excursion help

[My Bud Pud]

Booked on Celebrity Summit March 2015. First time to St. Kitts... any recommendations on excursions? we have also considered just either walking Basseterre on our own (if feasible) or renting scooters and self exploring.

 

thoughts? ideas?

 

I posted a similar inquiry on the St. Maarten thread. I guess another question would be if we were going to book an excursion at one and "do the town/shopping" at the other - any ideas on which is better for either?

 

any info is much appreciated.

Edited June 15, 2014 by My Bud Pud

[paul58]

You may want to look at Trip Advisor for ideas. There is much to see & do in St Kitts. There will 1 other ship in port the day you are there according to Cruise TT. The town is very walkable & there are several operators of scooter rentals also. The beaches are nice but St Kitts is not really known for its beaches.

[prim8keeper]

Since its your first time in St. Kitts I would highly recommend an island tour. The island is very nice. Both Thenford Grey and Roosevelt offer great tours at reasonable prices.

[pbrady]

After 30 plus cruises, no doubt - Shop in St. Martin & sight see in St. Kitts. If you are in St. Martin on a Wed or Sat, it may be fun to take a take over to Margot (30 to 40 mins each way - prices are set). Those are the days their market is open (more artsy than most markets) and they have a very well know French bakery just across the market. When we take someone new to the French side we take them to the bakery and order one treat for each person - try it then rotate to the left :) It is fun.

Also, we have used the same jeweler in St. Martin (not cruise ship approved but much cheaper & privately owned so they can make deals) for 20 years. I haven't bought jewelry in the US since we met them. If you like jewelry or watches or... St. Martin is the place IMO!

St. Kitts is not a shopping island, again IMO.

Hope that helps -

[pbrady]

Oops - one thing I should mention - - include going to the Caribelle Batik in St. Kitts - it is very interesting and the only place I can think of as a good shopping place. The process they use to color the material is unique & the items they sell (especially like the pillow covers) are not expensive. The Fort is also interesting but if you have been to many Forts - they tend to run together.

[My Bud Pud]

After 30 plus cruises, no doubt - Shop in St. Martin & sight see in St. Kitts. If you are in St. Martin on a Wed or Sat, it may be fun to take a take over to Margot (30 to 40 mins each way - prices are set). Those are the days their market is open (more artsy than most markets) and they have a very well know French bakery just across the market. When we take someone new to the French side we take them to the bakery and order one treat for each person - try it then rotate to the left :) It is fun.

Also, we have used the same jeweler in St. Martin (not cruise ship approved but much cheaper & privately owned so they can make deals) for 20 years. I haven't bought jewelry in the US since we met them. If you like jewelry or watches or... St. Martin is the place IMO!

St. Kitts is not a shopping island, again IMO.

Hope that helps -

Thank you!

[mlrack101]

Shop for sure on St Martin. There's a beach right outside the shopping district and if you have time take a cab over to Maho. The planes coming in and leaving are cool.

 

St Kitts, if your up for an adventure check out My Island Tours by Javin. Our personal favorite!

[Life is Good Cruising]

We have been to St. Kitts several times. First time we took RCI ship excursion "Caribbean Scenic Railway Tour. It was a nice relaxing way to see the entire island on a double decker train. Drinks and entertainment were included.

 

Don't know if your a beach person, if interested we've been to several beaches in St. Kitts and one of our favorites is Carambola Beach Club. It is located on South Friars Beach, 15 mins. from the port, beach and views are beautiful here. It's a bit upscale, very tranquil, beach bar and restaurant, food, drinks and service was very good. Two loungers and an umbrella was $30, they also had sunbeds. Beach is clean, white sand, no seaweed, water is calm, not rocky so no water shoes are needed as other beaches in St. Kitts (Cockleshell and South Frigate Bay) are rocky and you need water shoes to go into the water. They have bathrooms and shower facilities.

 

If there are 2 or more ships in port, you should email them to reserve chairs and umbrella in advance, no money down, as they will run out of them as this place is becoming very popular with cruisers. We felt it was a good value for the money we spent.

 

You can take a walk to the other end of the beach and you'll pass some Tiki huts and at the end is a place called Shipwreck Bar and Grill, for an alternative lower cost and also good food. Beach is small, doesn't hold a lot of people, has partially black sand, lounge chairs are old and thatched umbrellas. That beach was also crowded when we took a walk as it's also a popular place for tourists.

 

Have also taken tours by Thenford Grey and they are highly recommended on Trip Advisor. They are at thenfordgrey dot com

 

Plenty of taxis are the port to take you to any beach or just sightseeing, you can ask the same driver for a return pick up to the ship if you decide to go to a beach.

 

People also get day passes to the Marriott.

 

For St Maarten, this is one of our favorite islands, with beautiful beaches. For a first timer, I would recommend Bernards Tour, there're highly recommended on cc and Trip Advisor. We take them almost every time we are in St Maarten. Love going to Maho beach and watching the planes land and take off. Check out the St Maarten forum, there's a lot of info there.

 

Shopping is much better in St Maarten.

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Life is Good Cruising

[dcikon2]

Activities depend on your interests. There isn't much downtown. Our favorite store is no longer there. The top beaches are Cockleshell and South Friars. Check into Leeward Island Charters if you are looking into a catamaran excursion. Brimstone Hill Fortress offers great views.