Fortress and Beach

DH and I are looking at options for the day on St. Kitts. We are not interested in any of the specific tours because we only want to go spend as much time as we want at the Fortress, then head to one of the southern beaches for the afternoon, probably returning to the ship in between. Can we go to the fortress with a taxi and will they be willing to wait or come back for us several hours later?

DH and I are looking at options for the day on St. Kitts. We are not interested in any of the specific tours because we only want to go spend as much time as we want at the Fortress, then head to one of the southern beaches for the afternoon, probably returning to the ship in between. Can we go to the fortress with a taxi and will they be willing to wait or come back for us several hours later?

That's pretty much what we did on our last cruise, but we were able to work out a tour. I don't know what hours you will be in port, we were in port from 8-5PM. When we got off the ship at 8:45AM, we had no set/prearranged plans, but did want to go to Brimestone first and then spend the rest of the day at a beach. At the end of the pier, just before heading inside to the cruise center will be a representative for taxis or tours. We spoke with him about getting a cab to Brimestone Fortress and then to a beach. They were able to arrange that for us and that also included a prearranged pickup time at the beach, so we'd be guaranteed a ride back.

The cost to do that for the two of us (both adults) was $28.00 USD for a taxi, each way, to Brimestone Fortress ($56.00 round trip). The entrance fee to the fort was $10.00 per person (x 2 = $20.00). We were debating on Cockleshell Beach and the Shipwreck Beach Bar/Grill in South Friar's Bay. It would have been another $28.00, each way ($56.00) to Cockleshell. It was much cheaper to go to Shipwreck. My memory is escaping me here, but I think that trip was $4.00 per person, each way, so it was $8.00 ($16.00 total) for 2 of us, round trip. If you were to just take a cab to Shipwreck (Shipwreck is a beach bar/grill on South Friars Bay) from the cruise center, it would be $16.00, per cab, each way and would have been $8.00 for each of us. We may have gotten a deal. :D We didn't have to pay our driver until the end of the day, when he took us back to the cruise center. Our total was $92.00 for the day, for the two of us or $46.00 per person. We also gave our driver a tip since he was great. Nice air conditioned van too.

When we settled on our "tour", it was just around 9AM, so our driver took as on a "detour" and showed us some hi-lights around Basseterre, St. Kitts. The reason for that is because Brimestone Fortress doesn't open until 9:30AM. We arrived just as they were opening and were the first ones there. Spent an hour and our driver waited for us (great views). Since you would like to spend more time, I'm sure you can arrange that. If your driver wouldn't want to wait at the fort, they should pick you up at a prearranged time. We stayed for an hour (the views were spectacular the day we were there, air was so clear, so good views of St. Eustatius (Statia for short) and Saba. We were also able to see St. Maarten and St. Barth's. But to really explore the fort, I agree, you should spend more time.

When we were done at the fort, we went to the beach. But if you arrange a private tour like we did, I'm sure they could arrange to take you back to the ship first but I would make it known that's what you'd like to do. Since the people handling arranging the cabs/tours are there all day, they may just suggest getting one cab to take you to the fort and arrange to be there when you are ready to leave and then just get another cab to take you to the beach whenever you're ready. But they will be there to work with you on the cabs. When we went directly to the beach from the fort, we asked our driver to stop at Timothy Hill (overlook that overlooks the narrowest part of St. Kitts where you can see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean). We were at the beach at 11AM, so it was only a half hour from fort to beach. Our driver did not stay at the beach for the duration of our time there, but he was there for us at our 2:30PM pick up time and were were back at the cruise center 20 minutes later. We had been to Cockleshell Beach (very southern end) on a cruise in 2013 and it takes a half hour to get there if you're interested and want ideas of how long it takes to get there.

Attaching a link to St. Kitts set taxi rates: http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-taxi.html

That's pretty much what we did on our last cruise, but we were able to work out a tour. I don't know what hours you will be in port, we were in port from 8-5PM. When we got off the ship at 8:45AM, we had no set/prearranged plans, but did want to go to Brimestone first and then spend the rest of the day at a beach. At the end of the pier, just before heading inside to the cruise center will be a representative for taxis or tours. We spoke with him about getting a cab to Brimestone Fortress and then to a beach. They were able to arrange that for us and that also included a prearranged pickup time at the beach, so we'd be guaranteed a ride back.

 

The cost to do that for the two of us (both adults) was $28.00 USD for a taxi, each way, to Brimestone Fortress ($56.00 round trip). The entrance fee to the fort was $10.00 per person (x 2 = $20.00). We were debating on Cockleshell Beach and the Shipwreck Beach Bar/Grill in South Friar's Bay. It would have been another $28.00, each way ($56.00) to Cockleshell. It was much cheaper to go to Shipwreck. My memory is escaping me here, but I think that trip was $4.00 per person, each way, so it was $8.00 ($16.00 total) for 2 of us, round trip. If you were to just take a cab to Shipwreck (Shipwreck is a beach bar/grill on South Friars Bay) from the cruise center, it would be $16.00, per cab, each way and would have been $8.00 for each of us. We may have gotten a deal. :D We didn't have to pay our driver until the end of the day, when he took us back to the cruise center. Our total was $92.00 for the day, for the two of us or $46.00 per person. We also gave our driver a tip since he was great. Nice air conditioned van too.

 

When we settled on our "tour", it was just around 9AM, so our driver took as on a "detour" and showed us some hi-lights around Basseterre, St. Kitts. The reason for that is because Brimestone Fortress doesn't open until 9:30AM. We arrived just as they were opening and were the first ones there. Spent an hour and our driver waited for us (great views). Since you would like to spend more time, I'm sure you can arrange that. If your driver wouldn't want to wait at the fort, they should pick you up at a prearranged time. We stayed for an hour (the views were spectacular the day we were there, air was so clear, so good views of St. Eustatius (Statia for short) and Saba. We were also able to see St. Maarten and St. Barth's. But to really explore the fort, I agree, you should spend more time.

 

When we were done at the fort, we went to the beach. But if you arrange a private tour like we did, I'm sure they could arrange to take you back to the ship first but I would make it known that's what you'd like to do. When we went directly to the beach from the fort, we asked our driver to stop at Timothy Hill (overlook that overlooks the narrowest part of St. Kitts where you can see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean). We were at the beach at 11AM, so it was only a half hour from fort to beach. Our driver did not stay at the beach for the duration of our time there, but he was there for us at our 2:30PM pick up time and were were back at the cruise center 20 minutes later. We had been to Cockleshell Beach (very southern end) on a cruise in 2013 and it takes a half hour to get there if you're interested and want ideas of how long it takes to get there.

 

Attaching a link to St. Kitts set taxi rates: http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-taxi.html

Thank you! That is pretty much what I wanted to know. Now... time to pick the right beach!