar Village reopened in May as the 292-room Royal St Kitts Hotel & Casino, adjacent to the Royal St Kitts Golf Course.
Facilities include two restaurants, two pools, five bars, a basketball court and a casino. Ritz-Carlton is expected to join the St Kitts accommodation roster with a 125-room resort and residential complex overlooking Cockleshell Bay on the island’s southern peninsula. Facilities will include a spa, casino, four restaurants and a 175-slip marina. Groundbreaking for the first phase is scheduled for October 2009.
Mandarin Oriental, another luxury hotel brand, will open its 125-room resort in two years on Christophe Harbour on St Kitts’ southeastern peninsula. The project will also include 60 residences.
“The island government is cooperating with us as we create a luxury product that will include a 250-slip marina and a retail centre to open in 2012,” said LeGrand Elebash, CEO of the Christophe Harbour Development Co.
St Kitts’ restaurants range from funky, beachfront bistros to elegant plantation dining rooms, and most fare carries the flavours of the Caribbean with menus that reflect West Indian specialties. The newest entrant on the Cockleshell Beach is the Reggae Beach Bar & Grill, complete with Wilbert, the 500-pound mascot pig who happily poses for photographs. Water taxi service to Nevis, a 15-minute ride, is available at the restaurant’s pier. The Beach House on Turtle Bay, another new culinary entrant, showcases the cuisine of chef George Reid, formerly of Cap Juluca in Anguilla. Main courses start at $29.
There’s plenty of Carib lager and lobster at the Shiggedy Shack on the Frigate Bay strip south of Basseterre. Tables on the beach and bonfires on the sand keep this tumbledown beach bar lively till the wee hours.
The St Kitts Scenic Railway, also known as the Sugar Train, is the Caribbean’s only passenger train. It is the most popular attraction on the island, according to tourism officials. Operating on tracks originally built to transport sugarcane, the train tours the island while a choir sings folk songs and sugar cakes are served.
Adventurous clients can hike 3,792 feet above sea level to the Mount Liamuiga extinct volcano or stay on level ground and explore the 38-acre Brimstone Hill Fortress, the only man-made Unesco World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean.
Basseterre has its National Museum, shops on every corner and the Berkeley Memorial Clock at the centre of the Circus, modelled after Piccadilly Circus in London.
Fort Street is the main drag with vendors, stalls and small restaurants. “I’m proud I can contribute to sustainable souvenir buying,” said Halva Carr, curbside jewelry vendor. “I use only indigenous seeds and pods.” His one-of-a-kind pieces are priced from $5 to $20.