St. Thomas vs St Kitts

[belkin]

Which island would you prefer and why? Am trying to decide our next cruise and the itineraries are the same except these 2 islands.

[Loving My Life]

I'd choose St. Thomas because its a ferry ride from St. John and Trunk Bay. If you stay on St. Thomas, there are beautiful beaches (though not as nice as Trunk Bay), great shopping, and lovely tours (Godfrey!). St. Kitts is pretty, especially where the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans meet, but I'd still choose St. Thomas/John.

[seashinesunshine]

Which island would you prefer and why? Am trying to decide our next cruise and the itineraries are the same except these 2 islands.

 

It depends on what you want

St Kitts

More historical

Less shopping

in my opinion its prettier

less "Americanized"

 

St Thomas

better shopping

better snorkeling from the beach

more "Americanized"

 

Both are great, I have been to each 4 times. Personally I would pick St Thomas because I love the snorkeling at Coki, but if I hadn't been to either before, I would pick St Kitts for the fort and island tour we took it was cool and pretty. I like more of the undeveloped and natural, some like more the shopping and beach parties.

Edited February 1, 2014 by seashinesunshine

[funinthesun1964]

To me, it seemed that there wasn't as much to do @ St. Kitts. St. Thomas you can walk to lots of shopping & restaurants, do different things.

 

We ended up zip lining at St. Kitts. We walked off the ship and asked for zip lining, we were told you MUST book through Carnival there. We walked back on the ship, bought our excursion tickets (for around $90 pp) and then went back out. There weren't that many lines, but it was okay.

 

I'm going to St. Thomas again in about 3 weeks, and this time we are going to take the ferry to St. John.

[MMOMOM]

Having been to St. Thomas and St. John many times, and not been to St. Kitts, St. Kitts would be my obvious choice. But, this is all in what you want too! Agree with the differences others posted from what I have read and heard from others. Trunk Bay is beautiful, but we love the ferry to St. John and prefer Cinnamon Bay, no particular reason, just love it. There is also 'some shopping' at St. John and quaint little places you can walk around, get a snack/drink or whatever. But, if I had a choice at this point, as I said it would be St. Kitts because I've not been there! :)

[belkin]

Thanks for the replies so far....still not sure...will take a few days to decide.

[belkin]

It depends on what you want

St Kitts

More historical

Less shopping

in my opinion its prettier

less "Americanized"

 

St Thomas

better shopping

better snorkeling from the beach

more "Americanized"

 

Both are great, I have been to each 4 times. Personally I would pick St Thomas because I love the snorkeling at Coki, but if I hadn't been to either before, I would pick St Kitts for the fort and island tour we took it was cool and pretty. I like more of the undeveloped and natural, some like more the shopping and beach parties.[/quote

 

Did you take the fort and island tour through Carnival?

[BeagleOne]

St. Kitts for me, no question. Charlotte Amalie is far too crowded and IMHO the shopping is quite over-rated. The shopkeepers are very aggressive and the deals aren't that great. St. John is beautiful but it's a 45-minute ferry ride from Charlotte Amalie and so your time there will be very limited.

 

St. Kitts has some nice shops in Basseterre right near the dock and the shopkeepers aren't as aggressive. Brimstone Hill is fascinating if you like history, and Caribelle Batik/Romney Gardens, which are often included in that tour, are beautiful and the batik shop has some really nice things. The sugar train tour is a lot of fun and a great way to see the non-touristy parts of the island.

 

I don't care if I ever go back to St. Thomas. I would go back to St. Kitts in a heartbeat. YMMV, of course.

[Loving My Life]

Did you take the fort and island tour through Carnival?

 

We used Royston to do an island tour that included the fort, batik factory, lunch, beach, and photo spots and had a great time, but his old van is open-air and the tour is for the "adventurous." Thenford Gray is also highly recommended, with an air-conditioned, newer van. Check out the St. Kitts board.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Loving My Life

[PrettyHazardous]

I love St Thomas (possibly bc I was married there) I found St Kitts to be quite uninspiring. I was actually bored there. I'd go with St Thomas there's so much more to do there.

 

 

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[Tapi]

Although St. Thomas still has a lot of beautiful places, IMHO it has become overly commercialized. It kind of takes away from the experience when you're driving to Coki Beach in bumper to bumper traffic as you pass Home Depot, multiplex movie theater, and countless chain fast food joints.

 

 

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[jwalk03]

St Kitts for sure.

I think of all the Caribbean islands I have been to St. Kitts has been the most beautiful! The water is an amazing shade of blue (Though the water in St. Thomas isn’t too shabby either) and the hills and mountains of the island set against the water is magnificent.

We did the Southern Cruise on the Valor last year, and honestly I think St. Thomas was my least favorite of the ports (St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten) though they really were all magnificent is their own way.

I would also add that a LOT more itineraries feature St. Thomas than St. Kitts, so if you cruise again you are more likely to end up in St. Thomas than St. Kitts, so I would probably choose St. Kitts this time.

[obnurse]

All other things being equal, I would look at excursions for both places and see if you find a "not to be missed" excursion that makes the decision for you. I think you can't go wrong, both are beautiful, but I think there's more to do at St. Thomas/St. John

[seashinesunshine]

It depends on what you want

St Kitts

More historical

Less shopping

in my opinion its prettier

less "Americanized"

 

St Thomas

better shopping

better snorkeling from the beach

more "Americanized"

 

Both are great, I have been to each 4 times. Personally I would pick St Thomas because I love the snorkeling at Coki, but if I hadn't been to either before, I would pick St Kitts for the fort and island tour we took it was cool and pretty. I like more of the undeveloped and natural, some like more the shopping and beach parties.[/quote

 

Did you take the fort and island tour through Carnival?

 

We took the tour from a taxi we found on shore. The taxis are very organized there. We told them what we wanted to do. Then they found a few others that wanted to do the same. We got in a taxi with two other couples. If you want to be alone that's fine too, if you want a igger group they will get you hooked up. The bigger the group the cheaper it is. I think we paid 30$pp and it was 3-4 hours.