Hiking the Volcano

Has anyone ever hiked the volcano on st. kitts? Going there in october and my gf and I are very interested we will be 28 and 26 then. Is it possible to get this done in the 8 hours that the ship is in port? has anyone done this?

Find a guide and you will not have a problem doing it. You should expect about 2-3 hrs up and less time coming down.

Just did it a week ago. We did a cruise sponsored excursion (through Royal Caribbean). At first I was very leery to do a ship excursion because of the number of people. There were about 20 people on the excursion but the guide split us into groups based on our ability. Not all groups made it to the top, just the first two groups.

Our excursion was from 8:30am - 2:30pm. We were in the first group and got to the top, we had a decent amount of rest stops on the way up and down. When we got down we just had enough time to eat a sandwich (provided by the tour company) and it was time to head back to the ship.

It was a really fun trip! Hope you get it to work out for you.

Hi - I will be in St Kitts later this month and looking to do a Volcano hike as well. We are about the same age as you, jamesg588. We are trying not to do the excursion through RCI as the price is pretty exorbitant compared to local guides. Our 2 options seems to be Royston tours or Island Paradise tours. Does anyone have any experience with these companies?

I do not know about Island Paradise Tours but I have used Royston for other tours and I would recommend him for the volcano tour. He took my brother-in law and his teenaged kids up several years ago.

My husband and I did this hike with Royston 4 years ago. It is strenuous and AMAZING! We passed the ships tour on their way back down and no way would I have wanted to be in that group. Royston was great and after the hike we had an island tour too! We did arrive back at the ship a muddy mess, but had a great time.

Thanks for everyone's input. I ended up booking with Royston after reading so many positive reviews about his tours.

thanks so much everyone! looking back into this now that were a few months away. i'll book with royston too since he seems to be the go-to guy.

Royston is great but book early.

Royston is great but book early.

just rsvp'd on their website. we'll be there on 10/20 so we have a little over 4 months. but definitely the sooner the better, it looks like a small boat

Royston responded to my email saying that he may be away the week of October 17th, when I am on the island. I asked if he could recommend a 2nd best guide to take us up the mountain that day, he said "after me, everyone else is the same" LOL

does anyone else know of another good tour guide for this? thank you all again-

Just did it a week ago. We did a cruise sponsored excursion (through Royal Caribbean). At first I was very leery to do a ship excursion because of the number of people. There were about 20 people on the excursion but the guide split us into groups based on our ability. Not all groups made it to the top, just the first two groups.

 

 

 

Our excursion was from 8:30am - 2:30pm. We were in the first group and got to the top, we had a decent amount of rest stops on the way up and down. When we got down we just had enough time to eat a sandwich (provided by the tour company) and it was time to head back to the ship.

 

 

 

It was a really fun trip! Hope you get it to work out for you.

I don't know if you will check back on this before I leave on 7/2, but I am very interested in this RC excursions, and wanted to get your thought. I am 38 and I am in okay shape (work out multiple times a week, inclined with a trainer) and talk long walks (5-7 miles) each weekend, but they are not hikes and mostly flat. Do you think I will have a problem in the "slower" group? I really want to push myself to do something beyond all beach days and sitting around.

Also, sneakers are okay? I don't have hiking shoes or anything.

Just my input: My wife(47) and I(51) did the hike on our own this past March. We don't like to be confined to a tour operators schedule. We normally plan and book our own excursions. We just hired a taxi driver at the port to take us the entrance and he picked us up at a designated time. Crazy driver. I don't think he knew his car had brakes. Maybe 30+ minute ride. We are in decent shape (avid walkers and weight lifting) and didn't have much trouble. It's just slick and muddy in places and you will be soaked from head to toe (keep in mind you are in a rain forest.) We picked up some old walking sticks on the side of the trail that had been left by previous hikers. The trail is pretty obvious and is marked in certain locations, I wouldn't worry about getting lost. We passed some groups on the way up and down so we felt comfortable going at it alone. We took along some old tennis shoes and threw them away at the end. We took along a small back pack with water and snack. I would recommend a water proof bag next time. We didn't make it to the top because of time constraints. We had a late start getting off the boat. Plus it was cloudy and I don't think we would have had any view of the island from the top. We ended up walking for 2 hours up and maybe 1 1/2 hours on the way down. It was our workout for the day, island style. We would definitely do it again with a few changes. Probably rent a car for the day and then drive to the mountain first and then be able to hit a beach in the afternoon. Take along water proof back pack for snack, water and change of clothes. Start first thing after getting off the boat.

Just my input: My wife(47) and I(51) did the hike on our own this past March. We don't like to be confined to a tour operators schedule. We normally plan and book our own excursions. We just hired a taxi driver at the port to take us the entrance and he picked us up at a designated time. Crazy driver. I don't think he knew his car had brakes. Maybe 30+ minute ride. We are in decent shape (avid walkers and weight lifting) and didn't have much trouble. It's just slick and muddy in places and you will be soaked from head to toe (keep in mind you are in a rain forest.) We picked up some old walking sticks on the side of the trail that had been left by previous hikers. The trail is pretty obvious and is marked in certain locations, I wouldn't worry about getting lost. We passed some groups on the way up and down so we felt comfortable going at it alone. We took along some old tennis shoes and threw them away at the end. We took along a small back pack with water and snack. I would recommend a water proof bag next time. We didn't make it to the top because of time constraints. We had a late start getting off the boat. Plus it was cloudy and I don't think we would have had any view of the island from the top. We ended up walking for 2 hours up and maybe 1 1/2 hours on the way down. It was our workout for the day, island style. We would definitely do it again with a few changes. Probably rent a car for the day and then drive to the mountain first and then be able to hit a beach in the afternoon. Take along water proof back pack for snack, water and change of clothes. Start first thing after getting off the boat.

Very interesting, thank you for the input. So it's not quite worth the money to pay $75 per person if you can pretty easily do it yourself? My only concern would be getting lost going up or down, or not being able to find a taxi when you get back down

Does anyone have some photos they would like to share?

for some pictures/video go to youtube and search for Mt Liamuiga hike St Kitts

Very interesting, thank you for the input. So it's not quite worth the money to pay $75 per person if you can pretty easily do it yourself? My only concern would be getting lost going up or down, or not being able to find a taxi when you get back down

I think we paid around 80 bucks round trip for the cab ride. I would suggest arranging a pick up time with the cab driver. Our driver had no problem with this and we had cell phone contact with him. Don't worry about getting lost on the trail as is there is only one main path and there will be other groups out there.