I won a President's club trip with my company to Nevis, departure date is June 1st and I am bringing my wife. Looks like 4 nights 5 days at the 4seasons.

1. Is it worth going early and spending 2 days in St Kitts? Flying from Boston is 3 flights and about 8 hours so that kills a day.
2. Or book the extra days for Nevis? We are active and like to run, hike, snorkel and may play golf and fish.

I'll have other colleagues there including one from my division that I'm close with.

So basically looking for recommendations on both islands.

I'll spend some time on trip advisor but I don't take much stock in those reviews.

Thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: liner,

Congrats, I've been to both islands twice, once in my early twenties and the second with my fiancé (now wife).

The first time I spent most of my time on St Kitts at the former Jack Tar resort & casino... apparently a shit hole now. On the second trip the Marriott was OK. That location is fine for sun bathing and watching topless women strut their stuff (both times I visited the place was popular with Brazilians, Brits and the Danes) but it's not a decent snorkeling locale as the beach to open water transition is too flat. Like any nice Carribean hotel, you can connect with a diving outfit for more open water adventures. Please note that St. Kitts and Nevis aren't in the same league as Bonaire, the Caymans or St Lucia for diving vacations. While on St Kitts, I highly suggest hiking up Mt. Liamuiga. We started the hike from the lower surrounding sugarcane fields and I believe it only took 2.5 hours to reach the top. The guides brought along materials for a picnic at the top of the volcano's rim and one memory I won't forget are the mongooses flying past us hiking up the mountain. During the picnic, we held out little treats for them and they are ridiculously fast. St Kitts is the location of the story often taught in elementary school about the difference in diurnal and nocturnal creatures, except the story's outcome is usually incorrect. The mongoose did wipe out a super majority of the snakes on the island, so I was told.

St Kitts also has a bay (Monkey Bay?), which has to be one of the strangest places I've visited in the world. Monkeys abound and can be seen eating ripe/fermented fruit there, in addition to begging or stealing drinks from the rustic bar. Lots of monkeys were literally falling down drunk when I was there but June may not be the right time of year to see or experience that.

Regarding Nevis, I've stayed at the Montpellier Plantation and the Four Seasons hotel & resort, respectively. If you can afford the latter, that's my recommendation by far on either island. The former has a limited beach and their pool, raised adjacent to the beach did make up for it some but I dislike having to dress up in formal attire each night for dinner (w/o air conditioning!) The Four Seasons on the other hand has decent snorkeling and fantastic food, of course. I hiked up the mountain on Nevis as well, but wasn't nearly as impressed as the hike on St Kitts and it was a bit steeper.

On either island, you can rent a sailboat for a few hours or days for that matter, along with the crew, at a reasonable price. I'd definitely do that again were I to head back, although other islands like Aruba & Curacao IMHO were more fun to explore.

To answer your questions, if it were me:
1. Yes & book a mountain hike tour beforehand with a reputable outfit or through the hotel you're staying in.

2. Make arrangements to have a sailboat / Cat take you from St Kitts to Nevis (possibly returning the same way as flights back to the States occurred more often from the larger isle)... but I would request a couple of stops at snorkeling or fishing locations around the islands' perimeters, in addition to the transit.

Hope this information helps and have a great time!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dakor,

Congrats on the trip. Ive been to st. Kitts in 1692 looking for the spanish silver train. Probably not much help since its been awhile... yaaarrrggggghhh

The jak tar resort is a shit hole now. Rented to students or others...

I think it's called Turtle bay. It's where the sea turtles lay eggs.

Don't forget to go see the old British fort on top of a moutain. Cool tour and beautiful views.

We stayed at The Cockleshell back before there was a road to get there. That was a fun place to snorkel.

The fort was cool to visit, as was the sugar processing plant. And the place where they do the batik print fabric.

That really was a long time ago, though.

5 days is maximum time needed there! Not worth spending your money for extra time.
It's ok, nothing great. There are much better places in the Caribbean. Natives will hassle you to death, unless you act like a prick, right away. Then they spread the word and NOBODY will go near you.
Give an inch; they want a mile...

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
5 days is maximum time needed there! Not worth spending your money for extra time.
It's ok, nothing great. There are much better places in the Caribbean. Natives will hassle you to death, unless you act like a prick, right away. Then they spread the word and NOBODY will go near you.
Give an inch; they want a mile...

This, I spent a month on St. Kitts around 2001. You can easily take a ferry from Nevis to St. Kitts for the day. Driving up the mountain is nice, the fort is nice, monkey bay is ok, nothing is really special.

I've managed to visit more than 20 islands in the Lewards, Windwards and Grenadines including Nevis and St. Kitts, Both are fun to explore for a day or two, but nearby I'd try to get to St. Barts, or even Saba, if I had an extra few days. You can fly the island hoppers if you dare. You'll never forget the landings.

Thank you all,

Looking at flying through PR and spending a few days there as well. I`ve noted all the recommendations and appreciate the advice and time spent on replying!

quote:

Originally posted by liner:
Thank you all,

Looking at flying through PR and spending a few days there as well. I`ve noted all the recommendations and appreciate the advice and time spent on replying!

PR is far nicer and far more to do than St. Kitts and Nevis. Old San Juan, Arecibo, the rainforest, etc. etc.

Spent my 50th birthday at the Four Seasons Nevis - fantastic. Golf is right there on the property. Good scuba diving right from the shore. Caught our own lobsters one day for a great beach dinner. There was a food shack a few hundred feet down the beach where we had some amazing seafood lunches, and a knock-you-out tropical drink ... I think it was called the killer bee or stinger bee. Wheeeeee. I'd go back any time!