The beaches are lovely. St. Kitts and Nevis are volcanic islands which make them very lush and green, and gives the sand the dark flecks that can make it seem tan/grey rather than bright white.

The water is clear and warm, and there is OK snorkeling but not as good as some other islands.

I think to get those long strands of bright white sand, you have to go to an island that is flat and more dry than St. Kitts/Nevis.

It all depends on your vision for your vacation. We've been going to St. Kitts and Nevis (now Nevis) since the early 1990s.

I have some photos that include a few beach pictures. If you're interested I can post the link to kodak galleries.

Thanks for your input! I would love to see your pics of the beaches!I'm not much of a snorkeler, but I am looking for clear, placid, seaweed-free water. Are there any beaches like that on these islands? Or does the tan sand make it look dark and not as clear?

Hi Shazaf,

Here is a link to some photos from 2007-2008. We stayed at the Hermitage so there are a lot of photos of the inn and also of the monkeys but you'll see a few beach photos interspersed.

P.S. None of the photos are touched up or changed!

And it would help to put the link!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3uq2oj

I love those 2 islands after 3 stays on each! While they are not the white sand beaches that you read about, they are lovely. The previous posters have very accurate comments about each island. Being sister islands, I love to split my time b/n both to get the best of both worlds. The beaches are fine, but the Atlantic side at the Marriott in St. Kitts can be rough for kids.

The pictures that CW posted give a good idea of the colour of the sand on both islands, although in the north of St Kitts the sand gets a lot darker. IMO the best beaches on St Kitts are on the south peninsula, namely Turtle Beach, Cockleshell Beach, Majors Bay, South Friars, Sandy Bank Bay, and if you move north to Frigate Bay, Timothy Beach is good too.

We stayed in a lovely villa really close to Turtle Beach, which we had virtually to ourselves most of the time, plus there was great snorkeling near the shore, see this link for pics:
http://turtlebeachhousestkitts.shutterfly.com/

I agree that CW's pictures give you a great idea of what the beaches are like, especially on Nevis. They're lovely, just not the neon blue water andf white sands of other islands.

Thank you all for all of your info, it's been so helpful! I really appreciate the slide shows! One question to Cariblover. You mentioned staying on Turtle Beach, are the sands really that white, and the water really that light blue? Also, the Turtle Beach Resort is great but booked and also very pricy, and we only have a week to go. Are there other places to stay there, and is Turtle beach a private beach?

Turtle Beach is a public beach, and like all others on St Kitts can be used by anyone. It's just that the company who own the restaurant and the cabins nearby make it look as if it is a prvate beach by putting a gate and a fence there.
Apart from the cabins which are very small and have one bed in them, the only places to stay on Turtle Beach are the privately owned villas there

CW...We are interested in the Hermitage,and wonder about your experience there.Did you pair it with another resort on St.Kitts ?WE would like to do that,but wonder where??

4carolina,

For more than ten years, we stayed in St. Kitts and took day trips to Nevis occasionally. The inn where we stayed changed hands and we found that we really didn't like it under the new owners so we switched to Nevis and to the Hermitage. So we now stay in Nevis and leave St. Kitts to day trips.

We really like the Hermitage. It has a friendly and warm atmosphere and, I think, some of the best food on the island. We like staying on higher ground (it's cooler and we've never been bothered by mosquitoes at the Hermitage) and renting a car to explore different beaches every day. The rooms are comfortable, furnished with antiques, but are not luxurious in the marble bathroom sense of luxury. All have porches or verandas with hammocks. Some of the rooms have small kitchenettes and all of the rooms have tea and coffee making equipment and refrigerators. It is family run and the staff is just lovely.

The monkeys come down to check out the mango trees early in the morning and then again about 5 or 6 in the evening.

I think dividing your time between the two islands is a good idea to give you a taste of two places. In St. KItts you could stay somewhere in the Frigate Bay area where being near or on the beach would give you a different experience from staying upland (if you chose to stay at the Hermitage).

Both islands have good restaurants both upscale and casual. Be glad to answer any other questions you have.

Thank you so much for your most helpful reply.The Hermitage looks wonderful,and just the kind of place we would enjoy.I love the idea of dividing our time.....and wonder if you have any suggestions about places on the beach.Combining the 2 would be idyllic.I am eager for your suggestions !!!

Luxurylink.com has had several good auctions for the Hermitage, so if you're interested I would check there.

4carolina,

Two hotels on the beach in St. Kitts are Timothy Beach, a fairly basic hotel with rooms and studios with balconies next to South Frigate Bay beach, and the Marriott on the Atlantic side of Frigate Bay. I have not stayed at either so cannot give you any advice from personal experience.

You should look at the forum dedicated to St. Kitts: http://myislands.myeyez.net/forum/. There are reviews of the different properties and a lot of helpful posters who have stayed at both places.

I have stayed at Timothy Beach Resort previously on two occasions for two weeks each. We are returning for another two weeks this January.

I highly recommend this hotel. It is not like the Marriott and that is part of what is wonderful to me about it. It is smaller more personal and it has a brilliant location on the beach with sunsets from most rooms. We enjoy a one bedroom unit so that we have the kitchen, the great patio for sunsets at cocktail hour and the pull out sofa in teh living room for our son. We find the staff are excellent, the management fabulous and the easy access to all the amenities perfect!

Thank you Caribheart and cw for your thoughtful suggestions.TBR is popular on this board but gets poor reviews on Tripadvisor,which makes me a bit uneasy.Would you tell me a bit about room maintenance..Clean and neat,or what ??Simple is fine,but why all the negativity??
We love the possibility of splitting the week between an inland place like the Hermitage.or the other one that starts with O.......and a beach place !!Also,suggestions about car rentals.We are ready to reserve and await your wise advice.ALSO,"WE" are two women friends "of a certain age"who travel together !!!!You are the best !!

Forgot to mention,our plans are for 8 nights,late January/early February.Luxurylink looks like an extraordinary option,but we would have to WAIT,and gamble on their offerings.We would prefer to make our flight/land arrangements sooner,and be done with it.Any suggestions about how to book securely,soon...and save $$would be wonderful.

Wish I knew how to save money in Jan., Feb., and March but from my experience those are the busiest times in Nevis and I'm not sure they'd be offering rooms on luxury link during the time. I wouldn't want to bet on it! Write to them and see what offers they may have for your time period.

I think the TBR reviews on TA are pretty good on the whole. I think some of the bad reviews come from people who think that because it has "resort" in its name--it's going to be a smaller Marriott. I've never stayed there--just have read many reports from people who love it.

I've stayed at Timothy Beach as well. Our room was very nice, I think it was considered a studio, sort of had the bed in an alcove, but it was open to the living area. It did have a kitchen. The bathroom was nothing special, small, but it was clean.

I love the location. Nice views, easy access to beach bars and restaurants. Even the casino at the Marriott isn't a terribly long walk, if you're so inclined.

I think one of the challenges with St. Kitts is that it could use some more good choices of places to stay on the beach. There just aren't too many good ones. We stayed at the Marriott, which has a nice wide beach but is, in my opinion, a charmless mega-resort totally out of place. We stayed free on points which made it okay and the golf is good but I like smaller, more charming resorts. I checked out TBR and was very underwhelmed but I know some people like it. I didn't think the beach was nice at all. On Nevis, we stayed at Nisbet which we love and which has a wonderful beach, not huge but with great views, hammocks, fairly white sand, etc. It sounds like you have your heart set on the Hermitage but just wanted to let you know Oualie Beach Resort on Nevis is on skyauction and has been going for a bargain price and that beach is nicer than the ones on St. Kitts, in my opinion. I like St. Kitts and am waiting for the day a really nice, boutique resort on the beach opens!

eileen, could you elaborate on Marriott being a "charmless mega resort". How mega? We may have an opportunity to stay in a 2BR condo @ Marriott St. Kitts Beach Resort for a week in February, 2010. Any input you cld give would be greatly appreciated. What is the beach area like in front of Marriott?
Is it crowded? Is it tough to find a chair/palapa?

4Carolina - I think you must be thinking of Oualie too with the Nevis resort. We ate lunch there and enjoyed the food a great deal!!! We also stayed on their beach a bit but for some reason it wasn't a fit for us...you get to sit and look at St.Kitts and that was lovely in the same way it is lovely when you are in the SE Peninsula of St.Kitts...But the beach just seemed a bit squishy...there was quite a bit of seaweed - but that could have been the weather. None of us swam...but we were a bit underwhelmed by our day to Nevis....more to do with one of those off days.

TBR - with regard to this hotel I do believe that what cw is saying is true. People likely think that as it is a TB "Resort" that is should be so much more - much more like Marriott....TBR is a hotel. It has a variety of rooms that offer different amenities for a traveller. We have only stayed in a one bedroom, they do have two and three bedrooms. These units have kitchens...but sometimes they are missing cutlery or dishes but if you call down to the front desk they will give them to you. The units are mostly owned and they are more small hotel West Indian than big monster resort. There is no grand marble entrance (like at Marriott) there is a small front office with local Kittians working there....but unlike the bigger mega resorts this feels more like a place that the staff are truly a part of take an invested stock in, like personal attention - know your name you know theirs because they are the same staff most days....I find at places like Marriott there is a larger staff base adn they all wear the uniforms and are taught how to interact with the guests etc....they may remember you but likely not and as you have seen many of them you likely don't remember them....I like the personal touches of TBR.

We did not in our two years of staying there have a problem with cleanliness but I know some people complain of this. Our housekeeper is the same woman minus her days off - the whole stay there and you develop a bit of a relationship with her too so maybe we got lucky and she thought our son was cute and she did an impeccable job on our room....but she was really one of those women who you would have watch your child as much as sit and chat about life with....she did a great job and we hope we tipped her accordingly.

The units we were in were very large and could not be found at Marriott for a reasonable price. We had a VERY large bedroom with a large living room, small dining area and galley style kitchen and LARGE patio...this is the part I talk up the most because at the end of the day I don;t know many places in the Caribbean that offer what this patio has. We are getting better at knowing what units to chose from so God willing if they are available we sit on our very large patio with the lovely NEW outdoor furniture to have cocktails each night adn watch the killer sunsets EACH night. My son and I can sit at the outdoor table and do arts adn crafts or eat a meal - which we do a lot of at TBR to keep our cost down so we can dine out guilt free in the evening...my husband can lounge on the two loungers while we eat....that is how generous these patios are!

The other unique qualities about TBR are again the staff but after our first visit and the love my son evoked in many of the staff we returned the following year - I highlight ONE Year later...and Juliet a staff in the restaurant - remembered my son BY NAME! And he loved her despite his shyness as much as the year before....we will see how she does this year!!

The restaurant is a nice place but not BIG resort style...it is open air on the water with great Pina Colada's and Roti or other favorites...(those are mine)! On the beach are all the hotests places to be day or night...understand when I say hot I mean as according to my standards (a Mum of a 5 year old and baby on the way) and the men we travel with to include my Mother(who is a more high end high standard traveller). But also great for young people travelling to party too - complicated achievement - yes but they pull it off.

We all feel safe at TBR and enjoy being able to access the beach bars for cheap cheerful toes in the sand meals....they serve food like burgers and fries to Red Snapper and Ginger Chicken...the beach itself is a good size so you can do the standard happy to be in the Caribbean beach walk....it is beige sand and there are deeper parts to swim or shallower parts to wade in slowly. There is a long dock at TBR that allows you views back over the beach and also the dry land approach to snorkelling as there are so many fish milling about you can sit and watch the tropical fish for a long time without ever getting wet.

Mr.X's offers watersports and yet it doesn't get too hectic.

With all of this I don't like to bash other places because most places have something to offer everyone...the Marriott is not for me esp. in St.Kitts because it hasn't been an island that I have ever felt like I need to be kept safe in...Marriott has very redeeming qualities to it like a beautiful pool with swim up bar. (TBR has a sweet little pool but basic - clean and perfect for us but not extravagant). They have amenities on site and they have worked very hard to make their beach on the notoriously rough Atlantic a safe little place to swim. The beach there is lovely and you can also walk a good distance. We just dont feel a need in St.KItts for that level of mega resort. It is about a 15 - 25 minute walk to Caribbean side with TBR....which my family and I do most mornings for the joy of it...quietly watching that part of the island wake up - hearing the birds and enjoying the sites. Things are more expensive at the Marriott than in other locations on the island so be warned - for example alcohol costs a great deal more in their store than just down the road a touch. There are some nice high end stores there for shopping...but it feels a bit like the shopping in the States...which is perfect for a Canadian in the States but in the Caribbean?

My Mother who I mentioned earlier - expects more, travels broadly and can be very high maintenance - shhhh I did not just say that. But with all of that in mind TBR is our only option every year in St.Kitts....its pros far outweigh the cons for us and that includes Marriott where Mum would be more inclined to go in the States...but it gives you an idea of context about some peoples complaints about cleanliness....she would not stand for disgusting hotels and everyone would hear about it if it were a real problem.

OK - I am chatty but just to be clear - I am not a representative of TBR - I just love love love it! But if you are going to the Marriott as long as you make sure to get out and enjoy the island, all it has to offer and the incredible people and community and culture - it really becomes a personal choice. My vote though - still for TBR!

Regarding the Marriott -- we were there in high season 2007 and it was not very crowded, since that was before the economy crashed I can't imagine how it is getting by now -- there are a ton of palapas on the beach, the facilities are huge so you don't have to worry too much about crowds. They have now opened timeshare units so that might keep more people coming to the resort. We had a lovely 1 bedroom suite (I happen to know someone in Marriott management so we got upgraded -- even though we were on points) and it had all the bells and whistles you would expect from a Marriott. However, in my opinion there is no Caribbean/tropical flare to the resort, and the design does not do a good job of integrating the indoors/with the outdoors as all nice tropical resorts should. It's one huge building, set quite a ways back from the beach and between that the huge pools, then the garden villas (timeshare units) and the beach. There's a beach bar/restaurant but the resort overall just does not have that open/outdoor feel of a resort in the Caribbean. It could be anywhere. In addition, there were no little comfortable nooks/smaller areas with seating or hammocks or anything that would make the huge resort feel more charming and personable. I much prefer the Curacao Marriott, it's a low-rise, much more open air, more charming design. We went for the golf and because we had points and we then went on to a wonderful stay at Nisbet on Nevis but the Marriott St. Kitts just wasn't our cup of tea. If you have a chance to go through a timeshare trade or free then I wouldn't discourage you! And we liked St. Kitts and all the fun beach bars/restaurants not far from the Marriott.

eileen & Caribheart, Thanks for your comments. Yes, I wld be doing a Marriott Timeshare trade if we go to St. Kitts. Maybe I shd be looking @ Curacao...but how to get there from Toronto?? That is my problem.