St. Kitts and Nevis

As I ramble through the rain forest, its pristine wildness envelops me like a warm quilt: a banyan tree with roots like the banisters I slid down as a child; bromeliads and orchids strangling mahogany trees in their embrace; green vervet monkeys stealthily clutching fallen, overripe mangoes like treasure; iridescent butterflies and hummingbirds competing for prize blooms.

But when the trail suddenly disappears into the lush, fragrant undergrowth, I panic momentarily. Then a shifting breeze carries tinkling laughter and clinking cups. Following the sound, I emerge within minutes, sun-blinded, onto a vast, immaculately groomed lawn rolling down to the sea. A quartet of casual yet worldly Brits waves from a table set by a restored 18th-century sugar factory. "You look like you could use a drink," one trills. As I approach, a smiling staffer intercepts me with a tray bearing a cool mint-scented towel and iced bush tea "to calm da nerves."

Variations on that scene are played out on both St. Kitts and Nevis. These idyllic sister islands, 2 mi (3 km) apart at their closest point, offer visitors a relatively authentic island experience. Both have luxuriant mountain rain forests; uncrowded beaches; historic ruins; towering, long-dormant volcanoes; charming if slightly dilapidated Georgian capitals in Basseterre (St. Kitts) and Charlestown (Nevis); intact cultural heritage; friendly if shy people; and restored, 18th-century sugar plantation inns run by elegant, if sometimes eccentric, expatriate British and American owners.

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