St Kitts Tour information

[atlantaCruise]

Going to St Kitts in a few weeks and was wondering what are some good tours?

Thanks

[UncleFester]

Going to St Kitts in a few weeks and was wondering what are some good tours?

Thanks

 

 

Captain Sunshine!!!

 

We have been to St Kitts 3 times and used Captain Sunshine all 3 times! Kenny is great! We met him at the FedEx building on the 1st trip. It was raining and we started talking with him (he is also a policeman). We told him we wanted to see the island but since it was raining we didnt know what to do. He took us on a tour of the whole island and talked about all the sites and buildings. After that we have gone back to him each time. We were there 2 weeks ago on the NCL Dawn and we told him we wanted to go to the beach. There were 8 of us, he took us to a private beach where we could rent chairs and umbrellas (2 for $10). There only 4 other people there so it felt like it was just for us. There was a hut there and a man was selling drinks and cooking chicken if you wanted some. Kenny asked us when we wanted to be back to the ship and he was there at the time we agreed on. Took us by a couple of sites and resorts on the way back to town.

We will be using him again when we go back!

[styxscottii]

You'll love the fortress and it's history

And of course the views

Scott and Kathy

[Labradora]

We were on St. Kitts a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed very much the time spent with Rosevelt Taylor on his "Island Paradise Tour". For 4 hours + the four of us toured in his large air-conditioned bus. We saw local towns, Brimstone Hill Fortress, Romney Manor and Caribelle Batik operation there, and finished with views from a hill overlooking Atlantic meeting Caribbean Sea. He is very professional and a careful driver. stkittsislandparadisetours.com to reserve. He will meet you at the Welcome Hall on the pier if you are cruising, as we were. We paid $ 40 per person.

[Putterdude]

We were on St. Kitts in January and about a dozen of us from the Golden used Thenford Grey and I would recommend him very highly, he is nothing short of outstanding. link

[quincytoo]

We were on St. Kitts in January and about a dozen of us from the Golden used Thenford Grey and I would recommend him very highly, he is nothing short of outstanding. link

We also did the tour with Thenford Grey on our BC cruise and truly thought he was outstanding as well. We had a few difficult cruisers on the tour and he handled them with far more patience then we would have. Tour was great :)

[UandMe4Ever]

Hi Labradora,

 

Since you've been to St. Kitts, I was wondering if RCCL (Explorer) offers a train ride or can it be done on our own? Do you also know the costs? We were there on NCL and the train excursion was all full so we couldn't go through NCL and we could NOT do it on our own, only through NCL!!!!

 

Thanks in advance for your information.

 

A fellow (lady) cruiser!

 

PS Any other suggestions besides beach and/or car tours?

[Zeno]

We went with Royston in January and were quite pleased. He allows you to customize the tour completely (but will make suggestions).

 

I recommend:

 

Caribelle Batik/Romney Manor

Brimstone Hill - #1 sight in my opinion

View from Timothy Hill

Black Rocks

A beach: Cockleshell and South Friars are good

[UandMe4Ever]

Thanks, and we'll keep it in mind.

[vervet]

You can also do a slightly different version of the island tour by visiting Clay Villa and doing one of their tours. It offers a different alternative to the Batik factory, which seems to be where most tours go. You can go directly to their website to book your tour and to get more information:

 

http://www.clayvilla.com/

[airlink diva]

May I suggest Ms. Ilvia Wallace?

I toured with her on my visit to St. Kitts in 2008!!

Ms. Wallace greeted me like family,not a tourist!

Her van had a/c and was very comfy.

Her tour visited Brimstone Hill,the black rock formations,batik,Frigate bay,Cockshell, South East Peninsula and several other places.

For lunch I wanted to eat somewhere local. Not only did Ms. Wallace take me to a local restaurant, she introduced me to the owner who told me about the dishes she was serving. The lunch was great with a local flair.

I would tell anyone to tour with Ms. Wallace!!

[sklja]

We booked with Royston Tours a few weeks ago and loved it.

We had Ashton (Royston's cousin), as our guide. We wanted air conditioning and Royston booked us with Ashton whose van had the air conditioning.(We had 2 elderly people traveling with us and they wanted air conditioning...)

Anyways, Ashton was super, super, super....What a genuine, great guy.

Totally professional, likable, knowledgeable, wanting to please us in any way he could. At each stop, we were told, take your time, not rush... etc. We felt really comfortable with him, he was a safe driver too.

He even took the 2 elderly people back to the cruise terminal before taking the remainder of us to the beach...Everything was no problem at all....He wanted to please us in any way that he could and we couldn't have been happier with him...

I would urge you to contact Royston Tours and have a great time in St. Kitts!!!!!!!!!!

sklja

[SoccerMom9195]

We booked with Captain Sunshine (Kenny Richardson) and had a wonderful time. Felt very safe and got a great tour of the island. Went to a beach for a massage that was wonderful! Highly recommend touring with him. He's very accommodating and will do whatever you want to do.

[tammlynn]

Royston Tours

We just returned from our cruise on the NCL Dawn and took Royston’s tour of ST Kitts on 01APR2010. We found him outside the main terminal wearing his yellow shirt holding his Royston sign. We had a brief wait while he waited for a few others who never showed up, which reminds me, if you book this tour please have some common courtesy and send him a message if you can’t show up or change your mind. He is such a nice guy and works real hard at his job! There were a total of 7 of us on this tour and his open air bus was comfortable. He did a great job showing us the highlights which included Brimstone Hill, the Batik factory, some volcanic black rock formations, Cockleshell beach, a roadside stand where I got to hold a diaper adorned baby monkeyJ, his Father’s shop, his house, another roadside stand where I bought a very unique inexpensive banana peel doll done by a local artist named Sarah Murray in Parson’s Village, as well as some of Royston’s favorite secret scenic spots which were absolutely phenomenal. We got to really see the lush landscape of rainforests (with lots of monkeys), uncrowded beaches, sugarcane fields, dormant volcanoes, as well as ruins of old plantations one of which belonged to Thomas Jefferson’s family. Royston bought us a picnic lunch of Roti with plans of eating it on the beach. However, the no see-ums or whatever they are called there, were out in full force, so we decided to eat in the van while he drove to another spectacular viewpoint high on a hill. St Kitts was my favorite port during this cruise, primarily because of Royston’s very thoughtful tour. He greatly exceeded our expectations and gave us one of the best, most adventurous tours we have ever had. Royston will customize his tours for whatever the group wants. He also does guided hiking tours of which I will definitely try to book with him when we return. His tour is very reasonably priced, and I ended up paying him more than he asked.

[doug508]

In January, our family of six had a tour with Ashton (Royston's cousin) and it was one of the best experiences we've ever had. Ashton knows his home well and took us to see things that larger tours could not visit. Ashton will accompany you to the various sights and provide you with a "behind the scenes" insight that makes the trip educational as well as memorable. He brings a cooler of beverages (water, beer, soda) in his van, so there's no reason to bring expensive water from the ship. He met up with Royston (who had another group) at the beach and we had roti sandwiches together. Afterward, we left to go to the beach (Reggae Beach Bar was great) and he remained with us until we were ready to leave. A tremendous person, an incredible day and we can't recommend Ashton highly enough.

[cruiser620]

I toured with Thenford Grey on "the tour" and recommend him highly. He is incredibly knowledgeable about every possible subject, and has an excellent easy to understand speaking voice. On several of our tour stops, I overheard other guides who did not give their groups nearly as complete and interesting facts and information as Thenford gave us. We had a great day and were very pleased with our tour.

[apollobeach]

We used Island Paradise Tours in St. Kitts which is owned and operated by Rosevelt Taylor.

 

The tour began with a drive through historic Basseterre. This was followed by a visit to Romney-Manor which is home to Caribelle Batik. Romney Manor was the plantation home of the Great-Great-Great Grandfather of Thomas Jefferson.......the plantation and Caribelle Batik are a great visit.

 

The tour included a stop at Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. The view from the fortress of the Caribbean is spectacular.

 

Following a scenic drive around the island we overlooked the Atlantic Ocean in the area of the St. Kitts Marriott.

 

Rosevelt uses a modern vehicle with great air-conditioning. He gives a wonderful tour and makes you feel like a member of his family. Highly recommended.

 

[scorp111]

Depending on how active you are, and if you are looking for something different, I would recommend Javin and Myislandstours.

 

We did a hike up a Ghaut (riverbed) in Cayon through the rainforest, and it was probably the highlight of our 9 day cruise. We also went to Black rocks, and then Cockleshell beach at the end of the day.

 

http://myislandstours.shutterfly.com

[zazou]

We went with Ashton of Royston's tour also and it was the best day of our cruise. You can see my review here with a lot of pictures.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1162612

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either Ashton or Toyston.

[agr8sprt]

After reading these message boards for weeks on end and e-mailing about 10 different people and companies, I was most impressed with Javin. He was the most responsive and helpful and also offered a private tour. It was just my husband and I and Javin. We were able to spend as much time as we wanted at the stops that I chose.

 

Javin was wonderful to work with, quick to respond, and very accommodating to our requests. We toured the island stopping at Romney Manor, Brimstone Hill Fortress, Black Rocks, Timothy Hill, and a stop at his local favorite restaurant-it was some yummy food! We also did a rainforest hike up Ghaut canyon. It was incredible and refreshing to get away from it all. He also provided some delicious treats after the hike and taught us a lot about the floral and fauna of the rainforest. I highly recommend hiring Javin for your tour for a fun filled day of adventure. It was a wonderful change from the cruise tours and we felt very well taken care of.

 

http://myislandstours.shutterfly.com/

[LUV CRUISIN']

We would highly reccomend Royston's Tours. We went in April 2010 and loved every minute of it.

[nanlyn]

Glad to hear your recommendation for Royston. We are booked with him for Feb. 2011. Can I ask what you saw? Did you ask to see specific things or did you let him choose the highlights?

[kazganymede]

May I suggest Ms. Ilvia Wallace?

I toured with her on my visit to St. Kitts in 2008!!

Ms. Wallace greeted me like family,not a tourist!

Her van had a/c and was very comfy.

Her tour visited Brimstone Hill,the black rock formations,batik,Frigate bay,Cockshell, South East Peninsula and several other places.

For lunch I wanted to eat somewhere local. Not only did Ms. Wallace take me to a local restaurant, she introduced me to the owner who told me about the dishes she was serving. The lunch was great with a local flair.

I would tell anyone to tour with Ms. Wallace!!

I second that recommendation. We went with Ilva in Dec 08 and had a lovely day in St Kitts.

[Zeno]

Glad to hear your recommendation for Royston. We are booked with him for Feb. 2011. Can I ask what you saw? Did you ask to see specific things or did you let him choose the highlights?

 

We went with Royston in January. My husband and I had been to St Kitt's before but our companion had not. We had a bit of a short day there - so we knew which sights we absolutely wanted her to see. We planned our own day but Royston will certainly make suggestions and offer advice - let him know what your interests are and ask for suggestions.

 

What I recommend:

 

1. Brimstone Hill - a UNESCO World Heritage site - an excellent reconstruction and restoration of the fort and the views are amazing. For me the number one must-see on St Kitt's.

 

2. Caribelle Batik and Romney Manor. Romney Manor is interesting historically and the grounds at Caribelle Batik are lovely (plus it's a good place to get unique souvenirs)

 

3. The view from Timothy Hill - spectacular facing either direction - probably the best photo op on the island

 

4. Black Rocks - for those interested in unusual geology - we did not have time to do this with our friend but if you have time - it makes a nice stop

 

5. Various brief historical stops - easy to do if they are along the way - Petroglyphs, old railway, Bloody Creek - really just photo stops but interesting.

 

6. Cockleshell Beach - great views of Nevis and a nice beach

 

7. South Friar's Bay - decent beach with good snorkeling.

 

Personally I highly recommend that if possible - you do at least 1-3.

[Frequent Floater]

Would appreciate some web site or email addys for any of these operators please.