scenic railway AND..............

[just4steven]

Does anyone know of a local or a ship tour that does the Scenic Railway, the Brimstone Fortress for more than just a "pass by" or whatever Carnivals site says, possibly the botanical garden thing, and definitely a beach with food and drinks even if it's just for an hour or two???

 

I'm a newbie that recently got hooked and just researching a couple cruises I saw that stop here, so if I find what I'm looking for soon I'll post back that I'm set, but still any recommendations would be great. We are big USVI and BVI fans so I'm thinking we will love to see St Kitts for a port stop to see if we want to plan a longer visit!

 

Oh, and tour suggestions where they throw monkeys on you go to the front of the line! :rolleyes: I will probably be wearing my GoPro headstrap so I can catch the cool monkey and film without even paying them and it will make for some great vidoes! Recently got some great film from Roatan where one little mfer tried to bite the camera, but at least the video came out cool! :cool:

 

Thanks everyone!

[just4steven]

Oh, don't mind if food or drink is not included in the price at a beach. We would just like the option of some local food and DRINKS :D to be right there. Just thought it would be cool to see a beach on St Kitts, especially with cool views....... I've seen some great pictures so far and the mountains/hills pics right by the beach look awesome!

[just4steven]

Oh my, I'm in my "specific rambling on forever stage here" :o

 

If something has a beach option like Carambola Resort on St Croix, Magens on St Thomas, Mermaid on St Thomas if you mad the hike lol, Hawksnest on St John, and smugglers on Tortola. Oh, Sapphire beach too on STT. Snorkeling is not the number 1 priority, but we have stayed for a week or longer on Sapphire, Carambola and Smugglers because of the awesome views!

 

Um, hey, am I asking for too much??? I am probably confusing everyone already, so I will put it in this order:

 

1 - The Railway Tram of course

2 - Beach with view like above (not really 2 but I'm thinking if we did the railway tour only we would have more time to have someone else take us to a beach, AND I WANT THE BEACH!!!! With DRINKS, then food.

3 - That fort thing, what is it Brimstone or something??? Either way the high up fort with great views everyone talks about

3 - oh snap, I did 3 already so make this 4! :confused: A quick walk through a botanical garden, not my idea, don't ask, so if it's quick I will paypal you extra for suggestions! :D

3c - monkeys thrown at from all directions, I have become a monkey lover after Roatan! Big Big teeth for size of their body, but we did not get bit and they liked to be hugged and cuddled :o

 

Gosh, I sound demanding here............. sorry, just trying to get specific so I don't get one of the responses from someone with 50,000 posts in like 6 months that says "USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION" and they post that over and over for post count :rolleyes:

 

LOL

[OCruisers]

Can just respond with a few things:

 

The Sugar Train Railway is an easy way to see parts of the island not always included in tours. More fun than you might expect.

 

We've never found a beach in St. Kitts that we really liked. Have enjoyed taking a sailing catamaran to Nevis.

 

No one is going to throw monkeys on you. :D

 

LuLu

~~~

[just4steven]

Can just respond with a few things:

 

The Sugar Train Railway is an easy way to see parts of the island not always included in tours. More fun than you might expect.

 

We've never found a beach in St. Kitts that we really liked. Have enjoyed taking a sailing catamaran to Nevis.

 

No one is going to throw monkeys on you. :D

 

LuLu

~~~

 

LOL, thanks!

[Life is Good Cruising]

Have taken RCI ship's excursion for the Scenic Railway Tour. Train ride was approx. 2 hrs, total tour time 3hrs. Don't think you can book this tour independently. Depending how long your ship is in port, you should have plenty of time after the tour for the beach.

 

They are many beaches in St. Kitts, Carambola is one of them which is on South Friars Beach, Cockleshell Bay is another and has a view of Nevis. There's also a Marriott on the island, approx. 10 min ride from the port that has 2 pools, chairs, umbrellas and beach. Day passes are $35 pp, food is extra $ and they do not provide towels. There are many places on the beaches to eat and drink.

 

Have not been to The Brimstone Hill National Fortress yet.

Don't know of any tour where they throw monkeys on you, to go to the front of the line!

 

I won't say do a search, but I will say there is a lot of helpful information in this forum, just read the posts and Trip Advisor is another helpful site.

[just4steven]

Have taken RCI ship's excursion for the Scenic Railway Tour. Train ride was approx. 2 hrs, total tour time 3hrs. Don't think you can book this tour independently. Depending how long your ship is in port, you should have plenty of time after the tour for the beach.

 

They are many beaches in St. Kitts, Carambola is one of them which is on South Friars Beach, Cockleshell Bay is another and has a view of Nevis. There's also a Marriott on the island, approx. 10 min ride from the port that has 2 pools, chairs, umbrellas and beach. Day passes are $35 pp, food is extra $ and they do not provide towels. There are many places on the beaches to eat and drink.

 

Have not been to The Brimstone Hill National Fortress yet.

 

Don't know of any tour where they throw monkeys on you, to go to the front of the line!

 

I won't say do a search, but I will say there is a lot of helpful information in this forum, just read the posts and Trip Advisor is another helpful site.

 

LOL again, thank you very much! This helps! :)

[tpadul]

Have taken RCI ship's excursion for the Scenic Railway Tour. Train ride was approx. 2 hrs, total tour time 3hrs. Don't think you can book this tour independently. Depending how long your ship is in port, you should have plenty of time after the tour for the beach.

 

Why can't the Railway tour be booked independently? How would they know you are with the cruise ship? What about vacationers that are staying on the Island in hotels and resorts that are not from a cruise ship?? Does this mean that the Railway Tour is exclusively and only done for cruise ship people and on days when the ships are not in port this excusion doesn't exist for other vacationers that are staying on the island?

 

I'm just trying to figure our what people mean by this, your post is not the first one I have seen and it's really confusing me because how could this tour potentially exlude a whole group of people that just don't happen to be cruise ship passengers??

 

I was told by a few people to never bother booking the excursions directly with the cruise companies as the upcharge is a lot more and it's better to just go off on your own and do excursions and pay for them yourself as we would probably save more money that way.

 

Just trying to get a feel for things, it seems like other things like visiting the Brimstone Hill Fortress and Palm court Gardens you can go off and do on your own but what is it with this Railway tour that seems to be exclusive to cruise ship passengers?

[OCruisers]

Why can't the Railway tour be booked independently?

 

The cruise lines charter it for their excursions so it can't be booked when a cruise line has it chartered.

LuLu

[tpadul]

The cruise lines charter it for their excursions so it can't be booked when a cruise line has it chartered.

LuLu

 

Got it!! Thanks for your input.. makes sense now..

[monicajay]

Just4steven,

 

If you can skip the railway and be happy with driving the scenic road that goes along beside the tracks I would suggest a tour with Royston. You will see everything you would on the train and MUCH,MUCH more including the monkeys, the fort and a beach. There are many more surprises along the way.

 

Make sure you book the old Toyota van with no windows (rather than the newer one with AC). Much better as you can take pics with no glass in the way and with the wind we didn't miss the AC a bit.

 

His tour is cheap for what's included and is a spectacular day for those that are willing to go off the beaten path. Water, soda and beer were included in his cooler and a light lunch of a roti sandwich was provided at the beach. Royston was so knowledgeable about his island and we felt as if we were having a visit with a friend of a friend rather than a traditional tour.

 

We had pondered the train too but as we went back and forth over the tracks at several level crossings with Royston we realized we were getting the same scenery with much more insight and very personalized service.

 

Check out his reviews on TripAdvisor too.