Will this work? Opinions, please?

[bling19572010]

My family and I will be in St. Kitts (Basseterre) on Friday, April 26th from 8A-7P and I would like your opinions on our itinerary. I would like to get a taxi at the pier and have our driver give us an island tour. How long would that typically take? After our island tour, I'm sure that my mother and dad (both in their 70's) will want to go back to the ship and relax but I would like to be able to do some shopping and have some beach time with my sister. What shopping is very close to the pier and what "nice" resort (day pass required or just a nice beach with lounge chairs/shade and restrooms) would also be close for a taxi to drop us off and pick us up from? I would love to hear your thoughts on this itinerary and also what others have done in St. Kitts. Thank you!!

[paul58]

There will be 2 other ships in port besides yours(Grandeur of the Seas). This means with a port load of approx 7700 pax. the tour/taxi drivers will be busy. Your ideas should not be a problem. An island tour with with stops at the usual places(Brimstone Hill Fortress,Romney Manor/Caribelle Batik, Black Rocks, Sir Timothy's Hill, a driving tour of Basseterre and a beach stop will take about 4-5 hrs depending on how much time you want to spend on the beach. There is a lot of shopping at the port itself. A day pass at the Marriott is an option or a trip to the SE Penisula to the other beaches. Enjoy your stop in St Kitts.

[bling19572010]

There will be 2 other ships in port besides yours(Grandeur of the Seas). This means with a port load of approx 7700 pax. the tour/taxi drivers will be busy. Your ideas should not be a problem. An island tour with with stops at the usual places(Brimstone Hill Fortress,Romney Manor/Caribelle Batik, Black Rocks, Sir Timothy's Hill, a driving tour of Basseterre and a beach stop will take about 4-5 hrs depending on how much time you want to spend on the beach. There is a lot of shopping at the port itself. A day pass at the Marriott is an option or a trip to the SE Penisula to the other beaches. Enjoy your stop in St Kitts.

 

Thank yoy, Paul58!! So are you saying that we will or won't have trouble getting a taxi because of all the people in port that day? Also, we'll need a taxi/vehicles close to the ground because my mother is in a wheelchair and can't step up into anything. Are there some taxis that are mini-vans and close to the groung?

 

I checked with the Marriott for a day pass and they are booked to capacity on the day we are in port. Do you know of another beach that would be nice to go to for a few hours? I'd like lounges, umbrellas, food and bathrooms.

 

Thank you!:)

[paul58]

There are many tour/taxi operators, so you should not have a problem. The issue of mobility for someone in a wheelchair can be challenging on St Kitts but I have seen people getting around in a wheelchair or a motorized scooter fairly well. The handicaped accessible vehicle will be the real issue. If that can be solved then a trip to South Friars Beach with a stop at either Carambola or Shipwreck should fill your requirements for lounge chairs, shade & food with fairly decent restrooms available. St Kitts has about 35,000 people so an ADA compliant environment is pretty much out of reach.

[kcdancerkc]

go to tripadvisor.com type in st. kitts

 

then click above on things to do

 

 

also go to their tourism website -- most have one :D

[paul58]

The official gov't tourism site is: http://www.stkittstourism.kn

[DragonOfTheSeas]

My family and I will be in St. Kitts (Basseterre) on Friday, April 26th from 8A-7P and I would like your opinions on our itinerary. I would like to get a taxi at the pier and have our driver give us an island tour. . .I would love to hear your thoughts on this itinerary and also what others have done in St. Kitts. Thank you!!

 

 

Bling: We did what you have mentioned the first time we were in St. Kitts a couple of years ago. We went to all the typical places included in an island tour. But, our driver was not very knowledgeable. [He read the signs that the tourism agency has posted at the various sites to us.] Also, his English was not great. He was able to speak to us with accuracy at the dock--since he had a lot of practice in discussing time and cost. However, on the tour we discovered his command was very limited. DH sat in the passenger seat in the front of the tour taxi [about 12 or seats]. He often had to listen to the driver and repeat what he said to us.

 

We still enjoyed ourselves, But this time we are reserving ahead of time.

 

I found very good reviews for Roosevelt Taylor.

http://www.stkittsislandparadisetours.com/tours_new.cfm

[Guest Host Cheryl]

Our last visit to St. Kitts, we took a private taxi tour, it lasted a couple of hours with stops along the way, we also stopped and spent time on the beach at the Marriott. You'll find plenty of shopping near the pier. As far as other beaches, Friar's Bay, Cockleshell Bay, Major's Bay and Banana Bay are located on the Southeast Peninsula. You can't really go wrong with any of them. Friar's Bay has a large selection of lounge chairs and is very popular.

[grandma13]

Is it possible to see some things in St. Kitts without a tour or taxi? We have booked tours a couple of other places, but like to wander on our own in some ports. I looked at bus information, but have no idea what the routes mean. Could we, for instance, walk to Brimstone Hill and other historical sites, or are the distances too great?

 

Nancy

[karen11g]

We were there last week and had a great experience. We arranged our tour through Liz Periera - she's a kind of a tour broker, will arrange tours with established tour operators. Liz met us just off the pier, and we did our tour with Rose, from Rose & Jim's taxi service - Rose was great!

 

I don't know how wedded you are to the beach idea, but I'd suggest you consider Palm Court Gardens instead, especially if you're getting beach time on other islands. It's a private property with gorgeous gardens, a beautiful infinity pool with stunning views of the harbor (and your ship), with a bar and food service. We had Rose drop us off there after our tour, and Liz had reserved three sun beds and umbrellas for us. We had the place almost to ourselves and it was amazing. It's within easy walking distance of the pier, so you and your sister could leave anytime and do your shopping down by the pier.

 

Palm Court Gardens is only $10 for a day pass, with drinks and food extra (and reasonable). There's also a gift shop with handmade jewelry and crafts that are really beautiful. AND the proceeds go to help educate at risk kids in St. Kitts, so a win-win win.

 

Let me know if you are interested in contact info. Really, it was wonderful!

[karen11g]

Is it possible to see some things in St. Kitts without a tour or taxi? We have booked tours a couple of other places, but like to wander on our own in some ports. I looked at bus information, but have no idea what the routes mean. Could we, for instance, walk to Brimstone Hill and other historical sites, or are the distances too great?

 

Nancy

 

Most of the sights people talk about seeing in St. Kitts are not within walking distance. Brimstone Hill Fortress, Timothy Hill, Romney Plantation, etc., - you need a car to get to them.

 

Basseterre itself can be walked to and through, but we didn't do that, so I couldn't advise you too much on that. We actually drove thru Basseterre as part of our taxi tour.